***
They landed on the rolling hills of Termina Field, close to the wall surrounding Clock Town. Strangely enough, it was dusk again. They wondered if a whole other day passed so quickly, or whether the goddess simply reset time. It was not theirs to say though; time was her forte, after all. For Link’s part, he was grateful for a little extra daylight.
“Well,” sighed Midna. “That’s a relief. Perhaps we can even walk to the East Coast by nightfall....”
She glanced up at the sky swathed in a rainbow array of sunset shades. Then, she glanced with both hope and skepticism at Link. He smiled gently. He was tired, but far too excited to sleep a wink just yet. Though night would stretch late over Termina before they reached the beach and the Zorita’s domain, he was willing to at least begin the trek.
With a smile of agreement from Midna, they started off.
The journey did not last nearly as long as they counted on. After a mere two hours or so, cliff-tops rose from the east. Midna groaned and gazed up with loathing. Link half wanted to laugh and half really hoped these cliffs did not prove such an awful trial as the last.
After traveling a little ways, they found themselves slipping between the cliffs, and then emerging onto a sandy beach beside the ocean; its small waves frothed like silver fairies dancing in the moonlight. To their left, another path curved between the cliffs. To their right, the cliffs wound down the beach and out of sight.
“Well, then...” sighed Midna, plopping rather ungracefully into the sand. Link grinned then fell down beside her, his body realizing the same, abrupt weariness. To just collapse and not have to move an inch felt incredibly, suddenly amazing.
Neither spoke. It was obvious both were too weary to search for the Zorita that night. Nor could they even begin to know how. At the same time, Link still felt too awake—maybe even too tired—to fall asleep. Instead, he fiddled inside his sack, and, with a wider grin, pulled out his ocarina.
Link played a slow tune, its strains melancholy but hopeful. Like rays of light, it sifted through the coldness of his heart, driving it away.
He felt Midna watching him, eyes soft but bright, studying carefully. He saw from the corner of his eye as she reached beneath her cloak. A glint of silver in the moonlight, and then, a higher, purer strain joined his. She played beside him upon the silver flute, which was long and delicate like the silvery fingers so tenderly and deftly stroking its keys.
Long they played their song, improvising bits here and there, varying pitch, key, and volume so as to instill the song with passion, making its notes not mere notes but rather weaving some secret story from their hearts.
When the last, long note faded, they each lowered their instruments. Link looked up uncertainly, but Midna smiled wide. Link smiled too, glancing away shyly.
As he looked up again, her smile lingered, though softer, and she said quietly, “Long has it been since I’d anyone to play with. And I am glad that you too know the ancient songs of the Hero. The Serenade of Water...it truly is one of my favorites....”
He nodded fervently. How often, as he and Sarita played it, had that song’s passion had flowed through his fingers, down through his veins, to the core of his heart. It truly was a favorite of his too.
As her eyes continued to watch him, he tried not to break that uncomfortable gaze. Her eyes, like two rubies...he’d never beheld such unique or lovely eyes. But it was awful to be thus scrutinized and not know what she thought....
“You know,” she said quietly, “we haven’t really gotten a chance to talk. I haven’t really gotten to know you. If you like...I’d like to do that.”
His eyebrows arched high. This time, he nodded enthusiastically without any care as to how he looked.
Laughing lightly, she said, “Good then. You first...”
Link opened his mouth—forgetting, as ever seemed to happen in her presence, that he could not speak. Mind scrambling for some other way of communication, he almost began signing...but then realized she probably would not understand the signs taught him by the Kokiri, and he didn’t want to look a fool.
Finally, he reached inside his satchel for a small stick and grinned. How frail the little stick was, with just a few, tiny leaves hanging on. He’d kept it though as a memento from Sarita; she so joyed in giving him small gifts on her continuous explorations of the woods. They’d dueled with branches that day, and in her defeat, the edge of hers broke off. She’d granted the little stick as a symbol of his victory.
His mind was so engrossed in recounting the memory that he hardly noticed, til almost done, that he’d drawn a picture of the scene with his stick in the sand. It wasn’t a half-bad picture either, considering his limited tools and lack of artistic skill.
Laughing a light but true laugh, Midna said, “Not bad, Hero. We should consider making you into an artist of some sort once all this adventuring is through....
“But who’s the girl..?”
Her lips twisted into an impish half-smirk. Link blushed but smiled, shaking his head.
“Just a friend then?”
He shook his head, quickly scribbling, My best. A Kokiri.
“Oh, I see. Your best friend. You must have many wonderful memories together....”
A sadness glimmered in her eyes, and he searched for some distraction. Jumping to his feet, he drew her rapier, pointing its shining tip at her.
She stared at it, then up at him, raising a skeptical brow. “Really? You want to teach me to spar? And just what am I to fight with anyways?”
Shrugging, he glanced towards the measly stick.
Midna looked over, and then up at him again. Lips twitching with a smile she tried hard to hold back, she said, “Yeah, umm, I don’t think so.”
He shrugged again, as if to say, “Suit yourself,” then plopped back down on the sand, granting her another smile and setting to drawing once more.
Many stories he wove in the sands, relating all of his simple ventures with Sarita and other of the Kokiri. At first, he wondered if he might bore her, but that fear soon dissipated. She watched with keen, bright eyes, hanging upon each scribble as if her life truly depended upon them.
Only when his arm ached and he could think of nothing else to draw did he sigh, slip his hands behind him, lean back lazily, and gaze at her with expectant eye.
“Oh.” She took a deep breath and released it as a long sigh. A bit of the light faded in her eyes again, for which he still felt disappointed. But he really couldn’t think of any more narratives to share. His mind was empty and exhausted.
Except, there was one thing. Perking up as he remembered, Link scratched: Why didn’t you tell me you were a Sage?
For once, a subtle red flushed in Midna’s cheeks. Quietly, she said, “I don’t know, really. All of this is so new to me as well. Me, being the Sage of Shadow? A Sage, equal to the Princess Zelda and those other sages who’ve protected your realm in the past?
“And then, to find out my Song is called ‘Requiem....’”
She glanced up at him uncertainly, but he took her hand, watching her with calm reassurance.
A soft smile crossed her lips, and she said, “Thank you, Link. And I suppose it’s pointless trying to hide anything from you anyways. You seem to see everything going on inside me....”
Not as much as he wished. But he didn’t let this thought show. He squeezed her hand again. Then, brightening his face with a smile, he tilted his head in question.
“Hm..? Oh. Well, I suppose it is only fair I tell you a bit about myself, after all you just shared. So—”
She gasped, head whipping towards the ocean at the sound of the large splash. Link looked there too and stared in wonder and amazement.
Not far from shore, a half dozen creatures or so leapt from the water and back down again, glinting like silver stars in the moonlight. Suddenly, one of them sprang up from the water and high into the sky where, instead of plunging back down, she hovered, and her brilliant silver-blue wings burst open wide.
She hovered there a moment, studying Link and Midna with sapphire-bright, inquisitive eyes. Then, she soared towards them, even as the others frolicked after through the shallows.
“Well,” Midna breathed. “I believe we shall no longer need to worry about finding the Zorita. Thank the goddesses, it seems they have found us instead....”