The Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: Real Courage 2: Dark Mirror ❯ Chapter Twenty-Three: The Twilight Realm ( Chapter 23 )

The first thing Lila noticed was pain. she had numerous cuts on her body and an ache lingered in her head. The cuts were from her fight with Link, she remembered. Then she recalled the last moments before she passed out.

She gasped and sat bolt upright. Rova was Kotake and Koume. How could that be? Lila had defeated the witches days ago! (Was it really only days?) Sitting up made her head spin and she closed her eyes, hand to her head. A groan escaped her.

She heard moaning by her side and peered around. Link was sitting up beside her, shaking his head.

“See,” he said, “she’s evil.”

“Where are we?” Lila asked. She took this time to look around her surroundings. Everything was bathed in an amber light, as though it was twilight. Flecks of gold and black danced in the air, although she felt nothing when they touched her.

They seemed to be within a set of ruins. Black columns crumbled in a wide circle around them. They were sitting on a square platform. On one end were steps leading down. On the other end, curved rock stretched, broken, to either side. Shards of glass were stuck in a crack, suggesting the rock once held something.

“Rova said something about the Twilight Realm,” Link said. “This sure looks like twilight.”

Lila nodded. “Yeah, it does.” She stood up, dusting off her clothes. More shards of glass cut her hands. “There’s glass everywhere,” she said. “What happened here?”

“This is where we said goodbye.”

Lila and Link spun around to see a woman coming up the steps. Portions of her body were shrouded in black, while the other half of her skin was an eery blue. She wore a slanted skirt that showed off tattoos on her right leg and a long black headdress. Her hair and eyes were sunset orange. She was taller than any Hylian. As she approached them, she walked with a serene grace that radiated royal power.

“Who are you?” Link asked.

“Don’t you remember me, Link?” the woman asked. “Ah, but I see you’re not the Link I once knew.”

“You knew one of our past lives?” Lila asked.

The woman looked at her with a curious smile. “Yes, I think so. Time moves differently here. You both look so much like him. The Hero of Twilight, they called him.”

“That was a hundred years ago,” Lila gasped.

“Like I said, time moves differently here. I wonder, do you know my name?”

Lila and Link looked at each other and then shook their heads.

“Should we?” Lila asked.

“I guess not,” the woman said. “I am Midna, queen of the Twili.” She giggled, a surprising sound from someone so noble. “It’s nice to meet you again.”

“I’m Lila, and, as you guessed, that’s Link. Um, can you help us get home?”

Midna sighed. “You won’t stay for a visit?”

“I’m sorry,” Lila said, “we have work that needs to be done, as soon as possible.”

“Well,” Midna said, “I’ll be honest. I thought the doorway between our worlds had been closed forever. Can you tell me how you came to be here?”

“It was a witch named Rova,” Link said. “She had a magic staff and a shard of a mirror. I don’t know any more than that.”

“I think she chanted something,” Lila added.

Midna put a hand to her chin in thought. Lila felt uneasy in the silence. What if there was no way home? She had to get back. She had to make sure Zale was okay. Oh, Zale…

Lila must have groaned because Midna looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Zale…” Lila said quietly. “The king of Hyrule. We… we just got engaged. I have to get back to him. He’s… he was gravely injured.” She glanced at Link who looked to the ground.

Midna either didn’t notice or ignored the exchange. She rested a hand on Lila’s shoulder and smiled. “I think I’ll be able to get you back to him.”

Lila looked up at her hopefully. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Midna replied. “As you noticed before, there’s a lot of glass around here. Fragments of the mirror that opened the doorway between our worlds. I might be able to use my magic to restore the fragments long enough for you to cross through.”

Lila clapped her hands. “I hope so!”

“Stand back,” Midna instructed.

After Lila and Link stepped off of the platform, Midna raised her arms as though in supplication. Slowly, flecks of glass floated from the ground. The shards flew toward each other, forming a disc where they once resided. The new mirror shimmered in the twilight air as each tiny piece rotated in place. The mirror grew black with intricate white lines creating a magnificent pattern. The Triforce was displayed prominently in the center.

“It’s beautiful,” Lila said.

“Hurry, it won’t last long,” Midna said through a strained voice.

“Come on,” Link said, pulling Lila along. The two stood in front of the mirror, or doorway.

Lila took one last look at Midna and said, “Thank you.”

“Goodbye,” Midna said with a tear in her eye.

The doorway pulled Lila and Link through back to their own world. As soon as they were gone, Midna dropped her arms and the mirror fell.

“I’ll have to do something about this,” she said to herself.