Sat in a ring under the grand, stained-glass window that dimly lit the tall chamber, rows of men, of 'wise' and 'high-stature'.

The council.

Midna's posture dragged into her seat, arms crossed and head slightly cocked to the side, staring into space.

"Ahem," the elder High Chancellor introduced, cutting the whispers amongst the council,

"Your Highness?"

"Yes, I'm listening," she continued to stare.

"Ah… A-as you know, with the recent events inquiring the Light Realm..."

"Yes."

"And how critical it has been made to finally ally with them…"

"Yes."

He paused to glance back at the Princess for assurance, "and we are all well aware that this treaty is made and contracted through marriage."

"Yes, yes I— wait..." the Princess' hastily sat up, "Marriage? Hang on, but—" her eyes lit up with a different shade of confusion, "But the ruler of Hyrule— is a Princess, is it not?"

"Well, yes, of course. That's why, we, the council, has decided that you will be marrying another representative,"

"What?"

"Do not worry, Your Highness. We have already arranged everything; he should be arriving later this week."

'What?'

"Tomorrow at best."

'What?'

Furious and stirred, Midna briskly strolled the cold, quiet passage, running her hand along the smooth, marble railing as if to ease her temper.

She slowed her pace down, turned and leaned herself against a pillar. Her tired sigh echoed against the walls, filling the empty hall, trying to get her breath back, but her mind still raced with thoughts.

How dare they, and to tell her at such short notice! They did it on purpose! Why else? The cowards they were. It had already been a day since the altercation, and Midna still couldn't quite comprehend it all.

A forced marriage.

Of course Midna had been, or at least, had attempted to be courted by many, many suitors before. Though she couldn't deny her flirtatious habits, how she'd tease the boys and let them chase her, none of them were worth her time— it was hard to trust anyone to with her vast riches, her immense powers, her greatest secrets.

But one could also suppose it was partially her fault for being so particular.

A forced marriage for one— but no way would she'd mingle with some flowery, pompous— Light dweller!

"Excuse me. Princess?"

Midna's eyes shot open, abruptly from her daydream. She looked over; before stood one of her attendants, Aida, their posture stiff, accompanied by several maids. "Your Highness," Aida quickly bowed from the waist and followed through with a gesture as the maids mimicked behind her.

Already?

The Princess of Twilight sat in a small dressing room before she was to take the throne and welcome the foreign 'visitors'. Last minute preparations; maids tending to her hair and dress. The loud, fiery princess, for once, silent. Thinking.

At that moment, the realisation struck her.

She didn't know this man. She didn't know what he'd look like. She didn't even know his name! She should have pressed harder...

She gulped down suppressing the thought. He was probably some dirty, wicked, old geezer. 'Like the councilmen!' she silently scoffed to herself. It wouldn't be surprising if that was the case; to have chose some ancient bastard to the likes of themselves.

"Aha! Your Highness!" It was that damned Chancellor. Speak of the devil. "Your Highness, are you ready?" he rubbed his hands together in agitation, his posture sunk ever so slightly.

No.

Yes?

She sat up and gazed to the side, genuinely considering the thought. She couldn't deny that she was very curious.

Then came the second realisation.

Hang on. This was her castle, her kingdom. Her rules. Her way. At that moment, she realised that she could've had everything under her control from the beginning. What was there to loose? Right?

Midna remained on her throne within the Great Hall. A grand crown framed her head, and a heavy necklace rested at her collar, showing off her most regal traits. Still. Stoic. Suddenly second guessing herself, then reassuring herself. Guilt. Pride. Suspense.

Too late now.

"Your Highness," the Chancellor huffed, quickly taking his position to her side, puffing up his chest. She straightened her posture in response, understanding exactly what he meant. She didn't want to have to obey the plans they had set out for her, but it was hard to break old "princess-like" habits, being told to behave and present herself when the time came.

The grand doors swung open. She expected a Hylian entourage of knights and noblemen, but instead, it was quite the crowd of three. Three representatives marched through the door.

"Most prestigious guests! Professor Shad. Lady Impa. My Lord. Welcome to the Twilight Realm!" the Chancellor bowed and gestured in the most exaggerated motion, "Her Highness, Princess Midna. Ruler of the Twilight Kingdom, and Twilight Realm..."

The three light-dwellers before her bowed in respect after the introduction of the Twilight Princess. The tall, dark, strong woman, presumably Lady Impa, rose and presented the embellished sheath and blade in her arms, bowing down as she did so, "On behalf of Hyrule, we offer a blade of the finest craftsmanship, forged with the purest of minerals of Hyrule as a gift to Her Highness," the Lady spoke as the one across from her translated in modern Twili, surprisingly. He was a lanky, pale, lad with large, circular glasses, and a book in hand. Professor Shad- more like a scholar of sorts.

"... and also on behalf of Sir. Link," the scholar continued to translate as the Lady spoke, "Captain of the Guards; the Knights of Hyrule. Hero of Hyrule, and Hero of Light, chosen by the Gods..." he rambled on most passionately in his own words. She figured this book-worm obviously wasn't her future suitor, unless he was vain enough to introduce himself.

Midna stopped listening to the droning speech at this point. She looked to the side, to the other man. Fairly well kept, outfitted in a deep Prussian blue coat adorned with golden entailing, his hair slicked back. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. He was- he wasn't some ancient bastard at all! In fact, he was in fact, quite the youthful bastard.

This feeling... It was strange.

She didn't want to admit it…

But she was scared.

The conversation between the Chancellor and the scholar dragged on and on. White noise. She kept her attention to the blonde haired boy whilst her body was stiff and her head facing up and forward, hoping not to be obvious about her gaze. But it was something about him. Something she couldn't quite take her eyes off. Something strange.

He looked at her. She looked away.

"Excellent!" the Chancellor concluded. Midna snapped back into immediate reality, thinking that it was probably a good idea if she had probably paid more attention; she wanted to gather as much information as possible if she were to win this battle. Though, she wasn't much of a listener anyway.

"Our most prestigious guests! You must be exhausted! We shall continue introductions over dinner later! Please!" he clapped his hands as maids and servants proceeded to line up on the floor, "Please, escort them to their rooms."

The servants bowed at the guests, and the guests bowed back; some sort of strange display of modesty. Again, they bowed before her and had left the Great Hall.

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" the Chancellor smiled; he was pleased, "This session is over, Your Highness. You shall be recalled for the dinner," he bowed himself once again and made his own way out of Great Hall as did everyone else who attended, eventually.

That was it? But what was so short. This isn't what she expected. It was anything from what she expected. This... this... boy of light?

How could she turn things around into her favour?

A/N: aaaaaaaaaa what is this? emwhat is this?

I'm so embarrassed to even post this! I'm not that confident in my ideas or writing, but midlink has been awfully quiet lately and I want to try to keep those embers alive ;q; ! I've had this for awhile actually, and I kept coming back to revise and refine, changing my weird, shitty, passive tense of writing to make it easier to read.

This idea has been stirring around in my head, but despite how long I've had it, I have no idea how to evolve it, so I don't know if I want to continue it?

eeeeehhh i'm no good at this ;3;