case. "Well, don't you worry, little wolf! I'll find a way to break you free from-"
"Midna," Link cut in, resolved to prove the Twilight Princess wrong in the midst of her usual stubbornness. "I'm not kidding and I'm not brainwashed. Verona offered to help
me with my powers and she did, much more than you ever could have."
"You complete idiot!" Midna nearly screamed in absolute rage. "How could you be so stupid!? Verona doesn't want to help you! She wants to kill you! She's been using
that shard she stabbed you with to take your spirit away from you!"
"Who told you that?" the hero asked sarcastically. "Zelda? You know, Midna, I thought that you of all people would be smart enough not to believe her lies."
"Don't be even more stupid, Link," the Twilight Princess hissed in obvious anger. "You can't trust Verona! She's a liar and a thief!"
"Then I guess she's not that much different from you, huh?" Link retorted coldly, crossing his arms sourly as he remembered everything Verona had told him. "Especially
since you never bothered to tell me about what happened between you, Verona, and Dehäan."
"What?" Midna asked, clearly taken aback upon hearing Dehäan's name again after so long. "She told you about that mess? Well, whatever she said was a lie. I didn't steal
anything from her. She just can't accept the fact that the other Twili chose me to rule them over her. Probably because they could sense her selfish intent from the
beginning."
"What about Dehäan?" the hero asked, still not buying it fully. "From what I understand, it's because of you that Verona couldn't be with him."
"You honestly think I really wanted to marry that square?" the Twilight Princess scoffed. "Please. He was so boring. I was only going to do it because it was my duty. I
never 'loved' him at all."
"But Verona did," Link said, not liking how Midna was able to make so little of a matter that nearly ruined the Queen of Shadow's life. "And she was banished for it."
"No, she was banished because she was caught practicing dark magic," Midna said pointedly. "And because she attacked me. She was in the wrong, Link, not me."
"So I guess that means I'm in the wrong too, right?" the hero asked with a dark frown.
"Yes!" the Twilight Princess exclaimed as though it were obvious. "Link, I can't believe you would do this! You were this kingdom's hero! There was a time you were ready
to lay down your life to save it! But now… look at what you've done!" she yelled, throwing her arms out wide in reference to the ruins all around them. "I bet you were
the one who completely destroyed this place, right?! And I bet you have no remorse about any of it either after all of the lies Verona has fed you."
"You're right," Link said, not at all ashamed to admit it. "I have no regrets about this. They all deserved everything that happened to them, especially Zelda."
Midna gasped upon hearing this, completely aghast at how unsympathetic he was being. She knew that such callous, hateful behavior was so unlike the kind, selfless hero
she knew and admired. It was as though he had become a different person entirely, one that she could scarcely stand to be near. "S-so… I guess you just don't care that
Verona attacked my people, or that she cursed me and stole my throne!" the Twilight Princess accused. "After all, you've shown quite clearly that you don't care about
anyone else, so why should you think I'm any different?"
The hero's expression softened a bit upon hearing her bitter words, a genuine pang of remorse filling him even in the midst of his attempt at stoicism. "Midna… no…" he
said with a soft frown, one that reminded the Twilight Princess of how he used to be before the Queen of Shadows had enthralled him into the side of evil. "I… You… you're
still important to me… Despite everything that's happened, I still care about you…"
"Oh yeah?" Midna asked, a hint of hidden grief in her tone. "Then prove it. Leave Verona. You know it's not too late, but it will be if you stay with her too much longer.
Please, Link… I… I can't stand to see you with her knowing that all she wants to do is kill you… After all, you're still my little wolf…"
The Twilight Princess gave him a soft, sweet smile as she extended her small hand out to him in offering, her eyes pleading for him to heed her words. She wanted nothing
more than for him to take it, for him to join her once more and turn away from the Queen of Shadows and her treachery. Midna full well that she was perhaps the only
one now who could bring him out of the shadows and back into the light. If he would listen to anyone, it would be her.
Link stared at Midna's outstretched hand for a pregnant silence, anxiety and hope filling him all at once. A part of him wanted to gladly accept her offer, to follow her
wherever she might lead, just as he had not too long ago. He pined for the days when it was just the two of them, exploring the land of Hyrule together, freeing it from
dark forces as their bond grew ever deeper. Those were simple, relatively carefree times, but in the end, as much as he remembered them fondly, he knew they could
never be again. Even though his powers were now under control, he knew that he couldn't be with the Twilight Princess anymore. She would only remind him of the life of
shackled servitude and remorse, the life he was resolved to never return to.
"Midna… I… I can't…" the hero said with a sad sigh, glancing away from her with obvious guilt.
"Why not?" Midna asked with morose curiosity.
"Because it is too late…" Link said with both seriousness and sorrow. In all honesty, he knew that what he was saying was only half true; indeed, he did believe that he had
gone too far now to turn back to where he used to be, but it was more than that. He wanted to protect Midna, and he believed that staying with Verona could effectively
allow him to do that. After all, the Queen of Shadows had made her distain for her cousin clear, and though the hero didn't think that the Twilight Princess had necessarily
been in the right about what had transpired in the past. Certainly, Verona didn't believe herself to be above harming or even killing Midna; however, perhaps Link could
somehow convince her against such violent measures, allowing his former companion to take refuge and survive even amidst the regime the Queen of Shadows was
steadily creating. Even if things could never go back to the way they used to be between the hero and the Twilight Princess, at least, Link reasoned, he could keep Midna
safe the best way he could, considering the circumstances. "I told you: a lot has changed. Nothing is the same anymore and… I don't think that I can just move past any
of this… But you need to know that it's not because of you. I've changed, Midna; more than you really know. Things just can't go back to how they were… I'm sorry…"
"So am I," Midna said bitterly, all of her former gentleness fading into anger once more. "You have changed, Link, but it's definitely been for the worst. You used to have
morals, ideals, common sense; but all of that's completely gone now. When I look at you, I don't see a hero anymore; now all I see is a traitor!"
"I am not a traitor!" Link proclaimed defensively. "It's not my fault that everyone turned their backs on me first! As far as I'm concerned, none of them were even worth
saving in the first place."
"Well maybe you were never even worthy of being their hero at all!" the Twilight Princess shouted angrily. "I should have known that I would never get anywhere with you!
It's like talking to a brick wall! Maybe that dumb light spirit's prophecy was really about you after all!"
"Prophecy?" the hero asked in clear confusion.
"Oh, you know, the one about you turning evil and destroying everything?" Midna said pointedly as she drew her face in close to Link's tauntingly. "Because to me it looks
like you've
already embodied it perfectly, Mr. Hero of Shadows! Do you have any idea what you're really doing? Do you even understand what's going to happen to you if
you keep this up? Do you even care?"
"Did you even care about what it must have felt like for me when you left all those months ago, Midna?" Link asked bitingly, trying to shift the conversation away from
him, even though learning of this newfound prophecy that was supposedly about him somewhat bothered him.
"Don't you dare try and pin any of this one me!" the Twilight Princess retorted. "This isn't about me. It's about you and how you've completely and foolishly turned your
back on everything you once stood up for. And for what? To live it up at Verona's side for a few weeks before she ultimately kills you anyway?"
"You're wrong about her!" the hero exclaimed defensively, knowing that after the lengths that the Queen of Shadows had gone to for him, she certainly couldn't have the
wicked intentions that everyone claimed she did. "She was there for me when no one else was, including you! She's patient with me and she actually cares about what I
have to say, which is way more than you've ever done!"
"You moron!" Midna shouted in blind rage. "She has you so blinded by lies that you can't even see the truth at all! So you know what? Go ahead, let her kill you! See if I
care! You'll realize I was right when you're standing on the brink of death, your spirit nearly drained from your body entirely! Oh, but it will be too late by then, won't it? I
can already hear you now: 'Oh, if only I had listened to Midna! Then I wouldn't have willingly thrown myself into my own destruction!'"
"She's not going to kill me!" Link protested firmly, refusing to believe this ploy from anyone, including Midna.
"Yes, she is!" the Twilight Princess argued back stubbornly. "Why else do you think she wants you with her so badly?! It's so she can steal it from you silently without you
even noticing!"
"No!" the hero shouted loudly, not even noticing the ice continuing to spiral around his feet or the winds steadily swirling around him. "You're wrong! You don't know
anything about her and you don't know anything about me!"
"Clearly I don't anymore!" Midna yelled hotly. "You've gone so far off the deep end that I don't even think you realize how far gone you are! You'd do anything Verona
wants, from slaughtering all of the people you've likely already killed to throwing yourself down at her feet, practically begging her to take your spirit! You're following her
without a second thought, not even thinking about what the consequences might be. But I want you to ask yourself one thing, Link, without thinking about me or Verona
or Zelda or anyone else: what do you want?!"
By this point, Link was so enraged and grieved over all of the accusations that Midna was making about him that he could barely keep it all contained any longer. He was
completely forgetting about concealing his emotions, and therefore, his powers soon followed suit. After all, to hear such hateful words come from the one person he still
wanted to protect willingly, the one who had stood by him in turbulent times before, was more than he could bare. And yet, as he heeded the question she had asked him,
he found that he had no good answer for it. He had been battered and torn so many times that he couldn't really figure out what he needed to be truly healed from it all.
Siding with Verona had only provided an escape, but not a solution to all of his pressing problems. There was still an palpable emptiness inside of him, one that he had no
idea how to reconcile. And, in the midst of the battles he was waging both externally and internally, perhaps there was no way to fill it at all.
It was as the hero came to this dismaying, hopeless conclusion, his emotions seemed to spike as the winds lashed out around him, blowing the Twili imp back just the
slightest bit. Link clenched his fists tightly at his sides as he closed his eyes and hung his head, feeling the bitter cold aura surging through him, but doing nothing to stop it
as he tried his best to hold back pressing tears. However, he failed in this, as Midna noticed a single tear of both sorrow and desperation steam down his cheek, one that
instantly made her regret all of the harsh words she had thrown at him, even if she knew it was too late to take them back now. The hero took in a shaky breath as the
ice around him accumulated even more, snowflakes beginning to mingle with the nearly-hurricane winds circling around him as he finally spoke, his voice soft and broken
at first until it sudden rose in both panic and pain. "Midna…" he muttered, his eyes still shut as he tried to grasp at something to say, but he found nothing, just like the
nothingness encompassing him on the inside. "I… I don't know!"
As Link shouted this out in lost desperation, he was unable to stop the multiple heavy shards of ice that suddenly shot out from the bitter cold air around him, all of them
spiraling straight for Midna. However, unlike the incident in the woods, the Twilight Princess was ready for the uncontrollable projectiles this time. With a gasp of fear, the
Twili imp contorted her hair into a hand and quickly batted all of the ice shards away from her with a great amount of force, managing to avoid being hit by all of them. Her
strike shattered most of them, but one of the larger ones was repelled backwards towards the very one who had accidently created it: the hero.
Already in fearful shock over how he had almost unintentionally hurt Midna again, Link had not time or wits to react to the large ice shard hurtling towards him at a great
speed. The Twilight Princess herself could do nothing but let out a cry of warning and panic before the projectile managed to strike the defenseless hero in the head
squarely, instantly knocking him to the ground unconsciously before it shattered on the ground behind him.
The winds instantly stilled as Midna wasted no time in rushing to Link's side, tears already welling up in her eyes as she noticed the large bleeding gash the ice had cut
across his forehead. She lowered herself to the ground beside him as she let out a small sob, finally letting all of her pent up heartbreak over the situation as a whole go
as she tried to rouse him. "Link…" she whispered, placing her small hand on his cheek as she absently traced a finger along some of his markings, noticing with horror that
they were much more apparent now, to the point that their glow made his pale skin seem even more so. "Link, please…" She wasn't really sure what she was asking of
him at this point, whether it was for him to wake up or for him to denounce his choice to stand with Verona. But even so, the hero was listless, and this time, the Twilight
Princess knew she was entirely responsible for it.
Yet at the same time, another burst of anger filled Midna as she looked down at Link, knowing that this was his fault as well. If he hadn't so foolishly joined Verona, then
this rift would have never been torn between them. Whether the Queen of Shadows had used her magic to influence him or not, he would not listen to reason, even when
all of the evidence was stacked high against Verona actually being benevolent. Which was why, even though Midna desperately wanted to, she knew she couldn't take Link
with her, even as unconscious as he was. She would be getting him away from Verona, sure, but what else would she really be accomplishing. She couldn't very well hide
him away if he willingly wanted to be with the Queen of Shadows, as ridiculous as their dark alliance was. That would only make her as bad as Verona herself.
And so, though it was the last thing Midna wanted to do, she relented, knowing that, despite how much she had prayed it wasn't true, Link really was lost to her. The hero
she had once known and believed in was dead, leaving only a wicked shadow of his former self in his place. He would never listen, never return, never k
now the light
again. The prophecy was indeed true: he was the Hero of Shadow now, and he would certainly meet his end.
It was an end that the Twilight Princess refused to see however, for despite the fact that their bond had been irreparably broken, she could not deny that she still cared for
him or that she still wished the best for him. She had been able to tell that there was conflict stirring within him, even still, and perhaps through that conflict, he would
realize where he had gone wrong. But Midna bitterly realized that she wasn't the one to force him back to his heroic ways. If that was truly the course that fate wanted to
take, then it would have to happen by the will of the very goddesses themselves. Until then, she could only pray that it wouldn't come too little, too late.
Midna let out another broken sob as she rose back into the air, hovering over the hero's prone form for a moment or two. Verona was most likely hanging about
somewhere nearby, meaning that it would be dangerous for her to linger for too long. Indeed, she had found Link, but it was not in the way that she had wanted to. And
so, the only thing the Twilight Princess could do now was try and find a way to solve this immense conflict herself. After all, regardless of the ties she had just cut with the
hero, her duty to her realm and her people still stood.
The Twilight Princess's heart was certainly heavy as she turned and began to glide away from the hero, leaving him alone and unconscious on the cold hard ground. There
had once been a time that she never would have dreamed of leaving his side again, but now she found herself wanting to be as far away from him as possible, lest her
heartbreak over what he had willingly chosen deepen even more. "Link…" she whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear her as she paused only for a moment, glancing back
at him one last time. She couldn't help but feel the familiarity of the situation, standing on the threshold of staying with him or leaving him behind. Even the first time she
had been in this position, it had been more than she could bear. But in the end, she had let her heart guide her in the decision that was best for her people above all else,
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