Favorable side

by Gladys Garcia

  hero's hand, only the missing Triforce of Power remaining dark and unconquered.

  "Link…" the queen finally uttered, her voice but a soft, tearful, almost pleading whisper. And yet, she wasn't pleading for him to spare her life, a plea she knew would be

  useless anyway. Instead, her unspoken request was only for him to make it quick, so that she could at least die with some small semblance of dignity left, even after

  everything else had been taken from her.

  Upon hearing this, Link let go of her wrist, only regarding the new mark of the Triforce of Wisdom on his hand for a moment before he glanced to his sword once more.

  Zelda watched him tentatively, noticing his clear hesitance, though Verona was quick to intervene with her encouragement towards the hero once more. "Do it, Link!" she

  urged him firmly. "Hyrule is nearly yours! All you have to do is one final thing: kill her!"

  The hero took in a sharp breath of air upon receiving this command, his cold expression wavering the slightest bit as he slowly moved his sword so that its deadly edged

  hovered about a foot over the Hylian queen's neck. He had hoped that it wouldn't have come down to this, that he would have been able to find a way to avoid this

  moment and appease the Queen of Shadows at the same time. But clearly, Verona thirsted for Zelda's blood, and as much as Link had hoped otherwise, there was no

  way out of this. Yet even so, guilt and conflict began to fill him, both of them coming from an unknown place. By all means, he had every right to kill Zelda, or at least

  that's what Verona claimed. But now that he was standing on the verge of doing it, reluctance and equivocation filled his every thought. The impending task seemed to

  grow even harder as the Hylian queen let out one final sigh of heartbroken remorse, resigning herself to death as she bowed her head and closed her eyes to await the

  impending blow.

  He had never wanted this. As angry as he had been with Zelda for how she had hurt him, how her people had cast him out, how the goddesses had favored her over him,

  he had never wanted to truly kill her with his own two hands. He had merely wanted her to suffer, emotionally more than anything else. He had been mostly comfortable

  with that, actually. With simply keeping her locked away in squalor, leaving her with the knowledge that her beloved kingdom had been torn from her and that there was

  no hope for escape. With holding his power over her and reveling in it, making her feel just as helpless and worthless as she had made him feel. That had been fair. That

  had been acceptable. That had worked. But this? Ending her life by the steel of his own blade and then having to simply live with that? Could he even live with himself after

  that?

  "I'm growing impatient, Link," Verona chastised with a frown. "You've built up quite enough suspense. It's time to take her out, once and for all!"

  Once and for all… If he moved his blade down just a few inches more, then the Hylian queen would die, and Hyrule would be his. And yet, as he stood in the place of the

  executioner, he couldn't help but remember that Zelda had him in this very same spot only a few moments ago. And when faced with the perfect opportunity to end his

  life, she didn't. Instead, she spared him, against all logic. She had let him live, knowing full well that he wanted to take her life. In doing so, she had indebted him once

  again. And if there was anything that hero hated, it was owing anyone anything.

  Slowly and silently, Link lowered his sword away from Zelda's neck and back to his side, not bothering to say a word at all, even as the confused Hylian queen realized

  that, against all odds, he had spared her life. Her eyes were wide with bewilderment as she looked up at him, meeting his solid, almost sincere, yet still-torn gaze as a beat

  of silent understanding passed between them. The queen had no need for the hero to explain anything to her, for she knew. A life for a life. His debt had been repaid.

  "What are you doing?!" Verona demanded from the balcony, clearly outraged at this sudden show of mercy. "You won, Link! You defeated her! Which means you must

  slaughter her!"

  "And I will," Link affirmed calmly. For a brief moment, Zelda's heart sunk once more, though her hopes were slightly raised as he took a brief glance back at her, giving her

  an almost reassuring look that told her he was bluffing. "But… I just don't think now is the right time."

  "What in world are you talking about?!" the Queen of Shadows seethed impatiently. "Now is the perfect time! Look at her! She is weak, groveling at your feet and yet you

  think that this needs to be put off any longer!? You better have a good reason for this impertinence…"

  "I do," the hero insisted, solidifying the sudden idea he had come up with in his mind. "I was just thinking… why don't we make this a public thing? I mean, why kill her

  here, with only you and me as the sole witnesses? Wouldn't it be better for us to take her out in front of the entire kingdom? It'd be a good way to prove to them to just

  how powerful we are really are, don't you think?"

  Thankfully, Verona didn't manage to catch onto the fact that Link was biding time like Zelda had as she instead paused to ponder this new idea for a moment, before

  grinning in sadistic agreement with it. "Yes…" she mused with satisfaction. "That would definitely make things more interesting. The people of Hyrule would certainly learn a

  great deal of obedience towards their new rulers if they were to watch their beloved queen die before their very eyes… I can't believe I didn't consider the idea myself!

  Excellent thinking, Link. We shall proceed with your plan then. I'll have my shadow beasts gather up a crowd of spectators and we'll set up the square for the execution.

  And then, the people of Hyrule will watch as the blood of their precious queen is spilled before them, drained from her body just as hope will be drained from this wretched

  kingdom!"

  With a laugh of sinister victory, Verona vanished, leaving Link with the unspoken instruction to take Zelda back to her cell. However, as the pressure of tension finally lifted

  from the battlefield, the Hylian queen slowly and shakily rose to her feet, still keeping her eyes locked on the hero as he faced away from her. "L-Link?" she dared to

  whisper, her eyes still moist with tears of pain and loss.

  The hero only slightly turned to face her, his mouth opening to say something, though he quickly changed his mind. His manner was still just as cold as ever, only there

  was an edge of something else to it that the Hylian queen could just barely make out. Remorse? Guilt? Shame? Whatever it was, it was there, written into his silver eyes

  as he simply stepped forward and wordlessly urged her to follow him.

  Knowing she had no power left to fight back, there was little Zelda could do but comply, pain spiking her every step as her wounds continued to bleed out. She figured that

  since Link now had the Triforce of Wisdom, he now had her former powers as well, which meant that he could probably heal her if he wanted to. But of course, he didn't.

  After all, he had already spared her life; he probably felt as though he owed her no further kindness than that.

  A strange sense of relief filled the Hylian queen as the hero led her back into her dingy, lonely little cell. As much as she loathed this place, she honestly knew she would

  rather be there than dead, which was what she had thought she would have been by now. However, she did notice that Link was just as silent as ever as he shut the cell

  door and locked it once again, his expression still empty and emotionless as it had been ever since the battle ended. Zelda couldn't possibly begin to imagine what was

  going on inside his mind, but even so, there was still something she had to know.

  "Link?" she asked, her voice but an anxious whisper that echoed through the dunge
on all the same. The hero didn't turn to face her as he prepared to leave the dungeon,

  though he did stop to hear what she had to say all the same. "W-why…" Zelda began, trying her best to hold back her own pressing emotions in light of all that had

  happened. "You… You could have killed me, you know. It would have been so easy. I was right there, disarmed and defeated… And… yet you did not… I don't understand…"

  she murmured, even though she did, at least partially. Indeed, he had upheld what little honor he had left by sparing her, but there had never been any obligation on his

  part. At the moment, making the decision not to kill her had made no sense, and even after the fact, it largely still didn't. After all, what good did it do him to keep

  someone alive whom he certainly hated? "Why did you decide to spare me?" Zelda finally asked, refusing to let him simply answer that it was fair.

  And yet, he didn't try to. Instead, Link simply let out a soft sigh as he glanced down at the duel marks of the Triforce on his hand, trying to reason with himself that this

  was right, that he deserved this, that he had earned this. And yet, it still felt wrong all the same. In truth, he didn't really know the true reason why he had decided to keep

  Zelda alive, and maybe he never would. Which was why he only left her with a simple, yet very vague answer as he turned and walked away, hoping that he could find a

  way to keep her alive the next time Verona called for her death. "Because maybe I never wanted to kill you in the first place."

  "Well, it seems as though the wheel of fate has spun wildly out of control yet again… What are the suggestions for dealing with it this time?"

  "I would hardly call this an instance of fate spiraling out of our hands, Din. The fall of the Hero of Twilight has been prophesized for hundreds of years now. It was

  inevitable."

  "Just because it was inevitable doesn't mean it should have happened, Nayru! He has been manipulated! His spirit and soul have been battered and abused greatly in this

  life! It's not his fault!"

  "Regardless of how you feel about your precious "son", Farore, might I remind you that he chose this path for himself? As far as I am concerned, he is a complete and

  utter failure to you and to Hyrule."

  "He is not a failure! I refuse to believe he is a lost cause! There is still light and goddess in him, even if they have been dimmed by shadow and hatred. And I will not rest

  until he has found his way again."

  "Enough of your bickering, both of you. Pretty arguing will not relieve Hyrule from the darkness it is now enshrouded in."

  "Well, I believe the solution is quite obvious. Clearly, our direct intervention is required once more, only this time, instead of working to aid the hero, I'm afraid we must act

  against him."

  "No! We can't possibly bring him harm! I will not allow it!"

  "Then what do you suggest, Farore? Because as it stands, your hero is causing Hyrule and its people nothing but suffering, which is something I will not allow!"

  "I-I have a plan. I just need a little more time to-"

  "No."

  "Din?"

  "I said no. This madness has gone on long enough. It's time to end it."

  "So you agree with me then? Oh, but of course you do. It's only logical that the hero is made to pay recommence for-"

  "I don't agree with you, Nayru, or do I side with you, Farore. I have my own idea in mind…"

  "But Din, I hardly see a need for any other path. I have every intention of trying to communicate with my hero again to-"

  "Farore, that is quite enough. Clearly all your attempts at trying to rationalize with your hero have been for naught. I was content with letting you and your champion deal

  with this issue, Nayru, but it seems as though she is a complete abject failure as well."

  "The Queen of Light is far from a failure! It's hardly her fault that the Triforce of Wisdom was stolen from her by that scoundrel of a hero!"

  "Nayru!"

  "Silence! I will not stand the two of you wasting our precious time with useless quarreling any longer! It's obvious that both of you have been absolutely unsuccessful in

  bringing this conflict to an end, and so it seems as though I will have to take matters into my own hands. Alone."

  "Din, there's no need for you to go it alone. My plan will-"

  "Your plan is obsolete now, Farore. As far as I am concerned, this struggle is one that neither wisdom nor courage can resolve. It requires decisive action and immediate

  intervention. It needs power. And I intend on going to the mortal realm myself to deliver that power."

  "So… What are we to do in the meantime?"

  "Good question. Until I return, consider yourselves confined here to the Sacred Realm."

  "What?! Din, you cannot force us to stay here! Might I remind you that we are all equal in power and scope?"

  "But not in authority, Nayru. Perhaps I should remind you that I am the oldest and while I don't exercise this dominion that often, that does mean that you are subject to

  me when I see fit, especially in a matter such as this."

  "Oh, Din, please! I beg of you! Whatever you do, do not harm my hero! He is confused and afraid and-"

  "Don't fret, Farore. I have no intentions of interacting with the hero or the queen. And I promise that when I have done all I plan on doing about this, then you can proceed

  and make your long-awaited appeal to him. After all we've witnessed, he certainly needs it."

  "T-thank you, Din…"

  "What are you even planning on doing in the first place? You know we cannot kill the Queen of Shadows directly, right?"

  "Of course, I do, Nayru. And that's far from my aim, even though, as the instigator of all this, she needs to go down. But of course, that will happen in due time. No,

  instead I think it's high time I evened the scales once more. For far too long, my essence has gone without a rightful, proper wielder. Perhaps it is time I choose a

  champion of my own…"

  The bitter chill of the endless winter night seemed even more frigid and dark as Midna glided languidly through it, completely crestfallen and with no destination in mind at

  all. The Twili imp was scarcely regarding where she was going as she kept her dejected sights set on the snow-blanketed ground below her, knowing that she couldn't

  really escape from her lingering grief no matter where she went. Ever since she had hurried out of the ruins of Castle Town, her thoughts had been entirely consumed her

  the brutal, friendship-destroying argument she had with the hero, the harsh words they had both exchanged with each other still cutting her deep. As much as Midna was

  angry with Link with his foolish decision to blindly side with Verona, she couldn't help but regret her rather rash and unhelpful manner of reacting to it. Perhaps if she had

  actually listened to what he had to say instead of instantly judging him, then maybe there wouldn't have been such a tragic falling-out between the two formerly close

  companions. But as it stood, Midna knew she couldn't go back in time and change any of it, from her last meeting with Link, to her letting him put such prolonged distance

  between them in the first place. That was all in the past, and all that was left was a future that looked to be even bleaker and more miserable than the present.

  All the same, Midna knew she couldn't afford to really dwell on her morose thoughts of Link anymore. At the very least, he had a warm place to stay and food to eat,

  even if those things were being provided to him by the very same woman who was slowly but surely killing him. It was much more than the Twilight Princess could say for

  herself at the moment. The biting winter air had become more than just a mere annoyance to her the longer she stayed out in it, to the point that she knew there

  probably wasn't a single part of her body that was any semblance of wa
rm. She could only do so much to keep her small, relatively frail form from being caught up in the

  whirling snowy winds that never seemed to cease, pushing her along wherever they pleased. She craved the gentle, constant stillness of her native realm, a place so full of

  peace and tranquility compared to the ever-changing atmosphere of Hyrule.

  Yet, as much as her heart pined for the familiarity of the Twilight Realm, Midna knew she had no way of returning to it. Even finding a place of refuge here in Hyrule would

  be nigh impossible, since nearly no one in the kingdom would be willing to take in a strange, rather unnerving-looking imp in, regardless of her good intentions. Indeed, it

  seemed as though the Twilight Princess really had nowhere to go and no one to turn to now. She had no doubts that Verona and Link had apprehended Zelda and were

  keeping her held hostage, and as much as Midna wanted to try to rescue the queen, she was painfully aware of the fact that she was nowhere near strong enough to do

  it alone.

  Even beyond that, her condition was quickly deteriorating in these brutal conditions and exhaustion and grief were weighing heavy on her. She imagined that she probably

  didn't have too much strength left in her to keep going for very long. Her magic was deteriorating to the point that she could only barely hover a few inches above the

  ground and the world was starting to grow dim through her bleary, exhausted vision. Midna figured her body would give at basically any time now, but she hardly found

  herself concerned with that fact. After all, she didn't really have anything left to continue struggling for. Link was clearly a lost cause, and Zelda was most likely on her way

  to the executioner, if she wasn't already there. Verona was nigh unstoppable and both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm were essentially unsalvageable. As much as Midna

  didn't want to believe it, she knew, deep down, that both kingdoms were lost.

  And it was as she realized this, she finally gave up.

  With a weary groan, the Twilight Princess glanced up only briefly to find herself in a wooded clearing, a lone tree stump resting in the center of it. Fatigue made her head