Title: A Most Welcome Guest
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: The Legend of Zelda
Relationships: Link/Midna
Tags: Alternate Universe, Happy Ending
Summary: There were always guests in the castle, but none were like her.
Word Count: 5,884
Author Notes: So, for this and any Legend of Zelda fic, I'm not going to be following any real game or plot—just a mash of the stuff I like.
Beta: Grammarly



There were always guests in the castle. Link never paid too much attention to them. He had his job, and that was mostly to make sure that no one tried anything, but he wasn't a normal guard. He was outside of the castle more than inside of it. He was still used to being shown off when the time came.

Still, Link liked it when he was on Epona riding more than anything, especially when others were visiting the castle and his evenings were tied up in fancy dress, and he had to smile and be silent except when spoken to. There were many people there right now since three kingdoms were visiting as they discussed the newest treaty between Hyrule and them.

Zelda had wanted him on hand for the discussions, but there were too many people, and he had not done well the night before. So Zleda had released him to do what he wanted after only an hour tonight. As soon as he was free, Link went to his room in the castle and got changed.

"You look lost," a woman said.

Link turned to look at where the voice came from. He could barely see the woman who was sitting at the base of the tree and looking out into the lands around the castle. Link had seen her the first night that the Kingdom of Twili had arrived. He hadn't seen her at any of the meetings since then. Of course, that meant nothing since there were so many who wanted a voice in the proceedings.

"I'm never lost in Hyrule."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it, Master Link."

"Just Link. I have no title."

"That's not what I hear when you are spoken of. Of course, there are the ones that are not good. I haven't decided which I like best."

"I like Link best."

"Then Link it is."

Link waited for her to give her name over, but she just smiled at him. She stood up, and the dress on her fell down, looking like the night sky. The darker clothes fit the Twilight Kingdom, as it was nicknamed. Of course, there was no reason to think she was anything more than a handmaiden to the current Princess there. She had her brother and then her in the line of succession. It was kind of nice to see a place that didn't care about birth order. The current Queen was the natural-born queen. Other places didn't put women in charge. Link had been one to make sure those places stayed in line when they acted up when it came to Princess Zelda.

"You are lonely," the woman said.

"How can I be lonely here?" Link knew that those who were good at telling when someone was lying would know he was lying, but he had no idea if this woman was one of them. He had been lonely since the end of the war. When he had sealed the darkness again, it would come back at some point, but that was for another version of him to deal with. He was reborn over and over again to fight the darkness. To seal it. There would come a time when he would finally win, and that would maybe help that feeling inside of him.

The woman snorted as she stepped closer, reaching out to let Epona get a sniff of her before she brushed her hand down Epona's mane. "She is beautiful. She loves you a great deal."

"She's carried me for many years and will faithfully do it for many more. She enjoys our rides as much as I do."

"I heard you hadn't been able to do your night rides as much as you would like. The night is falling, and I'm keeping you from your ride. Have a good night, Link."

"You as well." Link turned Epona to head toward Lake Hylia, one of the places he loved to settle in and just take in the stars. None of the light from the castle got over there and made it hard to see the stars.

Link also hoped he would be able to dream when he was there. He missed his dreams where he was held tight.

---

Few things in the world scared Link as much as the nameless fear that gripped him sometimes when he stepped in a puddle. He wasn't sure what had happened to him before to scare him when it was nothing. Even in his dreams, it was there. Yet, it was never there when he was here. The dark world that shone so bright in other ways. Even the Master Sword in his hands was darker than the one in the real world. It was like he was in a world that was a darker mirror to the one he lived in, but he also knew he wasn't. The land of Twili was dark, an area that rarely got much sun at all but was still rather warm despite it all.

Link had visited there once with Zelda, but he had been left to his own devices to wander around since she wanted him outside of where she was, just in case. The treaty between them had been tenuous, but in the end, it held firm, and nothing happened beyond Link seeing the sky in a way he had never seen it before. The darkness meant the stars were brighter in a weird way.

Ever since getting back, Link had been dreaming about being there. Sometimes, it was nightmares that left him shaking because the world ended, but in others, he was happy there.

Link was loyal to Zelda, and he loved Hyrule, but there were times when he wasn't sure what he wanted out of his life beyond just being there.

"Link," a voice called. It echoed, and Link wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he needed to be there.

Stepping into a puddle, Link jerked back, and he fell. The blankets all around him made him freak out, but after a few seconds, Link could accept that he was safe and that those blankets were well messed up. He grabbed the whole of the mess and threw them off him. He got up out of his bed. Unlike most of the people who were soldiers for Hyrule, Link had a room in the castle proper. The room was not the biggest, but it was home to him. It was in one of the turrets, the highestmost room in the one he was in. Below him were other main castle staff. He didn't mind the walk up and down the stairs to get there, but once he was out of there for the day, he didn't come back. There was a small balcony area, and Link picked up the nest of blankets and carried them over there. He settled there to look up into the sky. With the fires banked since it was the dead of night, the stars were out. He liked seeing what he could and thought about the woman from the evening before. He hadn't been able to find her in the Twili people's groups that day. He had looked for her.

For a few minutes, he thought he might have imagined seeing her there. Then he remembered that his mind wasn't weak like others. He wasn't able to be tricked like that. She had been there. He didn't even have a name to ask after her. Link just had to hope that he would run into her again at some point.

---

The guests were all getting on Link's nerves because they didn't like to stay where they were supposed to. There was nothing to be done about it but to usher them where they were supposed to be when Link found them. The tittering of some of the women made LInk want to ask someone else to do this job, but in the end, it was fair to subject them to these people.

Link shut the door to the forbidden area and sighed as he pressed his head to the cool wood. It felt good. He was tired from another night of restless sleep. Even before the darkness had come this last time, he had not slept this poorly. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he needed to figure it out. There was a lot that needed to be done if something horrible was coming again.

"Why do you do the job you hate?"

Link knew that voice as he spun around to face the woman. She was dressed in the Twili style of clothes and had a smile on her face. She stepped forward.

"You aren't supposed to be here."

"I was allowed into the area to look up a few things for the kingdom. I have the letter here from Zelda. The guards let me in, but I am not sure how those women got in. They were looking for you. It seemed they had their sights set on seducing the great swordsman in a closet."

The woman held out a letter, and Link knew the writing well. He trusted that, for once, the guards hadn't messed something up. He waved for the woman to put away the letter.

"Do you need help?" Link asked.

"I found what I was looking for, but I'm afraid it doesn't help me and mine as much as it could. We have no great swordsman who is supposed to save us like Hyrule does."

"I could still help."

The woman smiled, and she seemed to be about to say something when the sound of soldiers coming toward them sounded down the hall from the other direction. Link moved around her to put himself between the soldiers and her.

"It's okay, Link. It's just my guards."

Link saw the armor on them and frowned as he tried to figure out why a simple woman needed guards until he realized that the reason she had never told him her name was because she was Princess Midna. Link turned to look at her, and he found that she looked a little ashamed, as if she knew what his thoughts were. It was the kind of thing that Link figured was easier to deal with if no one knew who she was. He didn't like it, but she hadn't really done much to him about the whole thing. There was a little bit of flirting that could have been anything, and then she was nice to him. There were few who were nice to him. Who saw him as more than just someone to lust after.

The rumors of Zelda going to ask him to marry her had been swirling since pretty much the end of the battle, but Link had never felt that for her. She was his best friend in the world, but the feeling of love that would want him to be with her like that wasn't there. He didn't think that he felt anything sibling-like for her, so it wasn't horrible to think about having sex with her. Yet, the actual want to do that wasn't there either.

"You look like you are worried about something," Midna said.

"I'm thinking about something else that is vastly personal. This kind of reminded me of it."

"Ah, well, thank you, Link, for the help you offered. It nice to know that you are as kind as the stories that make it to us make you seem." Midna bowed to him, much like Link did to her before she turned to follow her guards who were escorting her.

Link felt a little bad about dreaming that he could ever have anything with Midna. Before all of this, he would have thought he might have been able to seduce the woman away from the court of Twili, but in the end, there was no way since she was the Princess. Link would never go there to live, either. Hyrule was his home, and things would not be good if he moved away from there. The people would lose faith in Zelda and her father.

---

"How are you feeling today?" Zelda asked as she picked up her bowl of fruit to pick out what she didn't like and dropped it onto his plate.

"Fine. The dreams are not really abating, but I'm so tired I sleep through most of them instead of waking up. I'll be going to see Impa to take something to help me sleep more. I am not sure what the dreams are about, but I will keep on doing as much as I can to make sure it's not the darkness that has come back."

"I trust you in that. Princess Midna would like a tour of Hyrule. She's having a fight with her brother and father at the moment because she doesn't want the big party to go with them. She just wants it to be her and a few people. I offered you up, and then there would need to be no one else."

"How long are we talking?"

"A week at the least and maybe long, depending on how long she wants to stay in each place you come across. She'll meet you in the library to go over where she wants to go. She's wanting to hit as much as she can." Zelda laid down the bowl with her fruit, and she picked up the warm cup of coffee that hopefully had cooled enough to where she didn't burn herself.

"I can help plan it, and I would be willing to take her around. I need to get away."

"Yes, the rest of the guards talk about the group of women from the various courts who have decided that they need to follow you around. There was a small plot to get one of them and you into a closet somewhere and see what you would be willing to do for them. I made sure that all of them understand that you will go after who you wish and that deception on their part will not be looked on well by Hyrule. I also talked to the royals who brought them and explained what I thought of it. One of them accused me of trying to trap you into a marriage."

"And?" Link asked.

"Then one of their own stepped up and talked about how you rebuffed all who tried to get you alone at any point. How you are kind about it but that they are just not getting it that you are not interested. Are you interested?"

"Not in any of them," Link admitted. He didn't want to admit who he was interested in. The woman whose skin he dreamed of when the dreams were good. The screams of dying he heard when he dreamed the bad things.

"That's what I thought, but if that changes, please let me know. You are needed here in Hyrule, but even our people would not keep you chained where you are unhappy. We could figure something out."

Link was grateful for Zelda, but in the end, there was no way. Not with whom he was interested. There was no chance that he would ever be able to live in Twili. It was too far and too hard to get in and out of quickly. There was the talk that it had been a different realm from Hyrule at one point, but the darkness had yanked it from there and brought it here to use to destroy Hyrule. The whole thing was a little crazy to most people, but Link had seen the strangest things in the world when he had been hunting the darkness. He talked to spirits that were long gone and saw things that were impossible. It was the kind of thing that made Link question his sanity.

"Thank you," Link said when the silence stretched too long. The idea that he was broken was something that Link thought about more and more. His nightmares were the thing of nightmares even to most battle-hardened soldiers. The war with Ganon and his ilk had made the world unsafe, and the whole thing had been horrible. He had been happy to do what he could to help save the world, but Link hadn't thought he was going to live through it. The histories talked about the hero like he was unbeatable, but Link knew he wasn't. If it hadn't been for fairies, he would have died early in the whole thing, but he had been more than happy to have them on his person to make sure he lived.

"Are you okay?"

"I am not sure," Link said.

Zelda hummed. She took another sip of her coffee. "Impa is waiting for you whenever you are ready to talk to her about the nightmares. She might be able to help you in other ways. You don't talk to me."

"I want to be happy, and I'm not sure how I can be happy. I know that war is hard, and there are things that happen that make life harder than it should be. I want to be happy."

"We will get there."

---

Link heard the humming as Midna came back to him. Epona was staying close to Link as she had since they had gotten there. The Zora lands were some of the most beautiful with the architecture and the way that it blended with the flora and fauna around it. Yet, it was also beautiful on its own.

"You don't look happy," Midna said.

"I lost a friend here. It's the first time I've been back since then. I need to grasp it, and I need to move on, but it's hard. I loved being here until that moment."

"We can leave."

"No, no. I need to stay. I want to be happy here again. There are a lot of places across the land of Hyrule where I have lost good friends. There are a lot of places where I need to get a grip and get my head on right."

"Well, I hadn't planned on staying here anyway. We were invited by the guards to go to the main city. Is that a good place to sleep?"

"It's better than sleeping in the wilderness. Despite the darkness leaving, there are still all manner of evil creatures out here that want to kill anything they can get their hands on. I would prefer to sleep there."

"Good, then we can. I smelled what was cooking for the soldiers. Do the Zora have good food?"

"They do. Honestly, outside of the Goron and eating rocks, which they can make smell wonderful, they are all good cooks. Many local dishes are very well received when someone comes to Hyrule Castle to make them. I learned a lot about cooking since I spent a lot of time in the war out in the wilds of the land, and I wasn't around home cooking."

"I heard a rumor you lived in the forests growing up."

"I lived among the Koroks and the Kokiri, yes. It's always been felt that I would learn more about being a good person when raised by them. I have read the histories of the versions of me that have lived before, and we have almost always lived in that area growing up. Later, I'm given over to others. I lived among the Gorons for a little while and then the Zora as well. Given that I'm male, I couldn't live among the Gerudo, but I was trained by one for a while on fighting. Everyone comes together in good ways to train up the hero when they are born."

"I've heard that as well." Midna swung up onto her horse again, taking the reins and settling in.

Link didn't get on top of Epona again; he pulled the reins forward, and Epona followed him as they headed up into the area where they could enter the royal city for the Zora.

"Oh my," Midna said as they turned the corner that was the corridor of rocks, and she took in the city for the first time. "The waterfalls."

"They are my favorite part. Here." Link took the reins from Midna and helped her down off the horse. He took her over to the railing to show the water under the city.

"Can we go down there?"

"Of course. Let's get the horses taken care of." Link turned around to see that Epona had taken the reins of the other horse and was leading it over to the stable that had been built and maintained for the Hyrulians who had come to visit on occasion and, most especially, the tradespeople who came to sell their wares that the Zora didn't have. It was the kind of thing that made Link question how smart Epona was. "Well, they are taking care of themselves. Don't worry, they all know Epona. It'll be fine."

"Do you not have to pay to board your horse?"

"Most will, but since you are with me, you'll be given it free as well. It's one of many things that I get for free. I have a place in Akkala that I'm allowed to stay at for free and a few other places across the whole land as well. It's kind of intimidating, really, but I am thankful that I don't have to worry sometimes. The people love me, and I try to repay their favor. I help them build things. I help with enemies who try and take them on when I can. The war is over, but the low-order enemies still exist."

"You sound even more honorable than I thought you would be given how much you are lauded around the world for the fight here."

"I try and be honorable. I try to do the best that I can for people. War is hard, but it's just as hard on the soldiers who fight as the people who are invaded and killed."

Midan was silent as they walked around the stairs that would take them down where the water flowed from the levels of the city down into the pool at the base. There were fish there and many crabs.

"Are they edible?" Midna asked.

"Yes. I lived off these things for a while. Hard to catch, especially the types of crabs. Most especially when tired as hell. They taste wonderful with just a little tart juice on them and baked over a fire. Do you eat fish and shellfish?"

"Yes, we have creatures like it in our land, but they are different. I can't wait to try them."

"We should head up and pay our respects to the King, and then we will be shown somewhere to stay. The lodging here is comfortable, but sometimes hard to sleep if you are not used to the sound of running water."

"But we can stay a while, right? I don't need to wake up early, correct?"

Link nodded. Midna had been a good travel companion. She helped to set up their bed things while Link got the fires going to make their dinner based on whatever he caught while they traveled. She was much like Zelda in that way, raised to be a Princess, a Queen, but willing to do what was needed to make herself useful. Zelda had never balked at anything Link asked her to do when they had traveled as needed to get help win the war. She was getting muddy and wearing things that didn't point her out as a royal.

Midna followed beside Link as they made their way up. Link took them the long way to get where they needed to go so that Midna could see everything. The people all smiled at them and left them alone, which Link was glad for. He was always happy to be here. People left him alone. It was the best thing, in his opinion. The Rito talked to him a lot more. The Gorons bothered him the most. He loved all of the people of the land, but he was tried.

Link hadn't realized how tired until just now. He wasn't sure that he had ever thought about how tired he really was. It wasn't a tired of the body. It was tired of the mind. Maybe even the soul. It was the kind of tiredness that Link could see, making him just leave if left untreated. He wasn't sure how to treat it either. Nothing he had read had ever talked about how the heroes of before fixed it. It was the kind of thing that probably wasn't in there on purpose. A hero who was tired was a person who was trusted to get them through anything. It would make him be looked at wrong.

"I could wander around myself. I'm sure the lovely Zora here would be kind to me."

"I can take her around," a kid said as she came running up.

It took a minute for Link to recognize Rosie. "Are you sure, Rosie?"

"Yes. I'm Rosie. Who are you?"

"My name is Midna."

Link was glad she left the princess part off. There wasn't any need to have Zora acting the way they would with Zelda with her. Midna wanted to meet the people and see them for who they were not and not be bothered. It had taken a long time to get them to treat LInk just fine.

Rosie held out her hand, and when Midna slipped her hand into the little Zora's, Rosie started to pull her away.

"Sweet on her?"

Link turned around to see one of the guards who had fought nearly to the death when the war came here when Link had been trying to collect the items he needed to get them an upper hand in the war.

"She's from the delegation from Twili. She will not be sticking around."

"And that doesn't mean that you can't be sweet on her. You need rooms for the night?"

"Yes. I was hoping for normal rooms, but that's not going to happen, is it?"

"No, I'll take you where you will be staying. They saw you coming. Epona is well known. Taking her up the mountains tomorrow?"

"Yes. She wants to see everything and be part of things. I think she's lonely, and she's seeing Hyrule to tell her people what to expect. The Kingdom of Twili wants to open up their borders more, but they also want to be safe."

"The Twili have been reclusive for a long time, from what I heard. Still, can you trust her?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then let's go."

Link followed the guard. He knew the Zora's name, but it was gone. He had met so many people, and he tried to remember them all, but there were times that he forgot things. Names were a big one, and he never wanted to call someone the name of someone who died. That had happened a single time, and he never wanted to repeat that one.

The rooms that Link was led to were very nice. It was in the wing where visiting royals were placed. He really didn't want to be there, but he also knew that he would offend Zora if he refused. It was happening more and more, but there would come a time when he could calm down and not have to worry about it. He would get older; memories would fade.

Once Link had gotten word that their things from the horses would be brought up, he headed out to figure out where they would eat. There were a lot of food stalls in a few spots, but mostly, he was looking for a good fire and fish. There was something about simple food.

Link found Rosie and Midna had already found them a place to eat since Rosie's parents were having a meal soon, and they would be offended if they didn't join them. It was a pretty big meal but informal, and people would come and go after eating.

"Having fun?" Link asked.

"Yes. Very much so. I look forward to what else we might do after this."

Link felt his heart beat a little faster at the look that Midna gave him.

---

Link liked his now daily rides around the one edge of the lands; the road from Twili was in full use, and the traders came and went on a schedule that they made for themselves. It was the kind of thing that most didn't care about, but Link did. He stopped Epona as the trees near the road shook, but it was just a group of squirrels playing in the trees. He took up a sentry position to wait for the trader who always came this on this day, one who made his money going back and forth with specific goods for specific people.

The man always gave Link all of the mail for the castle. Which always included a letter for Link from Midna. He would answer it and send one back with the trader when he left again in two days.

"You could look a little less like you are waiting for me, you know."

"The new trade agreement is in there," Link said as the trader finally came to a stop near him. The wagon train behind him also stopped, with the lead horse knowing what to do when its owner stopped. The whole group was well-trained, and there were other Hyrulians with the man, but they were all just workers, a mix from both lands, to make sure that things were well done to keep people happy.

"And there is a little more than that." The trader handed over the bag that had the royal seal on it and then a smaller bag. Link took the royal bag and hooked it to his pommel before he opened the second one as soon as he could. It had a single letter inside, but there were also a few bags of sweets. They were the ones that Midna had brought along with her when he had shown her the lands. He had really liked them but hadn't told her. It seemed that she had figured it out.

"Thank you." Link slipped his bag of goodies into his saddle bag, lifted up the royal bag, and gripped it tight before he made his way toward the castle. He would need to get this there since everything official took more time than his own letter would take to write. There were a lot of things to be done, and Link wanted to make sure there was time before the trader left. Link would take the bag back to him since Link could move faster if the man left town before it was ready. It had happened a few times before.

After dropping the royal mail in the hands of Impa, Link headed for his rooms. He would not be disturbed there since no one ever looked for him up there during the day. He went to his balcony and dug out the sweets first, finding more than enough of them for him to do for weeks since he didn't eat too many. The pair of letters made him pause.

One had the royal seal on it, and for a second, Link thought it had made it into the wrong bag. Link still opened it, and a smaller sheet of paper fell out. He picked it up.

Read the other first.

It was in Midna's handwriting, so Link laid that one aside, wedged under a bag of candy. He opened up the second letter and found that it was their normal letter. He read over the things they had been talking about, smiling. At the bottom of the letter was a little more about something that Linkn had made an off-handed comment about.

My brother wants to connect our lands in a very real way, and while he and Zelda did not get along, there is a chance that something between you and I could work the same. I would come to live there with you in Hyrule, but I would like to spend a week of each month in Twili, even if I come alone here. I hope to have a loving relationship, but I understand if you do not feel the same. DO NOT AGREE if you are not feeling the same for me that I feel for you.

The letter ended there without the normal closing. Link looked at the other letter, frowning as he thought about what it had to say. It wasn't like he was going just to marry a woman for Hyrule, but he stopped and thought about it. He would do it if it saved Hyrule. Link wanted to talk to Zelda about it before he made too many decisions. He assumed that the royal mail had an official offer of it as well.

Link opened the first letter again, and this time, there was nothing else that fell out, and he found it was a formal agreement between Link and Midna about the marriage. The week in Twili was there, as well as a few other things that Link would gladly agree to. He would have to figure out a place for them to live as his room wasn't anywhere near big enough for Midna as well. It wasn't good either for a Princess. Link had more than enough money as he had collected a lot over his years fighting, and he had been given a large amount of gold from the King for what he had done. He had given some of it away, but he had enough for a nice house inside of town. That would be better suited for Midna.

For the first time in a long time, LInk was looking forward to his future. He wouldn't sign this without Zelda looking at it, and probably Impa as well. They trusted those from Twili. It was a good way to make sure their lands were connected, and many looked at Link with the same kind of awe that they did the royals of Hyrule. He was equal to Zelda in the eyes of many in the castle. He needed to get things set up and make sure that before anything happened, Midna liked whatever place Link found. He figured that he and Midna would still have a residence in the castle but closer to where the visiting dignitaries were always stuck. It was the kind of thing that would be good in times when Link needed to be gone for long periods of time with his job as protector of the realm. He would make sure that Midna was cared for when she stayed.

There was something like love between them. Link knew that Midna liked him; he had learned that while they had gone around Hyrule, his own feelings were a little off, given that he had no idea what he was feeling. There was a lot of love between them now that things had turned to the letters. Link had adapted well to know what love felt like. He wanted to be happy, and maybe with Midna, he could find that happiness.

The End