The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Queen

The Mirror of Twilight

A castle loomed in the distance, glowing in the light of the setting sun. Yellow sand surrounded the castle as far as the eye could see. On a horse, a man dressed all in green travelled across the desert. His path took him straight to the castle. The horse he rode was beautiful, with hair that glowed amber in the light. She was fast and true, she would ride to the ends of the world for him.

"Faster Epona, faster!" The man in green clung to Epona's mane as she sped up with little more than a few neighs in complaint. The man's pointed green hat flopped up and down behind him. A cloud of sandy dust chased after them with vigor, urging them to travel faster. The horse slowed only when they reached a winding cobblestone path that led to the castle's entrance. The man in green had jumped off and was running before Epona had even properly stopped. His worn brown boots pounded against the stone with every hurried step. A magnificent sword with a blue winged handle and a deep blue shield bounced against his back.

The castle's entrance was beyond imposing. Large stone stairs led up to a huge wooden door that was lined with twisting metal. By the time the man in green had reached the entrance, the sun had set completely. Torches had been lit on either side of the door to combat the growing darkness. This door took all of the man's strength to open, so he closed his eyes and rested for a few seconds upon entering.

The entrance hall was just as imposing as the entrance, if not more. Dark stone made up the walls. Blood red carpet lined the floor. A grand staircase twirled slowly off to the side. There were a few large heavy doors and ominous doorways that lacked doors, but the man took little notice of them. Once he recovered his breath, he went straight for the stairs. The flickering candles that lit his path were dim and few in number. He looked out of place in the castle, his green clashing with all the gloom.

"I guess this is farewell, huh?" a beautiful voice echoed down the stairs. The man in green went into a run, taking the stairs two at a time. He passed through hallways, stairs and many rooms. All of it passed in a blur, blending in his eyes so that he saw none of it. He only slowed when he reached the very top of the castle.

The top was roofless, so the full moon lit up everything and gave it a ghostly feel. Pillars of white stone circled around the edges, reaching for the far away stars. In the center of the roof was a circular mirror. It glowed silver in the light and runes danced around the rim.

The man in green walked forward till he stood straight in front of the mirror. He stared at it intently. The surroundings in the mirror were the same as behind him, like one would expect. Not that he saw them. He had eyes only for the Twili, who had replaced him in the reflection. Shadows danced across her gray skin. Her orange hair was tied with metal at the base of her neck and strands of it clung loosely to her face. She wore a black shirt that stopped just above her stomach and a long skirt of black and silver patterns. A blue and black cape flared out behind her. Metal that twisted out like tiny antlers was perched on top of the black hood she wore and metal chains dangled down from it onto her forehead.

"Link... I..." she mumbled, avoiding his gaze. Tears leaked from her brilliant red eyes. She raised a hand to wipe away those tears, then rested that hand on the surface of the mirror.

"See you later..." The mirror started to crack, splintering her stunning reflection.

"Midna!" the man in green, Link, screamed. But his cry came too late. The mirror shattered, breaking into little bits of dust. The tiny pieces were blown away in the late night wind.

"Midna..." he whispered, feeling his heart break in a way similar to the mirror.

Link jolted upright, sweat dripping from his brow. Sun shined on his face, highlighting his sandy mess of bedhead. He looked around, forgetting where he was for a moment. Wood and earth greens around him. The soft padding of cucco feathers underneath him. The goat fur blanket above him. This was his home. Or it used to be. It was a place he shouldn't have felt nervous about upon waking up. It wasn't a place he should forget. Yet that happened now, ever since he'd saved the realms of light and twilight. All those nights sleeping on the road, he'd found it hard to adjust to waking up in his own bed. In his own home.

After realizing where he was and that he was supposed to be there, his dream came rushing back to him, hitting him like an angry goat. Could he even really call it a dream? Once, he would have called it a memory. But it was only a shadow of a memory, missing major characters and moments of importance. No, it wasn't a dream and it definitely wasn't a memory. It was a nightmare. It was a torture his subconscious was forcing him to endure. For whatever reason, it hadn't been willing to share yet.

Link brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He rested his head on his knees and started to softly cry. It wasn't like him to cry. He was strong and brave, he had to be. He didn't like to show such broken emotions, he didn't want to burden others with them when he didn't have to. But he was alone and no one was watching. So he cried.

"Midna, why did you do it?" he asked the air with a tiny whisper.

"Link!" someone called to him, throwing a stone through his open window. Thankfully the stone didn't break anything. Link had learned long ago to keep breakable objects away from the window.

"What is it?" Link shouted, looking out. Mayor Bo, the mayor of Ordon, was standing below with his hands cupped to his mouth.

"Some of the villagers were wondering if you'd be up to escorting them to Hyrule Castle later today."

"Sure, I'll meet them in a bit." Link stood and stretched, quickly swiping the tears away. "Thank you for letting me know."

"No problem!" Link waved goodbye and the mayor left.

"At least I'll have something to do today," Link told himself as he changed into his clothes, a green tunic and tan pants. He tamed his hair enough so that when he put on his ridiculous green hat it was hard to tell how knotted it was. His worn brown boots were pulled over his feet and he buckled belts across his waist and shoulder.

On a nearby table was a pile of odd things. Things such as a collapsible fishing rod, bottles filled with strange fluorescent blue and red liquids, claw-like gauntlets and a child's slingshot. Stuff no one in their right mind would consider useful on a daily basis. Or rather, not someone who had lived Link's daily life. Maybe he didn't use them as often as he had in the past, but they were things he'd collected on his adventures. Whenever he didn't have them with him, he felt like he was missing something. He packed them all carefully into the various pouches lining his belts.

Link climbed down the ladder leading to his loft and walked to the wooden front door. A blue and silver shield decorated with the Hyrule crest hung on a hook next to the door. He grabbed it and swung it over his head. It hooked up to a belt across his back with a soft click.

With this completed, Link reached for... It wasn't there! He looked around in confusion. Why was his sword not by the door? That's where he always left it. That's where it belonged. Why wouldn't it be there? Unless...

Link climbed the ladder back to his loft. A simple steel sword with a leather handle rested on the floor next to his bed. He grabbed it and placed it in its sheath angrily. He hated that sword, yet wouldn't let himself spend money on a new one till it broke. So he treated it with little of the respect a sword deserves. But who could blame him for not being able to stand the sword? How could a sword ever measure up to the great Master Sword? When would he ever be able to wield a sword so perfect again?

"It's time to face the day," he said once he had reached the door again. He opened it with a little hesitation. The light of the morning flooded into his already pretty bright treehouse.

"One day at a time..." He squinted and left the treehouse.