The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Queen

Midna's Request

"Ahhh!" Link screamed as he slammed into the stone floor of the throne room.

"Link!" Midna called, rushing over to help him up.

"Sorry about disappearing. The Hero's Shade wanted to talk to me." Kilm and Zant shared confused looks.

"What did he want this time?"

"To give me magic and to teach me how to use the grounding pendant."

"The Hero's Shade?" Kilm asked, puzzling over the name. His tongue clicked, like the tick of a clock. Then his eyes lit up with understanding and excitement. "The legends were true...!"

"He does that whenever he's close to exploding with happiness. I suggest we run while we still can," Midna muttered with a small laugh in Link's ear.

"So you understand and can use the grounding pendant?" Link nodded. "Lucky you, hero. Lucky Light Realm."

"Great, then we should go as soon as possible." Midna said with a nod.

"No... I can't take any of you with me. Especially not you, Midna. None of you can safely travel in the Light Realm."

"I'm not letting you go alone!" Midna grabbed his arm and glared at him with her red eyes.

"I nearly lost you once to light..." Link shuddered. "I can't risk that happening again."

"But I'll be fine! I can be super careful! I'll just hide in your shadow!"

"You should take Midna with you, hero. She could help you. Besides, she is queen now and you can't deny the queen's wishes," Kilm said, having recovered from his excitement.

"I would offer to run the kingdom in your absence, Queen, but I need to come with you. I have a task in the Light Realm that needs completion." Zant grinned.

"No, why would we trust you enough to come with? But about the kingdom... Kilm might as well take care of it, much as I hate to say it, since he has the knowledge and experience."

"Thank you, my queen. That means a lot."

"I still would love to kill you. I wouldn't shed a single tear."

"Right, sorry..."

"Everyone please be quiet! I need to think." Link's call silenced the arguing. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it would be nice to have Midna around. It would give them a chance to catch up and with her magic he could become a wolf when needed. Two heads were better than one, especially when one belongs to the beautiful and smart Queen of twilight.

"Your decision?" Midna asked impatiently. On the other hand, he didn't want to risk losing her. The perils he was facing this time were more dangerous to Midna than they had ever been before.

"I'm going to grab a ruby from my wallet. If it's worth 20 or more, you can come with. If it's less than 20, you stay here. Deal?"

"Hmm... Sounds fair, I guess." Midna reluctantly agreed. It looked like she was doing the math in her head, trying to figure out if Link had an even number for each side. He didn't. Link reached into one of the pouches lining his belt, the one that held his wallet. It was empty. Confused, he looked through all his other pouches, thinking perhaps he had put it in the wrong one. They were all empty.

"Where has all my stuff gone?" he asked in exasperation.

"Oh... Oops. I'm sorry for saving your life though I did not have enough control over the pendant to ensure that all your stuff arrived at the proper destination," Zant admitted with a smirk and an uncaring shrug.

"How... Where are his supplies then?" Midna demanded.

Another shrug from Zant. "Who knows. Somewhere in the palace? Somewhere in the vast Light Realm? They could be hanging from a tree in the underworld for all I care. I was lucky enough to have enough magic to bring both Link and myself here in one piece, so you should be grateful of that!"

"So my supplies are lost forever?" Link asked quietly.

"Yes." Zant tried his best to be apologetic, but was clearly on the verge of laughing his head off.

"Great. This is just great. All my life savings were in that wallet. There goes my early retirement." Link was trying to keep his voice friendly and sarcasm free. Yet he was obviously dying inside. All the effort he had put into collecting those objects. Wasted. They were proof of his adventures and triumphs. Disappeared. They were tools needed to unlock the secrets of Hyrule. And they were gone. Gone forever.

"Don't worry, Link. I can find you some replacement trinkets to help you feel better. The best in all the Twilight Realm." Midna wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned into him. She stared up into his blue eyes, grinning. She was plotting something...

"If you agree to take me with you of course." She pushed away, laughing at the surprised look on his face.

"Doesn't seem like I have a choice anymore," Link mumbled, looking down at his boots and blushing.

"Wonderful!"

"Queen, I really must insist you stay here. The kingdom is incredibly unstable as it is. The people could not handle another royal death," Kilm pleaded, changing his tune as he came to realize the possible consequences.

"I'll be fine. Nothing the Light Realm throws at me has the power to steal my life. Besides, I have a hero clad in green to protect me. Or should I say, I have a hero clad in green who needs my protection. I am going and that's final."

"Good riddance, I say. Let her go," Zant muttered.

"Brilliant! Now we are all in agreement." She grabbed Link's hand and pulled him to the large door at the opposite end of the room to where they were.

"Wait a second," she whispered to him, spinning around. She raised her hand. Teal lights shot from her fingertips, hitting Kilm. He was knocked to the ground in a pile of screaming blue lightning. Laughing in delight, Midna pointed her fingers at a startled Zant. He was slammed against the back of the throne, then thrown to the floor with lightning of his own.

"That's better. I feel grand now. Take that whoever said revenge doesn't solve anything! Eee hee." Her laugh was vicious and cruel.

"Midna, why did you do that?"

"Because I said I would. I'm a queen, I can't go back on my word. My word is all I have. Other than a palace and a kingdom and a silly puppy. Speaking of which, I should probably find someone to look after him." She smirked as she dragged Link through the maze like halls. "You should meet him. I'm sure you'll become best friends. You'll love him. He's so cute!"

"Who?"