the same decision that she knew she had to make now. "I… I…" she took in a small breath, knowing that there were no other words she could leave for the wayward
hero now but the very same ones she had left him with before. "See you later…"
Verona held onto her scepter with an iron grip, her crimson lips turned down into a very displeased glower as she glared down at the unconscious hero lying at her feet.
Despite her previous moments of emotional softness for him, the Queen of Shadows had now reached the realization that she was growing quite tired of having to come
to his rescue every time he fell, both literally and figuratively. Though she had been quite tempted to leave him out in the cold after the encounter she had secretly
observed between Link and her much-abhorred cousin, she begrudgingly came to his aid as soon as she was sure Midna had left the perimeter. She did still need him alive
after all, and him getting even sicker than he had been would do neither of them any good.
"Foolish child…" Verona whispered with contempt, more to herself than to Link, who was still completely out of it in the aftermath of the blow Midna had deflected back at
him. "You don't even know that you are but a mere vessel for something far greater… But don't worry; I'll relieve you of that burden soon enough…"
With a bitter sneer still crossing her features, the Queen of Shadows, held the tip of her scepter towards the listless hero, watching disinterestedly as the violet glow
surrounding its orb transferred to him. Verona unceremoniously raised her staff, her magic levitating Link's prone form into the air in time with the movement. For a
moment, she simply held him up close to her eye level, stoically taking note of his expression, which seemed to be racked with a type of pain that was more than
physical. She guessed from his stillness that he was not dreaming for once, and though she wanted to steal away another sliver of his spirit, she knew that there was a
good chance she could end up prematurely killing him if she do so again so soon. And so instead, she opted for merely teleporting them both back inside the castle, where
there was less of a chance for any prying eyes.
Verona had been anticipating that she would have to endure another long bout of waiting before Link awakened, but surprisingly, he began to stir the moment she gently
deposited him upon his bed after they materialized back inside. The Queen of Shadows stood apace in the darkness of the room as she watched the hero slowly sit up,
trying to gingerly coax away his splitting headache as his bleary vision cleared.
Weakness washed over Link in a slow wave as he groaned softly, still trying to place what had happened before he had been knocked out until it all came rushing back to
him, filling him with several conflicting feelings at once. "Midna…" he whispered almost inaudibly, though Verona caught onto it nonetheless as she clenched her hands in
tight anger at her sides. As the hero gathered his bearings however, he realized that he was somehow back inside the castle, and, much to both his relief and dismay, the
Twilight Princess was nowhere to be found.
"Verona?" Link ventured a bit apprehensively, not seeing the Queen of Shadows anywhere in the immediate vicinity thanks to her intentional hiding in the shadows. Verona
took in a deep, somewhat aggravated breath as she took a step forward into the dim candlelight of the room, doing her best to put on an amicable face as she addressed
him.
"It's good to see you recovered so quickly, Link," Verona said evenly enough. "I found you lying unconscious in the square not too long ago."
The hero hesitated in responding, not entirely sure how to explain that he had been knocked out only after encountering Midna. "O-oh?" he asked lamely. "Well… Thanks
for bringing me back here," he said, mustering a small, grateful smile as he rose to stand, though before he could escape any further conversation, Verona positioned
herself between him and the door.
"You're quite welcome," the Queen of Shadows said smoothly. "Although… I am curious… Why did you happen to be lying unconscious down there? It seemed rather…
worrisome…" Of course, Verona already knew how the hero had been knocked out, but she wanted to hear it from him. After all, if she could meld this into an opportunity
to finally turn him against her cousin once and for all, then she would gladly take it.
Link's eyes widened as his mind raced for any believable explanation he could find that didn't involve the Twilight Princess. He knew full well that there was really nothing he
could say to the Queen of Shadows about her cousin that would change how she felt about her, and so he wouldn't even bother trying. And even though he was very
much at ends with Midna now, the last thing Link wanted was for Verona to hurt her because of him. "Uh… I must have… blacked out," he began, hoping that she'd buy his
on-the-spot explanation. "Yeah, I guess I'm still feeling a little lightheaded after being sick. But I'm fine now."
He tried for the door once more, but Verona was quick to gracefully shut it as she towered over him, the shadows of the room darkening her sharp, mysterious features
somewhat. "Now, Link…" she said, her tone admonishing to the point that it set the hero on edge as he unconsciously backed away from her a bit. "I believe I have been
very honest with you thus far," she said, even if she knew that in and of itself was a blatant lie. "I would appreciate it greatly if you were honest with me."
Link drew in an anxious breath as he found himself backing up until he reached the bed. He curled the blankets into his fingers tightly as he slowly shook his head, his
mouth dry as he futilely searched for something to say. While he did owe much to Verona, Midna had been there for him first, and he refused to sell her out to anyone, no
matter what. "I… I can't tell you…" he choked, unable to place the reason why he suddenly felt so afraid and why the winds were slowly starting to swirl around him in his
fear.
"Why not?" Verona asked, her tone still calm as she drew closer to him, glowering down at him firmly.
The hero could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he tried his best to control this unexplainable fear, the wind subtly growing stronger with each passing second. He
knew that whether or not he told her, something bad was going to happen, but exactly what, he had no idea. "I just… I can't…" he said slowly as he tried to convince
himself that Verona wouldn't hold his silence against him. After all, she had been exceedingly patient with him thus far; certainly she would let this rather insignificant
matter go if he was persistent.
Much to his relief, the Queen of Shadows simply 'tisked' as she moved back a bit, shaking her head in disappointment as she looked away from him. "I don't know why
you insist on protecting her so much, Link…" she said rather tiredly. "I would have thought that you had learned not to cling onto such empty attachments after what
happened with Zelda…"
Link froze upon hearing this, confusion mingled with an unexplainable burst of anger filling him as his fear abruptly melted away. "What?" he asked rather softly, though the
slight edge in his tone was clear.
"Honestly, Link, I don't know how you'd think I didn't know about your little 'meeting' with Midna," Verona said somewhat crossly. "What I find to be even more
disappointing than you lying about it is that you actually let her go."
"What?!" the hero asked harshly, ignoring the sudden rush of warmth building up in his hands.
"Then again, it's not like I really expected you to try and capture her," the Queen of Shadows went on, ignoring Link's growing anger. "Beyond all logic, you still seem to
harbor some shred of affection for that treacherous, traitorous shrew."
Verona's
eyes widened a bit as Link threw his hand back, flames exploding from it and engulfing the bed behind him entirely. The hero didn't even seem to care however as
he was seething with rage by this point, at both the callous remarks the Queen of Shadows was making about the Twilight Princess, and about something else entirely.
"How did you even know that I talked to Midna!?" he nearly shouted in obvious frustration. "You weren't even—" Link cut himself off as a sudden realization struck him,
one that he should have been privy to all along but was only now coming to believe. "You… Have you been… spying on me?!"
"I wouldn't call it 'spying'," Verona said, as level-headed as ever despite the fact that the hero was flying off the handle once more. "I would merely think of it as…
surveillance… To ensure your safety and security. After all, Link, if I'm not there to look out for you, then who else would?"
"I don't need you or anyone else looking out for me!" Link insisted bitterly. "I can take care of myself!"
"Yes, clearly," the Queen of Shadows said sarcastically as she crossed her arms. "Because me having to come to your rescue on more than one occasion definitely proves
that."
"But you said we were equals! Which means you have no right to spy on me without me knowing!" the hero argued, hating that even in all of the 'freedom' Verona
claimed he now had, she was denying him that very freedom herself.
"Oh, I don't?" Verona asked darkly, rather taken aback by his boldness. "Might I remind you who it was that took you in when you had nowhere else to go? When you
were on the run from Zelda's soldiers and weren't even welcome in your own hometown? Who taught you how to control your powers when you thought it was nigh
impossible? Who helped you achieve vengeance against those who had hurt you most? Who has promised you greatness and power beyond your wildest dreams?"
Link was silent for a moment as he set his jaw, still glaring coldly at the Queen of Shadows. There was no denying that she had done much for him, but he still couldn't
stand the fact that she had been keeping such an intrusive secret from him. He had placed his trust in her and she had been betraying it all along by watching his every
move through her magic. Regardless of her motives, spying was still spying, and the hero refused to let it go on any longer. "I would have been just fine without your
help," he said crossly, his fists clenched tightly at his sides to keep flames from bursting from them.
"Do you really believe that?" Verona asked with a haughty scoff, growing increasingly frustrated with his impertinence. "Then you're a fool. If it were not for me, then
Zelda's guards would have certainly apprehended you and dragged you back here! Only instead of living in the lap of luxury like you get the privilege of doing so with me,
you would be rotting away in the dungeons, left at the mercy of a tyrant who would never have been dethroned! I have been nothing but generous to you, Link, and yet
this is how you repay me?! With insolence and ungratefulness! Face it, child! You owe me everything!"
The hero was unable to hold the pent up flames back upon hearing this as he lashed out thoughtlessly, letting out an enraged shout as he threw his hand forward, letting
the fire fly at Verona without calculation. Of course, the Queen of Shadows saw this attack from a mile away as she used her magic to easily block it, though it took all of
her patience to keep herself from launching an attack back at him out of retaliation. So instead, she merely glared at Link, who stood with a flame hovering above each
palm, his breathing tense as he took up an offensive pose. "I owe you nothing," he practically whispered, his tone deadly serious and filled with just as much venom as his
silver gaze was. Verona said nothing as Link stormed towards the door, and she did not stop him from leaving the room this time as she instead moved out of the way,
despite the fact that she kept her glaring gaze on him tightly until he left the room.
The hero did not slow his pace for a moment as he continued down the hall, not even entirely sure where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get away,
away from Verona's watchful eye, from her suffocating 'protection'. He needed space, a chance to breathe on his own terms once more after having been restrained for
so long, a chance to clear his head after everything that had happened. He needed to be alone.
Though her keeping tabs on him had been what originated their argument in the first place, Verona stood before the window and watched Link stoically as he retreated
from the castle, riding across the bridge into town on his steed. She noted his hasty pace as he headed out of town and into the empty fields, and even after he was out
of sight, she continued to keep an eye on him using her magic, just as she had been doing all along and just as she would continue to do, regardless of his opinion of it.
"He'll be back," she said to herself calmly, reminding herself of her reasoning for letting him leave to herself once more. "He'll be back…"
It felt like it had been ages since Link had simply just ridden through Hyrule Field, without running from someone or to somewhere. In a simple way, it was cathartic,
almost nostalgic even. To be out on the wide open fields with no one but the always-loyal Epona to keep him company was a refreshing change from being cooped up in
cold stone walls under the watch of someone whom he was starting to doubt had his best interest in mind. The hero figured that the Queen of Shadows was watching
him even still, but at the moment, he could have cared less. Even if he had no idea where he even wanted to go, just being out in the peaceful silence of the snowcovered
fields without having to think about any of his pressing burdens was beyond refreshing. He smiled to himself slightly as he prepared to call out to the Twilight
Princess hidden in his shadow and recall a fond memory with her before he bitterly remembered that he couldn't. That bridge had been burnt.
Link fully believed that Midna, unlike Zelda, did still care for him, though probably much less now after their last encounter. Which was why it pained him so much to think
that she might never forgive him for what he had done. And while a part of him felt heavily guilty over that, another part of him, one that he figured had somehow been
influenced by Verona's cold statements, felt completely apathetic about the whole thing.
And then, of course, there was Verona herself. Link found his grip on Epona's reigns tightening the slightest bit as he cast a bitter glare back towards the towers of the
castle now miles behind him. It wasn't even the fact that she had been secretly spying on him all this time that enraged him; it was the fact that she had done so
deceptively, all while claiming he had more freedom than ever before when it had all been a lie that had brought on his outrage. He couldn't help but remember what
Verona had told him earlier, something that seemed to increase his anger even more: "I make it my business to keep an eye on my prisoners." Of course, she had said
this in regards to Zelda, but Link couldn't help but think that, after what he had just discovered, she had meant that about him too. Was that really how she saw him? As a
prisoner instead of an equal? Even if the Queen of Shadows has helped him by teaching him how to control his powers, the hero refused to be disrespected like that by
anyone, including the woman whom he had thought was his benefactor. His confidence in Verona was quickly beginning to falter into doubt, to the point that he really had
no idea what he should do in the long run. But what he did know as that if it really came right down to it, Link would rather go off on his own than be treated like the child,
or prisoner, Verona seemed to think he was.
Wanting to clear his head from thoughts of both his falling out with Midna and Verona's betray
al, Link turned his attention back to the direction Epona was heading. He
didn't particularly care about where they were going, which was why he had let his horse have free reign over wherever she wanted to go. However, in doing so, the hero
had failed to think about the fact that Epona's instinctual drive would end up guiding them back to their old home and the very last place that Link wanted to return to,
aside from the castle: Ordon Village.
Upon seeing that they were entering Faron Woods, the hero brought his horse to a slow stop for a moment, anxiously gazing into the dark depths of the woods that
would eventually lead the way to Ordon. He could feel his heartbeat begin to steadily pick up, but thankfully his powers did not respond to his dread for once. It was
strange though; on his initial journey, Link had always used to look forward to returning home whenever possible. He used to get excited about seeing all of the villagers'
friendly faces again, sleeping in his own bed in his own home, and breathing in the fresh, familiar air of the forest. And yet, he knew that if he were to return now, none of
those nostalgic sensations would await him. Now, he villagers certainly all feared him, his home was most likely a fading pile of ashes, and the same aching darkness that
floated on the wind across all of Hyrule filled the air even in the depths of its dead, wintery forests.
Link knew that even stepping foot near Ordon now would be a huge risk. True, he was no longer on the lamb as he had been the last time he had been there, but he still
didn't really want to be confronted by any of the villagers. And yet, he could not deny that he did want to check on the village, just to make sure that his former was
alright in the aftermath of all of the upheaval that was going on in the rest of the kingdom. Besides, he was fairly certain it was late at night by now, though it was hard to
tell since this night had been going on for weeks now. If he hurried in and out and kept tucked away out of sight, then certainly no one would ever need to know he had
been there at all. Right?
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