Chapter 4

Ordon

("Men… always thinking with their stomachs," she stated. Link smiled and took her hand, leading her out the gate. Hand-in-Hand, they walked back to Ordon Village, taking their time.)

As they walked, they talked about what had happened since the last time they saw each other. Midna explained how much her kingdom has changed since Zant usurped the throne, how all the different parts of the kingdom were coming back together in the darker form of Hyrule. Link only had the dream to talk about.

"I'm glad to hear the Twilight is back to normal," Link said, squeezing her hand. She smiled.

"Well, I wish you could have seen it. It's a shame you had to see it in the state it was, all dark and dreary." Midna sighed and shook her head. "And I can't believe I'm even related to him." Link looked at her a moment.

"Family relations mean nothing. Look how different you are; you're sweet and a good ruler. He made his choice, a bad one. Your brother seems like a good ruler too." Midna smiled again and laughed.

"You'd like each other. You're similar in many ways…" By this time, they were in the clearing just outside of Link's house. Midna stopped and looked down the trail to Ordon Village, biting her lip nervously. Link nudged her arm. "Link, maybe this isn't a good idea. What if they realize my people caused the war?"

"First of all," Link said. "Your people didn't start it; Ganondorf did. They were merely under his influence, and Zant is no exception to that. None of this would have happened if Ganon didn't come. Second, if I say I trust you then I'm sure they will too. The only person I'm worried about is-…"

"I-Ilia?" Midna asked. He nodded and looked down at the ground.

"She's been a bit… protective of me lately. I don't know how to tell her I only think of her as just a friend." Ilia almost always spent all her free time around him unless she was busy. Tonight she was helping Beth and her parents make food for the village that night, and she couldn't stay with him. He was relieved for that, because he usually didn't have the heart to tell her to go away.

Midna sighed and looked down the trail again. "She seems nice enough though. From what I saw during your quest, she thinks a lot of you." Link smiled.

"Thanks… you ready?" Midna hesitated slightly but nodded taking his arm in hers and taking a slow breath. Link rolled his eyes. "So dramatic, Princess." She glared at him.

"I'm just-"

"Nervous? Don't be. It'll be fine, Midna." Midna narrowed her eyes. She was stubborn, defiant, and sometimes rude, and she knew that, but nervous? Oh ho no, he did NOT just go there. "Now," he continued. "If I'm any later, the village will never forgive me." As he turned to the village, something in a bush rustled.

"What was that?" Midna asked.

.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.

"I wonder where Link is," Ilia said, glancing in the direction of his house. "You said he'd be here, right Rusl?"

"He said he would. Perhaps he lost track of the time or the wolf ran off," Rusl said with a shrug. Ilia glared at him.

"And you're positive?" He nodded and put a piece of bread in his mouth. Ilia looked at her father and stood. "Well I'm going to go look for him."

"Ilia, quit smothering the boy," Bo said. She ignored him and took a long stride down the trail, away from the table with the villagers all sitting around it.

"Can I come?" Talo asked.

"No," Ilia called. "I'll be back in a minute." Bo sighed.

"What am I going to do with her?" Ilia stomped up the trail as fast as she could. It was unlike Link to be late, and she hated it when he was. She hoped he wasn't out riding Epona; the poor horse needed to rest after working on the farm. She continued walking, her mind set on finding the Hero, until she heard a voice coming from the clearing ahead. It was a voice she didn't recognize, high pitched and loud, giving off a definite sense of power. Curious, she crept up behind a bush and listened.

"Nervous? Don't be. It'll be fine, Midna." Ilia frowned. That was Link. But who was he talking to? "Now, if I'm any later, the village will never forgive me." As Ilia tried to lift her head up to see who Link was taking to, her hand brushed the leaves, making them rustle through the quiet.

"What was that?" Midna asked cautiously.

"Who's there?" Link called. His eye caught sight of something white through the dark green of the bush and he took a step towards it. Midna noticed it too. Ilia, realizing she had been seen, slowly stood and brushed her shirt and pants off. "Oh, it's Ilia." His voice held a slight tone of annoyance at the thought of someone eavesdropping on them, Ilia noticed. No matter.

"Hi Link," Ilia said, forcing a half-hearted smile onto her face as she looked at Midna.

"How long were you sitting there?" he questioned, completely ignoring the greeting.

"I just got here actually. We were wondering where you were because you never came." Link sighed and crossed his arms. "I see I've found you. And who is she?" She motioned to Midna with a hand. Link motioned for the Twili to join them.

"This is Midna. Midna, this is Ilia." Midna smiled warmly, forgetting to be nervous, hoping to make a good impression and stuck her hand out for a hand shake.

"Nice to finally meet you Ilia." Ilia, however, narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. Midna frowned slightly and put her hand back down. "Uh, Link's told me a lot about you." Well, it wasn't a total lie. She just knew Ilia from the quest, but she knew Ilia loved Epona and stuff like that.

"Well I haven't heard anything about you," she snapped. "Link?"

"She is the wolf from earlier," he explained. "But I met her during my quest. She… um, left for awhile afterwards." Ilia glared at them, feeling slightly betrayed.

"What exactly is she?" Midna couldn't help but look slightly offended, not necessarily at the question but at the tone in her voice when she asked it. This was not going too well.

"She isn't from here-"

"Obviously," Ilia snapped. "Get to the point!"

"… but you wouldn't know where she's from. She's from the Twilight Realm." Ilia looked at Midna and Link, who were towering over her, and she turned back to Ordon.

"Well the village is expecting you Link, so hurry up!" With that she ran back down the dirt trail angrily, her bare feet kicking dirt into the air with every step. Link sighed, looking after her.

"She's not happy," he said. "At least you tried, Midna." She nodded sadly. Link grabbed her hand and led her down to the village. "Well, I need to introduce you to everyone else now, yes?"

"I suppose…"

Link knew how Ilia felt about him. She'd told him many times, even when they were little, and he never hesitated to tell her he just didn't fancy her like she thought he did. She always thought he was kidding though and continued doing whatever it was she was doing. He had hoped maybe Ilia and Midna could get along, because it certainly would have made everyone's lives easier. Midna didn't need to be yelled at here after just leaving the Twilight Realm either.

Midna glanced at Link, who looked a bit pissed at Ilia.

"Ilia? Where are you going?" a voice called. That was Bo.

"I'm going home!" she snapped angrily.

"Ilia! Did you find him?" a voice asked. Midna recognized that as Talo's unmistakable loud voice. Talo didn't get a response from Ilia, who continued her rampage through Ordon Village to her house across the river at the end, near the farm, storming in and slamming the door behind her. The entire village fell into a sort of shocked silence, the kind no living person wants to be caught in. We walked out of the trail just then, but nobody noticed us. Link spoke up at least, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had the village in its cold grip.

"Yeah, she found me…" Everyone turned to look at him, and seeing Midna, sudden understanding flashed over their features, as if to say 'that explains so much.' "… and I don't think she's very happy about it."

"Link," Rusl said. "Is she why Ilia-"

"Yes, but she exploded on her own." Link gestured to Midna. "People of Ordon, this is Midna. Midna, this is Ordon Village." She glanced around, glad he didn't use her title. It probably would have made things more uncomfortable.

"Hi guys," was the brilliant greeting she came up with. She reprimanded herself mentally for suddenly acting nervous. Bo stood and walked up to the pair, gazing up at Midna. "I uh… I hope I didn't ruin everything you had planned," she continued. Bo smiled, and Link squeezed her hand.

"Miss Midna, you ruined nothing. I'm sorry if Ilia said anything to offend you. She tends to… overreact sometimes. In any case, welcome to Ordon."

"Thank you."

"Would you like to sit?" Bo asked.

"I'd like that, thank you," Midna said. Link led her to Ilia's and his spot at the table, across from Bo, and sat down. Now everyone except Ilia was present; Link and Midna, Bo, Fado, Rusl and Uli, their son Colin and daughter Rose, Pergie and Jaggle, their sons Malo and Talo, Hanch and Sera and their daughter Beth. Nobody touched their food, gazing at Midna curiously.

"So Midna," Rusl said, making conversation. "If you don't mind my asking, what are you?" Midna smiled, glad he didn't sound as rude as Ilia. Link sighed with relief at seeing Midna calm a bit.

"I'm not sure you know of my race, but I'm a Twili." Rusl nodded.

"So you are from the Twilight Realm?" Bo asked. The question startled both Link and Midna because very few people knew much of anything to do with the Mirror of Twilight, or Midna and her people for that matter. It was, more or less, a lost race to the Hylians and other races in Hyrule.

"Yes," Link answered finally. "How did you know? Not many people know of it."

"I know more than you give me credit for, lad!" Bo said. Nobody said anything for a moment before Bo continued. "But I heard the Mirror to your realm was broken somehow. How did you end up here?" Midna gazed at the mayor for a moment.

"It's… complicated. There was a small piece of the mirror itself that warped me here, but I soon found out about a curse among the Twili Tribes; wolf by day and Twili by night. It's why I was a wolf earlier, and Link didn't know until I changed back in front of him in Ordona's Spring." She was careful not to mention the true reason for returning, just to see Link again.

"Did you meet during the war?" Colin asked.

"Colin!" Rusl snapped.

"It's fine Rusl," Link said with a grin. "Yeah, I met her towards the very beginning actually, soon after we were kidnapped, though she didn't look quite like she does now." Midna punched his arm. "Ouch!"

"You certainly didn't look like yourself either, wolf boy!" she said.

"Wolf boy?" Bo asked curiously, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Do you remember that wall that closed off the road to Faron's Province?" Link asked.

"You mean the black one with all the designs on it and emitted an oddly calming aura?" Rusl asked. Link shrugged. "That thing still creeps me out when I think about it."

"Well," the hero continued, "in my state of half-consiciousness, considering I was bludgeoned in the head, (that's beside the point), I was dragged into it. It was literally the Twilight Realm, only in Hyrule. Most who are exposed to pure Twilight become spirits, unknowing to what is happening around them, but I became a wolf. I woke up about three days later in a cell, when she appeared and helped me escape."

"You still owe me," she mumbled. Link rolled his eyes.

"Riiiiight, okay Midna. And what of me running non-stop for an hour to Hyrule Castle to see Zelda when you were dying on my back?"

"You would have saved me anyways," she said, lifting her chin. "You needed my help."

"… you're right, but still."

"So you admit it!" Midna cried.

"Nope," Link responded.

"So you've been a wolf before too, then?" Talo asked, cutting in. The pair stopped bickering and looked at the child for a moment. "That's so COOL! What does it feel like? How different is it? What color was your fur? What did you eat?

"Talo!" Jaggle said. "Slow down and let them answer."

"It's definitely a change," Midna said.

"But you get used to it quickly," Link added. "It begins to feel natural. You almost feel powerful, turning into an animal like that." Talo smiled.

"I wish I was a wolf…"

"You asked what color his fur was?" Talo nodded vigorously. The rest of the villagers looked thoroughly interested as well, with the exception of Malo who had his usual bored expression on his chubby face. "He was silver, and he had a design on his forehead. Even his earrings morphed with him."

"Earrings on a wolf," Link muttered, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Must have been strange to see that."

"I'm sure you weren't thinking about it at the time. Too busy worrying over your quest I'm sure." Uli said. Link nodded. It was silent for a moment, wind high above rustling the trees as it picked up. The stars flickered in the sky like fireflies, blinking in and out of view almost too quickly to actually see. The sky was inky black, the moon not yet within our line of sight. Finally, Bo stood.

"I think we should all hit the hay. Midna, it was a pleasure to meet you." He winked at Link, who blushed.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Uli asked. "We have an extra bed, if you'd like." Midna looked at Link a moment, who blushed harder and looked at the ground. Midna couldn't imagine why. It wasn't THAT awkward if you thought about it. Eh, he was a boy.

"I was going to Link's actually, who kindly offered before. Thank you though." Uli nodded and stood, ushering Colin back to their house. Soon only Link and Midna were left. "Let's go, Wolfie. I want to talk to you."

.:. .:. .:. .:. .:.

Sweet. Merciful. Din. 0_o Guys, I'm sooooo sorry about this boring chapter. It's half-assed and stupid and boring and… I don't need to go on. I've had MAJOR writer's block to mix with a broken collar bone, and the two DO NOT mix well. I probably wrote and rewrote this chapter twenty times if not more, and it just got worse and worse. Finally, I just wanted to get this little bit over with. I'm sorry if I disappointed you.

Here, you all get cookies and llamas! *throws llamas and various cookies* I promise I'll have the next chapter up by Sunday since Spring Break is coming up. Yay! More writing time!