When She's Gone

Link stood in place, his mind trying to sort out what just happened. He didn’t want to believe it. He never wanted to believe that she was leaving in the first place. But he at least understood that she did have to go back. But he didn’t understand why she did what she did. She didn’t have to do that. She didn’t have to cut her tie with him. She didn’t have to take the last thing they had left to connect one another. But she took it and without a word, she took it away. That pained, that stung, that… hurt, a lot. She shouldn’t have. She just shouldn’t… what if they needed the mirror again? What if… what if he needed her again?

Link’s fist clenched tightly as he closed his eyes, his anger with her this time was too much. She always did something that got on his nerves. Sometimes it wasn’t bad, other times she was just aggravating. But this time, she took it too far. Link was angry. He looked away from the sight that held her appearance last, tears seething up through and started to fall from his eyes. His eyes began, within his eye lids, to become choked with red. His jaw was becoming sore from having it clenched so tightly. His fist shook from anger and… pain. Pain because she was there with him from near the beginning and she was gone. She casted away nearly everything they had when she broke the mirror.

Hyrule and the Twilight Realm could no longer interact. They could no longer have any contact. Meaning… she would always be there and Link, he would be on the other side of the mirror. The mirror that no longer existed. It was gone blown away into millions of pieces that no normal person would ever find and put together.

Finding himself on his knees, Link opened his eyes, more tears coming forth from his eyes. He didn’t pay attention to them, he didn’t realize they existed. He didn’t realize how much he missed her. How much not having her around would affect him. How much that they would no longer be together. How much she meant to him. Wide-eyed, Link struggled to stand back up so that he could walk forward to where she last stood. She had just stood there moments ago as they were saying goodbyes. Link only wished that he knew that it would’ve been final goodbyes.

They were to never say hello, goodbye, but then again she and him were never for that. But they would never see each other again. Ever. Link couldn’t stand that idea. He didn’t like knowing that he would never be able to look into her eyes ever again. Those eyes that Link never did take the time to fully take in. He didn’t like knowing that he would never be able to feel her against him. A feeling he had taken for granted on their journey. He would never be able to thank her, to tell her how much he appreciated her, to tell her that without her, he would’ve certainly been dead long ago.

To tell her… something Link didn’t think he actually had the courage for.

He realized that he was going to miss far more than missing a friend or an ally. Link knew deep down in his heart that she settled down in there. She had a special place in there and Link didn’t think too much about until she would longer be around for him to live in denial about it. But Link realized it now. A little too late for it now. A little too late for Link to tell his princess that he… that he loved her. That he loved her even before knowing that she was as beautiful as any Goddess.

He loved her for that attitude, for her smart mouth, for her. For the way that she was just herself.

Link managed to finally compose himself and stared for a while. She was there moments ago. And then she wasn’t. He took a deep breath before turning around to see Princess Zelda. Zelda, a look of concern touching her eyes, looked at the hero. She took a step forward, as if going over to see if she could comfort the young hero.

“Are you okay, Link?” she asked.

Link simply nodded as he walked toward Zelda.

Zelda locked her eyes onto Link, “We should leave here.”

Link looked at her before giving a slight nod so that they could start making their way from the grounds.

Walking away from there, Link stepped on something. He stopped and in turn, Zelda stopped. He got down on one knee and picked up what was underneath his boot. A fragment, a shard, a piece of the mirror. Link’s eyes widened a bit as he looked at, his reflection – cracked and dirty – looked back at him. He wrapped his fingers around the sharp edge. He held it close to him, pressing against his heart. “Midna,” he softly uttered. His voice cracked and strained. “I want you back…”

“Link?” Zelda asked.

Link snapped back to his senses and looked at her. There she was again with that look in her eye. He was lucky that she cared enough about him to ask what was wrong. “I’m fine,” Link said, softly. He nodded for Zelda to walk with him. Link looked down to the mirror shard. A normal person would think it’s crazy to begin looking for all the pieces. A normal person couldn’t even put all of them together. But that was where Link knew the line had to be drawn. If there was anything he knew, it was that he wasn’t a normal person. He had been destined to do the impossible, he could do it again.