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  hero's love and let her kingdom be destroyed, or she would reject him and save all of their lives. There was no middle road, no way out. This was what it all came down

  to. For the briefest moment, she glanced over to Verona once more, who smiled darkly and nodded, as if instructing her to hammer the last nail in the coffin.

  "Convince me…"

  "I… I do not…" the queen said, her voice almost inaudible as she waged a war against her pressing tears.

  "W-what?" the hero asked brokenly, as if he had not comprehended what she had said, even though he certainly did.

  Her eyes were sparkling with hidden tears as she looked up to him, watching as the first tear began to stream down his own cheek, her heart aching more than it ever

  had before. "I do not love you…" she said slowly, her tone empty and icy as she felt her heart finally crumble completely.

  Link finally ripped his gaze away from her, his expression shocked and absolutely heartbroken. As much as he didn't want to believe it to be true, the words had come

  from her own mouth, her azure eyes bearing into his as she had said it. Every fiber of his soul felt as though it had been instantly crushed, broken apart so that there was

  nothing left now save for grief. He had loved her, he had openly and honestly loved her in the deepest way he knew how, but she felt nothing but apathy and indifference

  for him. She had been his first and only love, and yet she wanted nothing to do with him. He had been willing to give up everything, including his life, for her, but she denied

  and rejected him the simple pleasure of being with her. He had thrown his heart out to her, and she did not simply throw it back. She had destroyed it completely.

  Zelda barley heard his soft sob, one that he had been unable to hold back as the tears of anguish streamed down from his grey eyes. He had never felt so absolutely

  devastated before, as even the pain of Midna leaving as she had all those months ago paled in comparison to the pain he was feeling now. But it was only as he looked

  towards the queen again that the hero realized that he could not bear to spend another moment in her presence, for even looking at her was a reminder of all he had

  wanted, but would now never get to have.

  The queen watched with despair as Link quickly turned and hurriedly rushed out of the room, not even sparing a final word or glance at her as his tears continued to

  steadily flow. She was so caught up in her own grief and guilt for what she had just done that she barely even noticed the thin trail of ice streaming after him, which quickly

  vanished once he had left. However, before Zelda could allow herself to fall into her own sorrow, she was quickly met with the harsh reaction of the Twilight Princess, who,

  the moment the hero was gone, had hastily glided out of his show to give the queen a piece of her mind in light of what had just happened.

  With a burning glare, Midna glided in close to Zelda, but before the queen could even utter a word to defend herself, the Twilight Princess was already shouting in absolute

  fury. "I can't believe you!" she hissed angrily, appalled that the queen would hurt the hero in such a way. "He sacrificed so much for you. He saved your kingdom, your life,

  and he was willing to do it all over again, and this is how you repay him?! All he wanted was for you to return is affections just a little bit, but you couldn't even do that!"

  "Midna, you do not understand, I-" Zelda began to explain herself, but she abruptly stopped short upon seeing Verona slightly step out of the shadows, prepared to enact

  her vile promise if the queen said anything at all. And so, Zelda kept her act up, even though the only thing she wanted to do at the moment was break down into tears

  herself. "It is as I told Link: a relationship between the two of us simply would not have worked."

  "That's because you didn't even want to give it a chance!" the Twilight Princess exclaimed, her small fists clenched tightly. "You blew him off just because you think you're

  better than him, but you should know that someone like him could do a lot better than you, 'your highness'."

  Midna's biting words certainly stung and Zelda knew that there was some truth to them. In light of the horrible deed she had just done, Link certainly could do better than

  her, at the very least by finding someone who wouldn't lie to him as she had. "Midna, we are in a time of war," the queen said as stoically as possible. "He should know

  better than to indulge such flights of fancy."

  "He should know better?!" the Twilight Princess scoffed in disbelief. "You know, Zelda, when you sacrificed yourself for me, I thought you were a good person. But now, it

  looks like I couldn't have been any more wrong. You should feel ashamed of yourself for what you've done to him."

  I am… Zelda's heart cried, knowing that her guilt was insurmountable, but she merely glanced away from Midna, turning to the darkened windows instead as she gave the

  Twilight Princess the unspoken command to leave. Though Midna was still enraged, she knew that there was no breaking through the queen's icy exterior, especially since

  the hero, who could usually break through to anyone, no matter how frigid, had not even been able to.

  "Good luck trying to take on Verona by yourself," the Twilight Princess said coldly as she turned and prepared to leave. "You won't see me or Link hanging around to help

  you."

  With one last scoff of distain, Midna used her hair to slam the door shut brutally, finally leaving Zelda alone in the cold, lonely darkness of her chamber. No longer obligated

  to remain unfeeling and distant, the queen finally let her pressing sobs forth, heavy tears of heartbreak streaming down her cheeks in mourning of the love that she had

  willingly given up. She had wanted that love so badly, and yet she had thrown it away so quickly, and try as she might to blame the Queen of Shadows for her pain and

  sorrow, she knew she had only herself to blame.

  Zelda was still wrapped up in her absolute misery as she heard Verona's sinister laugh of triumph from behind her, and yet the devastated queen did not turn to face the

  foe who had forced her into this. But even so, the Queen of Shadow's dark grin deepened as she watched the queen pour out her sorrows, knowing that just on the other

  side of the chamber door, the hero was doing the very same. "Well done, Zelda…" Verona cooed mockingly before she vanished, leaving Zelda to wallow in her endless

  pain for she knew that at long last, the strong bond between the Blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero had been severed. "I can't thank you enough for your

  help…"

  Midna was still fuming as slammed the door to the queen's chamber, making her anger towards her quite known as much as her heated words had. The Twilight Princess

  was absolutely appalled at how coldly Zelda had treated Link, completely denying his honest, devoted affections for her and sending him away without so much as a single

  apology or second thought. The hero had done so much for the queen and her kingdom, and yet she merely cast him aside all because of their varying social statuses and

  little else. Midna knew that if she had been in Zelda's position, she never would have turned Link down so hastily, but would have instead accepted him with kindness and

  open arms, for the Twilight Princess knew that there were very few souls in the land of Hyrule as noble and worthy as his.

  However, as Midna turned to head down the stairs of the tower to see where Link had run off to, she found that she didn't have to look too far. The hero was sitting

  against the stone wall right outside the door, his knees pulled to his chest and his face buried in them. He refused to look up even as the Twilight Princess came out of the

  chamber, something that worried Midna from the very start. She didn't even have to ask herself whether or not he was crying, for she already knew that he was in


  absolute despair due to the fact that the immediate area surrounding him was frozen over in a sheet of thick ice, a sign that his agony was deep and heavy. As Midna

  silently watched Link for a moment, she could hear his soft, heartbroken sobs, and her anger towards Zelda was immediately replaced with deep sympathy for him. She

  knew that being rejected in the way that he had must have been crushing, especially since this was the first time he had ever had such feelings for anyone. And, knowing

  that she could not leave the hero alone to grieve in such a devastated state, the Twilight Princess glided down to his level, gently placing her hand on his shoulder as she

  tried to comfort him in any way she could.

  "Link?" she asked softly, her voice little more than an almost timid whisper as she shivered from the freezing aura surrounding him. "Are… are you alright?"

  The hero simply shook his head despondently, not even bothering to glance up at her as he continued to pour his grief out, since he was unable to do anything else at the

  moment. He wasn't one to cry often, but he was unable to hold is tears of heartache in as he realized that he had just lost the only love he had ever had. Link had been

  so certain that Zelda had felt the same way about him; after all, she had certainly acted like she did during the time that they had spent together during their coronation,

  showing kindness and care towards him openly and freely. And yet, when they had kissed at the coronation, even though it had been blissful and fulfilling for him, she had

  ultimately been the one who had pulled back, claiming that they were taking things too fast. And perhaps they had been, but he had at least believed that she had liked

  him at the very least, even if she didn't love him yet. But from how she had spoken, it seemed as though she wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever, nor did she even

  want his aid in freeing Hyrule from the darkness that covered it now, despite the fact that he had been instrumental in doing so during the Twilight Invasion. But even so,

  the only thing that Link could really focus on was the crushing pain he was going through, so unlike any agony he had endured before. He had taken so many blows and

  had bled so much in the past, and yet physical anguish was nothing compared to what he was going through now, an immense, immeasurable kind of grief that seemed

  as though it would never end.

  Midna took in a deep breath upon seeing that Link was unresponsive. She knew well that she wasn't the most tender or gentle person, and that her usual sarcasm and wit

  would do little to console the hurting hero now, but she decided to try her best anyway. "Hey," the Twilight Princess said, placing both of her hands on his shoulders as she

  did her best to ignore the continuing cold around him. "Come on, little wolf. It's time to get going."

  Link didn't respond to her once again, and though Midna was trying her best to be patient with him, she couldn't help but let out a small sigh of aggravation as she

  continued to press on. "Link, get up," she said, her tone not as soft as it had been before as she took her hands off him. "We can't stay here for too long. Verona's bound

  to find us sooner or later."

  The hero finally went still and rigid upon hearing this, his shoulders stiffening as he slowly lifted his head, allowing the Twilight Princess to see that his cheeks were still

  stained with tears, his expression marked with both grief as well as anger. "What?" he asked pointedly in a voice that was so quiet it was almost a whisper.

  Midna subtly glided a bit backwards away from him upon hearing the strange, sudden hostility in his tone. "Uh… I… I said we need to go…" she said hesitantly. "We still

  have to find a way to stop Verona, regardless of whether Zelda wants our help or not."

  For what seemed like ages, Link simply stared up at Midna in complete disbelief, shaking his head as he finally rose to stand, the ice converging around him on the ground

  still not disappearing. "What does it even matter anymore?" he asked coldly, the bitterness in his tone clear. "Who cares what Verona does or what happens to Zelda? She

  didn't want us to do anything, so we might as well let her handle this on her own if she thinks she can. If she doesn't need me… then I don't need her."

  The Twilight Princess frowned at hearing this as the hero simply closed his eyes and pushed his way passed her, his pace resolved yet not as confident as is usually was.

  "Link, wait," Midna said, hurrying after him as she floated alongside him, noticing that ice was trailing on the ground behind him even still, even though his hand was

  beginning to glow red. "We can't just do nothing. You know as well as I do that we still have to defeat Verona, not for Zelda's sake, but for Hyrule, for the Twilight Realm.

  Please… if for nothing else, then… then at least do it for me…"

  Link stopped heading down the staircase and simply looked down for the longest time, the controlled anger in his eyes ebbing away into pain once again. Midna noticed

  this as she glided in front of him, gently placing her small hand against the side of his face in a comforting gesture. "Do… do you want to talk about it?" she asked, her

  voice a solemn whisper.

  The hero began to shake his head before the tears started streaming down his cheeks again, no matter how hard he tried to suppress them. "Midna… I… I don't

  understand…" he said brokenly, the sheer devastation in his tone almost driving the Twilight Princess to tears as well. "How could she do this to me? I thought she felt the

  same way… I guess I should have known better. I was so stupid to think that things could have ever worked out between us!"

  "Link, no," Midna said firmly, noticing that he was becoming even more distraught with each passing moment. "This is not your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself for this

  for even a moment. Zelda's the stupid one here, not you. She too blind to realize just how special you are, but you know what I think? I think you're the one who's too

  good for her, royalty or not. And don't you ever forget that."

  Normally, such reassurance would have comforted Link, and yet even these kind words did little to help heal the heavy wound that the queen had left upon his heart.

  When it came right down to it, she had rejected him because they were far too different to ever really be compatible. She was the high queen of Hyrule, and he was

  nothing more than a nameless peasant. They never would have been able to be together, and yet a small part of the hero had held onto that small glimmer of hope that it

  could have worked. And yet, that hope had been completely shattered the moment Zelda had denied him of the love he had been so willing to give her. Link felt as though

  nothing could fill the heavy hole that had been burned deep inside his heart because of the queen, a hole that should have been filled with love, but now only held

  emptiness.

  Midna noticed that the hero was being unresponsive again, and though she normally would have been aggravated by this, she couldn't help but be worried by it now. Link

  certainly wasn't acting his upbeat usual self in light of what had just happened, and while the Twilight Princess certainly couldn't blame him for needing time to heal and

  cope, she hoped that this change would not last for too long. "Link?" she pressed, wishing that she could somehow break him out of his lingering despondency.

  The hero simply closed his eyes tightly, clenching his fists at his sides as he began to move onward once more, forcing his tears to stop. "Let's just go," he said dryly,

  letting out a heavy sigh as he moved on ahead.

  Midna frowned as she paused and watched him go, realizing that her attempts to comfort him were futile. "All right, fine," she said with a huff of disappointment. "We'll

  just go back to Ordon and figure out what to do from there…" Without another word, the Twilight Princess tu
cked herself away into Link's shadow as they went on their

  way, muttering her last statement to herself as she shivered in the freezing cold still clustered around him. "And maybe we'll figure out a way to thaw that frozen heart of

  yours too…"

  A stated silence lingered between Link and Midna as they passed through the still-silent halls of the castle, a thin layer of ice flowing out behind them with each step the

  hero took. The Twilight Princess was surprised that the ice was still coming just as it had been ever since they had left Zelda, but she knew better than to try and demand

  Link to make it stop in the fragile emotional state he was in. The hero paid no mind to it as he simply walked at a steady pace, his eyes meeting only the ground straight

  ahead of him and his expression as forlorn and miserable as before. All the while, Midna desperately wanted to say something to him, but she had no idea what. After all,

  the only way he had been refuting her attempts of breaking through to him were with bitterness and aloofness, attitudes that were so unlike him but it only made sense

  that he was using them as a defense mechanism now.

  However, before the Twilight Princess could even attempt to do so, she suddenly caught onto the sound of approaching footsteps from somewhere behind the hero.

  Though her line of sight was somewhat limited since she was in the shadows, she managed to stay within them as she looked back and saw something that Link was

  unaware of. A group of about ten castle guards were quickly making their way down the once-empty hall, marching towards the hero hurriedly and intentionally, their

  spears and swords already prepared.

  "Um, Link?" Midna whispered nervously, wondering where the soldiers could have come from since the castle had seemed deserted earlier. Before she could warn Link of

  the possible conflict however, she was cut off by one of the soldiers as they finally stopped several feet behind him.

  "Halt!" one of the guards called out, holding his spear out as the hero, surprisingly enough, stopped, though he didn't turn around to face any of them. Instead, he simply

  remained still, waiting to hear whatever they had to say, even if he didn't really care.