Silent Hero: a tribute to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda Read online

Chapter 2

  Timeless Maiden

  She was tall, graceful, her curves not overly defined, yet just enough to tempt even the sweetest, most naive gentleman. A long black skirt with elegant white swirls stitched from finest silk trailed nearly to the ground; slits on either side revealed her long, lithe legs nearly up to her waist. Her black blouse covered young, round breasts but showed her lean, flat stomach. Every visible inch of her skin—from feet, hips, stomach, arms, face—glistened a faint silver-gray, as if she was made of moondust.

   Her face itself was loveliest of all, long and angular like her nose, signs of deep intelligence and wisdom. The crimson embers of her eyes matched her fiery hair which was parted in half and braided, both braids pulled to the front and tied with a golden ribbon against her heart. A dark cloak and hood with elegant turquoise designs adorned her slender shoulders, and orange ribbons were woven in her fiery hair.

  She studied him intensely at first. While part of him felt unease, wanting to look away, the other part could only stare spellbound.

  After a time, her eyes began to soften, dancing playfully.

  A smirk lighted her dark silver-blue lips. Eyes sparkling with an impish delight, she lifted her head a little and said, “What? Am I still so beautiful you’ve nothing left to say?”

  He opened his mouth, as if the power of her beauty must grant some magic enabling him to speak, to offer some compliment or reverence towards her. He knew her from the legends of old: Midna, princess of the Twilight Realm. But he could not know her as she wished him to....

  The longer he stood there, gazing deep into her eyes with apology and longing, clouds began to veil the crimson flames of her eyes; a frown pulled at the corners of her lips, until she said quietly,

  “Oh...I forget how swiftly time passes in your world. Shadows are constant, only changing with the light. But light itself is ever changing, growing and bringing about new life....

  “You truly are not my Link.”

  Even as her face fell, his heart plummeted. He could feel it as poignantly as the sword digging deep inside him. Its sharp edges would have grazed him for disappointing so lovely a lady, but now, her words pressed the wound ten times deeper, scarcely missing his heart. He was no Hero, certainly not her own. He knew this too well.

  “But...”

  In her eyes glistened a sad longing, digging his wound just a little deeper, yet granting a fraction of hope.

  “...you share a part of his spirit. Or perhaps even all of it.”

  He glanced away, not quite able to hide a small smirk. An unworthy compliment, but one he could not help but revel in the mere imagining of.

  “So...I hope this doesn’t come out entirely rude, but...can you really not speak? Not a word?”

  Glancing back up, he noted the sincere curiosity glimmering in her eyes. No hint of mockery within, though no pity as well. Good. He desired neither. Raising his head a little, he nodded.

  “Well....” She smirked. Mischief played in her eyes. He couldn’t help smiling as her grin flashed so white and perfect, like a long-sought-after pearl. “Perhaps that is for the best, as I’ve much to tell you. I shall be needing a quiet listener more than a rambunctious conversationalist. The old Link, he always was a good listener. Of course, he was also a hairy, flea-bitten mutt most of the time I knew him, at least when in the confines of my shadowy Twilight Realm....”

  Her smirk grew into an impish grin, though the glimmer in her eyes promised love in the insult. He listened raptly as she continued,

  “We’ve a long journey ahead of us. But first, there are many important things I must explain. Will you sit with me?”

  Link nodded eagerly. He waited for her to choose a spot, and as she leaned against one of the lofty trees, he joined her beneath its shade.

  He took a moment to glance back at the Mirror. So many questions and curiosities buzzed inside his head. He’d heard so much of the Mirror, of Twilight, of Twilight’s Princess, Midna, and how she once helped one of the Links of legend save both her realm and his realm of Hyrule. And now, she sat next to him. In the flesh. Heart pumping, he turned his gaze back to her.

  She looked at him questioningly. He nodded, ascertaining his readiness. Slowing their pace just a little, Midna took a deep breath and began her tale.