Favorable side Page 20

  her hair to shove them open, slipping through them along with Link before they were even fully ajar.

  "Listen, Link," the Twilight Princess said as her and the hero stopped in the empty walkway leading up to the castle. "I'm going to hide in your shadow until we get out of

  town, ok? Will you be all right on your own?"

  "Yeah…" Link said breathlessly. "I won't let them catch me, I promise."

  "Stop promising things, ok?" Midna asked with a sigh. "You always stress me out whenever you do."

  The hero couldn't help but smile at this for perhaps the first time since his meeting with the queen, something that warmed the Twili imp's heart immensely as she quickly

  melted into his shadow, allowing him to continue onward at a quickened pace. Link took in a deep breath as he entered into the still-busy streets of Castle Town, though

  thankfully he went unnoticed by the townsfolk as they went about their business, even despite the fact that their nerves were still getting to them. How strange it was to

  think that just a few hours ago, the hero had been in this very same place, uninjured, not on the run, and still believing that Zelda actually cared for him, and yet

  everything had changed so quickly that Link was having a hard time keeping up with it all.

  The hero had scarcely taken a few steps into the town square before a hand suddenly grabbed him by his armored shoulder. With a startled gasp, Link spun around to see

  that the group of about fifteen or so guards had caught up with him all too quickly. The hero was quick to pull himself out of their grip and back away, his heart racing as

  he took in their outraged expressions, their weapons more than ready to do whatever it took to take him into their custody.

  "Please," Link tried once more to calmly reason with them, knowing that using his powers in the midst of so many people would cause an absolute uproar. Already several

  of the townsfolk had taken notice of the situation and stopped to watch, recognizing the renowned Hero of Twilight and wondering what the castle guards could possibly

  want with him. "Just let me go. If you do, then I promise that I'll never come back if that's what Zelda wants."

  "But that's not what she wants," one of the guards said firmly, his spear getting even closer to the hero. "All she wants is to see you captured and locked away in the

  dungeons, and that's exactly what we're going to do!"

  Without another word, the guard thrust his spear out with the intention of digging it even deeper into Link's side. However, in his desperation to not get caught, the hero

  clenched his fists and thrust his hands forward, forgetting about his resolve to conceal his powers as he let his rage burn forth. "Stop!" he shouted firmly and loudly as he

  let the fire shoot out of his hand, only retracting it as the burst of flame actually struck one of the guards and knocked him to the ground. The soldier let out a cry of

  agony as the fire burned him quite badly, though it was quickly doused with the help of a few of his comrades.

  All of the nearby townsfolk immediately stopped upon seeing this, and all at once, all eyes were on the hero, who was completely taken aback by what he had just done.

  He had not meant to hurt any of the soldiers, despite the fact that they had injured him, but the fact that he had suddenly terrified him. Link quickly glanced behind him as

  the townspeople clustered together in a nervous gathering, their tense whispers hushed as they all stared at him in wide-eyed fear.

  "Regardless of what the queen wants to capture you for, it's clear now that you are guilty of another crime, Hero of Twilight," another guard said, clearly provoked after

  seeing one of his peers go down. "Sorcery."

  The frightened murmurs of the crowd intensified as almost everyone took a large step back away from the hero, who was frozen in place himself as he tried to cope with

  what was happening. "For the sake and safety of this kingdom," the guard went on, continuing to approach Link as he backed away nervously. "You must be apprehended

  before you bring any more destruction and death upon it."

  The stunned hero continued to move back away from the soldier's sword as he glanced around, already catching onto what some of the citizens were whispering about

  him. "The hero can use magic?", "Didn't you see! It was dark magic! He shot fire out of his hands!", "Sorcery!? He must be stopped immediately!"

  Unable to come up with anything to say in his defense to any of them, Link simply shook his head as he continued to move back, until he backed up into the fountain in

  the center of town. And, as he placed his hands against the rim of it, his sudden despair at such cold accusations came out in the form of a thick, fast-moving sheet of ice,

  which shot out of his hands and encased the fountain entirely, including its centerpiece: a stone effigy of the crest of the royal family. The ice continued to spiral out from

  the fountain in dangerous spikes which towered high into the air. The hero gasped in shock when he saw them, quickly taking his hands away from the fountain, even

  though a layer of ice continued to converge on the ground around him.

  Several frightened screams went up from the crowd as this was happening, and several people even ran from the square entirely out of sheer fear. From the shadows,

  Midna watched the entire scene worriedly, knowing that Link was absolutely distraught and certainly had no control over his powers whatsoever at the moment, but she

  did not come out to aid him, lest she make the situation even worse for him by her mere appearance.

  "He's so powerful!" one of the townspeople shouted in horror.

  "He's destructive!" another person cried. "He'll burn the castle to the ground and freeze the entire kingdom solid!"

  "Just surrender already, hero," one of the guards said to Link, though a few of them had retreated back upon seeing the ice. "You're only making things harder for

  yourself."

  The hero shook his head silently once more as he glanced down at his hands realizing that they were glowing green now, most likely because he was admittedly afraid. He

  was afraid of being captured and imprisoned against his will, he was afraid of how the people were seeing him in light of his powers, he was afraid of dying from his

  pressing injury, and he was afraid of his completely uncontrollable powers. And as this fear continued to grow inside of him, it suddenly became apparent to all when an

  incredibly strong, very fast whirlwind began to circle around him, blowing the guards away from him and roughly sending most of them into the nearest inner wall of the

  town. Link remained frozen in place as he looked at the spiraling vortex of wind he had trapped himself within, his heart racing even though he was desperately trying to

  stop it, desperately tried to regain control in any way he possibly could.

  After about a moment or two, the hero managed to somehow calm the winds down enough, even though a frigid gale was still blowing through the town as the people all

  stared silently at him in awe and fear. And before he could try to say anything to them, their loud cries of accusation towards him had already begun.

  "He's a monster! He'll kill us all with his dark magic!"

  "I bet he plans on using his wicked sorcery to attack the queen and steal the crown!"

  "We should have known he was nothing more than a demon all along!"

  "Someone has to stop him! He'll destroy the entire kingdom!"

  Upon hearing all of this, Link finally snapped out of his stunned state and turned to face the terrorized townsfolk, all of them letting out a collective gasp of fear as he did

  so. "Please, calm down," he said as loudly as he could manage, commanding both himself and the people to do so. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

  "If that's the case, then why were the soldiers chasing after you?!" one bold citizen called out angrily.

&n
bsp; "He must be planning to go after Queen Zelda!" another citizen cried. "Why else would he get in good with her just a few days before her coronation?!"

  The hero was surprised that the common people of Castle Town knew so much about the comradery him and the queen used to have, but that was the least of his

  worries at the moment. "No!" he protested, though he knew the crowd was already caught up in their wild mob mentality. "All I want is to-"

  "Enough!" one person shouted rigidly. "We don't care what you have to say, monster! We will never let you hurt the queen! Get him!"

  The crowd immediately let out a loud shout in response to this, as many of them began to press with way towards Link. Overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, the

  hero tried one last time to call some sense to the frenzied people, even though his voice was drowned out by their outraged cries. "Please, just stay away!" he shouted,

  clenching his fists tightly to try and block his magic so he wouldn't hurt anyone unintentionally.

  "Link!" Midna shouted from his shadow upon seeing that his appeal wasn't working. "Let's just go!"

  "But Midna, I-" Link began to say, wanting to convince these people that he was not the monster they believed him to be, but he was quickly cut off by the Twilight

  Princess.

  "Go!" she shouted demandingly, and this time, the hero did listen, especially as he remembered the wound in his side. Giving one last dismayed glance to the people who

  once saw him as their honored hero, Link threw his hand up, hoping that his grief over his newly-ruined reputation would aid him. And for once, it did as he managed to

  create a wall of ice between him and the people, tall enough so that they could not climb over it, and wide enough so that it blocked the western exit of town, allowing the

  hero to make a clear get away. Even though he could hear the infuriated shouts and accusations of the townsfolk as he ran out, he simply ignored them as he made it to

  the outer stables, which were fortunately empty and where Epona was waiting for him. Link quickly mounted her and prepared to leave the town once and for all, but not

  before giving one last glance back to the town and the castle, realizing with despair that he had lost not only the love of the queen that he thought he had, but also the

  respect of the very people he had saved all at once.

  The hero guided his horse into a steady gallop away from the town, not bothering to look back again. When they were finally miles away from the city and into the open

  fields, Midna emerged from Link's shadow once more, noticing that he did not slow Epona's pace down for a moment. And as the Twilight Princess came to glide beside

  the hero, she soon realized why. His eyes were shut tightly as he sat huddled low against Epona, tears clearly streaming down his cheeks and the shame on his face clear

  to see.

  "Link…" Midna said somewhat quietly, her heart breaking for him in light of everything he had just been through. "Are you ok?"

  Link kept his eyes shut as he suppressed a sob of misery, simply shaking his head in response to her question. The Twilight Princess let out a sigh as she frowned at him,

  knowing that being criticized and feared by such a large group of people certainly must have hurt him a great deal, perhaps even more than Zelda's rejection had. "Why

  don't we take a break for the night, huh?" Midna asked gently, placing her hand on his shoulder as she glided alongside him. "I know your wound needs tending to, but

  you'll never make it to Ordon in the shape you're in now. Maybe a good night's rest is exactly what you need to take your mind of things…"

  The hero only nodded dully in agreement with this, not really thinking too much of it as he slowed Epona's pace down far enough away from Castle Town so that if the

  guards really did intend to continue perusing him, they wouldn't be able to find him easily. Midna frowned as she watched Link simply stand near Epona's side and stroke

  her gently, not bothering to build a fire since the cold didn't bother him thanks to his powers.

  "Um… aren't you going to set up camp or something?" the Twilight Princess asked a bit hesitantly, knowing that being exposed to the elements in the condition he was in

  could be quite dangerous.

  Link responded only with a shrug, not even turning around to face her as he kept his sights set only on Epona, finding simple solace in the fact that at least his loyal horse

  did not view him any differently now. Midna grew even more worried for him as she glided around to the other side of the horse, her heart sinking as he averted her gaze

  entirely.

  "Link…" the Twilight Princess began anxiously. "I… I know you went through a lot back there, but things are going to be ok, I promise. It's over now."

  "Over?" Link finally spoke up, giving Midna a look of complete disbelief. "I don't think you get it, Midna. This will never be over! As long as I have these powers, I'll never

  belong anywhere! Not in Castle Town, not in Ordon, maybe not even in Hyrule at all!"

  "Link!" Midna exclaimed in shock that he would even say such a thing. "Don't say things like that! You know that's not true!"

  "Come on, Midna," the hero said bitterly, the shame in his voice clear. "You saw how they reacted back there! They were terrified of me!"

  "No," the Twilight Princess said firmly. "They were terrified of your powers. There's a big difference."

  "I don't see any difference," Link said with a distraught sigh, turning away from her. "It's obvious I can't control them, no matter how hard I try! I nearly burnt one of

  those soldiers alive, Midna! Don't you see?! They were right back there! I… I really am a monster…"

  "Link, no!" Midna exclaimed in both anger and pity, gliding in closer to him as she placed her hand against the side of his face, even though he tried to retract away from

  her. "You are not a monster! You're still the hero I know you are, powers or no powers, and nothing can ever change that."

  "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Midna," the hero said, shaking his head morosely as tears welling up in his eyes once more. "But… I'm just not the same anymore…

  Even Zelda doesn't want me to help save Hyrule and while I hate to admit it, can you honestly blame her? I wouldn't trust myself to cause anything but destruction

  anymore either…"

  "Oh, Link…" the Twilight Princess said with deep sympathy, wishing that she could take this heavy burden off his shoulders as he finally let his tears go. However, as she

  looked into his grieved face, she noticed something she hadn't before. The hero managed to catch unto the strange look she was giving him, but only watched as she

  conjured up a mirror to appear before him once more, allowing him to see what she had seen. It took Link a moment to catch sight of it, but his eyes widened when he

  saw the dimly glowing jagged teal lines sparsely marking his face, similar to the ones Midna bore on her arms. The hero stared at them in shock for a long moment,

  gingerly placing his fingertips against them as he traced along them.

  "What… what are these?" Link asked worriedly, realizing that they threw his appearance off even more than his dull grey eyes did.

  "They look like Twili markings…" Midna mused in clear confusion. "But that doesn't make any sense… Only my people have them. It must be an aftereffect of Verona's

  curse…"

  The hero continued to stare at his reflection for a moment longer, before quickly glancing away, knowing that these new markings only made his look even more like the

  monster the townspeople had claimed him to be. And, based on everything that had happened, Link was starting to believe that it was actually true as well. "Midna…" he

  said softly, glancing down at his hands, which were thankfully not glowing for once. "What… What's happening to me…?"

  The Twilight Princess caught onto the timid fear in his voice and she
immediately resolved to comfort him, even if she wasn't entirely sure it would work. "Nothing," she

  said reassuringly. "Nothing is happening to you. You haven't changed at all. The only thing different about you is your powers, but other than that, you're that same stupid

  little wolf I freed from the dungeons all those months ago, the same hero who saved Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. I know this is hard for you, but things will get better. I

  just know it."

  Link didn't respond as he simply closed his eyes and hung his head, tears still streaming down his cheeks in mourning over everything he was losing all too quickly.

  "Midna…" he finally said after a long moment of silence, his voice but a broken whisper as he failed in keeping his heartbreak hidden. "Please… don't leave me. You're the

  only person left who doesn't hate me or think I'm a monster…. Please, I just… I can't do this alone…"

  He trailed off into a sob that absolutely broke the Twilight Princess's heart. And though she wasn't particularly the kind to so do, she didn't hesitate to glide even closer to

  him and embrace him tightly, quieting his tears as she gently whispered words of comfort to him. "Don't worry," she reassured him softly, knowing that her staying by his

  side was perhaps the only thing keeping him sane in the midst of all he was going through and the hysterical state he was in. "I'm not going anywhere, little wolf. I'm

  gonna stay right here with you, no matter what happens. I'm not giving up on you, so don't you give up on me. I'm not going to leave you, now or ever. I promise."

  Castle Town was burning once more in the hero's nightmares that night. However, unlike the last two times he had experienced this vision, he knew exactly who the

  culprit of all this destruction was: himself.

  And yet, unlike before, he was actually inside of his own body as he carried out the horrid act of fiery violence upon the suffering town. Though he could hear the

  frightened screams and see the widespread devastation from his spot above it while he steadily hovered atop the powerful whirlwind he had created, he was not in control