Pools of Blue: Z:TP Alt. End

by ~vanillaextract

(What should have happened to the Mirror of Twilight)

Pools of blue, tear-swelled eyes returned Midna's desperate, hope-filled gaze. She never would have thought this to be the end of everything she desired and…accomplished, for that matter. She closed her eyelids, and she, too, shed a few solemn tears. No matter what Midna returned to-old friends, family, her beautiful world of Twilight, her throne and Twili people….
Oh, her people. It was for her people. But...

It could never, ever be the same again.

Neither of them ever would be able to see each other, but she was the only one who shared that knowledge.

She considered reaching out her arm and touching his face absent-mindedly once more, as she always did when she was about to say something important to him, but the thought vanished quickly. She also considered wiping the tear off his face, but he beat her to it, wiping hers first. A sudden thought occurred to her. Slowly she lifted her head and turned towards the mirror. Maybe…

She shook her head. No. It would only make things harder.

Bitter bile trickled down her throat and made it dry as a seemingly wicked thought crossed her mind.

'Why so selfish? Maybe Link feels the same about you. You should jus-'

'NO! I cannot do such a thing! It would bring Twilight into the land again if I was not there to rule and something wretched would happened again, and the past would haunt me! I would continue in my life, wondering what had happened to my kingdom, and-'

She struggled not to collapse from the thought and instead hung her head lower to the ground clutching her stomach tightly to keep from falling to the cold stone floor.

"…It might not be worth it." She murmured out loud, closing her eyes and imagining a marvelous fairytale of what she wished could happen. It was so much like a forbidden love fantasy that would be told by elders someplace far away from Hyrule. If anything, she would make sure both the light and twilight realms were safe.

And that is why she devised the plan to permanently destroy the Mirror of Twilight.

Only she could do it. She must prevent this all from ever happening again. And most importantly, she had to protect Link. 'No matter what.' She chided herself firmly.

Link shuffled his feet in anticipation, wondering what Midna was about to do. Midna had an odd sensation that he knew she was committing to something treacherous but didn't know exactly what. His dirtied blonde hair and long green cap blew vigorously in the strong gusts of sand-filled wind. He did not let her gaze go, and it was overwhelmingly fierce, but at the same time hinted a sense of…of…

She would not say it. Not even in thoughts could she ever think this. She settled upon the fact that she had imagined it, but could not hold back a wry smile in remembrance of the day they'd first met. Link had been transformed into a feral blue-eyed beast; a wolf, to be exact. His eyes were panic-stricken as he wrestled with the chains of the cell he was in. Midna had helped him-on the condition that he would do what she said afterwards. She did not hold back a bigger smile as she remembered all of the other things they had gone trough to save the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil hearts of Zant and Ganon. Link fought beasts, Midna sought out solutions, they both worked to find the Spirit's tears of light, they traveled throughout temples in search of the Fused Shadows in hopes of defeating Zant with those and then traveled to find the pieces to the Mirror of Twilight…which partial work for their last task would now be in vain. The task to restore Hyrule's vast kingdom to light yet again was a task that was nearly impossible, and they had worked together as a team (though it took time to become a 'team') to complete.  

'Maybe all the time you had made him fe-'

'You just won't give up, will you?  Midna snarled to the thought in response.

Link stood in silence, waiting. Watching Midna's every movement. Every once in a while shifting his weight onto the other leg. She suddenly wondered what he was thinking. She became breathless again as he looked into her eyes. She almost thought he leaned in a tad bit; as if he were deciding whether to…

'No, no, NO! It is all in your head Midna!'

Biting back the words she longed so much to say, she looked for a place to rest her eyes again only to find his. He looked like he was in despair.

'Do you blame him?'

'No. I blame myself. As I will forever after this.'

He took a few steps towards her. He sighed softly to himself as he leaned in towards her. She knew she mustn't let this happen…but she did not have the self-control needed not to. Her heart was beating wildly inside of her chest.

Her lips quivered.

'Don't do it Midna!'  Was all her thoughts could muster up as she copied him, leaning in, until she received a passionate set of lips.

Midna was vaguely aware of Zelda, who gasped as she saw Midna fling her arms around link's neck and link holding her tightly in his arms as they continued. But then all Zelda could do was smile. Midna had always been the kind to be mysterious in every way. She was happy to see that Midna had found order for once!

Midna knew Link felt this way all along…but was always overshadowed by thoughts of…

"THE MIRROR!" She struggled to pull away from him but found that it wasn't easy considering the fact that he was extremely strong from all of their travels and had held a tight grip on her. He let go when he realized exactly what just happened.

"Midna, what in goddesses name is wrong with the mi-" He started, but she cut him off quickly with loud sobs. She had collapsed to the floor and was now crying violently, and he had no idea why. She had returned the kiss; what did the mirror possibly have to do with any of this?

"THE…MI…RROR….NE…EDS… T…O…BE…DESTROYED!" She said loudly in between sobs. Tears cascaded down from her face and covered her cheeks.

"What-" He started but then stopped. "Get up, Midna." He soothed. She stood, obediently, as he got up from his crouch.

"Now, what exactly needs to be done to the mirror?" Link offered the question quietly.

"Forget it. Forget everything. It mustn't be this way…" Midna rambled on, hoping he wouldn't hear too much of it or bring the subject up again. Hope filled her heart as he said, "Fine." and sighed. He bit his lip, wishing there was a way she never had to go back and they could be together…but what a wretched thought that was! Midna needed her family her friends, her Throne, and most importantly, the Twilight realm. Oh for goddesses' sake, he was the Hero of Time and he couldn't do anything about something like this?

Slowly Midna walked to the platform where the mirror was. It glistened in the sunlight…the sunlight she would never, ever see again, and gleamed from the brightness, the brightness that could not be found in the Twilight realm.

Closing her eyes, she shed a tear. A single tear with a special power to it. She held it in her palm for the time being.

"I will never, ever forget your kindness." She turned to Zelda, though the words were meant for the both of them.
Midna paid no attention to whatever Zelda had said, even though she tried to. She was too busy thinking about what to say to link to even think about her presence there, even though Zelda was a very important friend of hers. She held back the tears with great caution.  When Zelda finished speaking, Midna finally turned to Link.

"Link…I…" She started, but then stopped. She stepped onto the Mirror's portal and braced herself to enter the Twilight realm. But first…

She opened up her palm and gently pushed the tear in time to shatter the mirror right after she entered the portal. As the Twilight's Ruler…

"See you later," She mumbled. In her demented state, she smiled slightly to the light. Oh, how she wished he wouldn't hear!

They would never meet again.

And so she collapsed into violent sobs again, right on the floor of her palace.




EPILOGUE:


Link:

Link returned to Ordon, in a vibrant attempt to live a normal life. But he never seemed able to do so. He broke Illia's heart later on when she had told him she loved him, and he had to tell her the truth-he didn't love her back as well, but would still enjoy her as a childhood friend. Anguish had filled Illia's heart and she remained depressed throughout the years. She never again found love, and suffered from a great, throbbing depression deep down in her heart, but still always helped those in need and tried to never give up hope because Link never settled down, either. Link continued to think of ways with his old friends to get back to the twilight realm, but there was no way. The shards were too small to ever have the ability to be put back together again. Although heartbroken, Link still had his close friends and adventures within him and every once in a while he would embark on anther quest, but none were ever as great as with the one whom he loved.


Midna:

Midna lived with her people in peace, although she was quite hurt by the way she had said goodbye to the one she loved. She had everything she had ever wanted, and had given it up.
"For what?" She questioned herself every day, and the answer would always be, "To protect him."  
The realm of Twilight was quite dreary, and after a while each day the tiresome Queen of Twilight would rest and let a relative take over her duties. More often than not, she ended up thinking about Link rather than resting. Sometimes she even hallucinated that they were still on their perilous journey, clearing dungeons, collecting sacred treasures, fighting monsters...none would ever know such a marvelous feeling.
She still loved Link dearly, and would never, ever forget him throughout her years.