Okay, I was planning on not commenting in front of this last chapter, but I just wanted to say one last thing.

There’s a fanime convention tomorrow for a couple days. I’ve never been to one before, but I promised my friends I’d go. And actually, I only know 6 things that are anime, or related to it. Zelda is one of them. And since people dress up, I’m going as Midna. I figured that this story put me in the Midna spirit. I think I mentioned this earlier. And it was so annoying trying to paint Midna’s patterns on a shirt/pants/gloves. It’s far from perfect, but it’s pretty good. Heheh. So, I finish this story the day before I dress up as Midna.

Anyway, I hope I do the ending well!!!!!

Chapter 51: Twilight on Hyrule

Everything was falling into place. All of the problems plaguing Hyrule were finally healing. The evil had left the land. People could breathe freely again.

There was a lot to be done. Hyrule Castle had taken heavy damage, especially the throne room. And of course there were the villages like Kakariko that only had a couple of its citizens remaining.

And the kids at Kakariko needed to be escorted home. Telma was kind enough to volunteer. It had been too dangerous to risk bringing them to Ordon, but now that the evil had passed, Hyrule Field was safe once again. No doubt all of them would be glad to be home with their families. Colion especially. I’d heard that his mother had had her baby.

Colin had grown tremendously since he’d been kidnapped. I was told that he now had his own shield and sword. Before, he had been such a frightened weakling.

A few weeks ago, if you’d told me that I’d be reluctant to return home, I’d have said that you’d been hit on the head too many times. But it’s true. I’ve become more attached to this world that I would have thought possible. And though only two people knew of my existence, in a way, I had made many friends. Ilia and the kids, Rusl, Telma, Shad, Auru, Ashei. Renado, Ralis, Gor Coron, the cannon guy, Bo, even the monkey king. I’d grown to like all of them. We’d been helped along by so many people. Hyrule had united to fight the dark power. An evil power that now lay lifeless in an isolated valley of Hyrule Field next to a certain broken mask.

And there was Zelda. She’d saved my life and shared my spirit for a short while. She was a good princess. Kind and wise. She’d make sure Hyrule recovered beautifully.

But most of all, I’d miss Link. We’d been through so much. We’d saved each other’s lives, helped each other out of tough situations, and we’d become the deepest of friends. The thought of having the leave Link… forever… I didn’t want to think about it.

But the time had come. Now that things were righting themselves, it was time for me to head home. Back to my own world.

Zelda had told us of a path that lead to Gerudo Desert. Link, Zelda, and I rode slowly along the canyon path towards Arbiter’s Grounds.

None of us were in any hurry. We knew what would happen when we got there. And we weren’t eager for it. Even me.

Link rode alongside us on Epona. Zelda rode a white horse, and I sat behind her. I’d never actually ridden on a horse before. All the times Link had been on Epona, I’d been in his shadow. It was strange. Amazingly different from riding on a wolf.

As we rode along down the trail, I couldn’t help noticing how much taller I was than Zelda and Link. All the time I’d known them, I had been less than half their height. I smiled. It was good to be back. But I’d have to get used to my old body again.

We all looked up at the sound of hoofbeats. On the canyon ledge above us, several large boars with goblins on their back stampeded by. But they ignored us. Something told me they wouldn’t be bothering anyone anymore.

We emerged into the hot dry desert and Arbiters Grounds towered above us. Nothing bothered us as we made our way to the roof. There were no monsters left to attack our group.

None of us spoke. We didn’t feel the need to.

We reached the mirror chamber. It was twilight. The sun was setting and it was the time of day that I liked best in the light world. Twilight here came very close to my home. I could almost feel it. It was a smoother, more peaceful feeling than the artificial twilight Zant had cast on this world.

For several moments we stood together next to the Mirror of Twilight, just appreciating each other’s company. It would be the last time we’d meet. It was time for our worlds to part.

“Well…” I sighed at last. “I guess this is farewell, huh? Light and shadow can’t mix, as we all know. But… Never forget that there’s another world bound to this one.”

“Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin,” Zelda replied quietly. “One cannot exist without the other. I know now the reason the goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in this world. They left it because it was their design that we should meet. Yes… That is what I believe.”

I smiled. Perhaps that is why the mirror was left here. But it was too dangerous. If anything had gone wrong, it would have meant the destruction of both realms. No, it was too dangerous to leave the doorway between our worlds open. No more evil must be allowed to pass through.

“Zelda,” I said, “Your words are kind and your heart is true. If all in Hyrule are like you, then maybe you’ll do all right.”

I stepped to the front of the platform, in front of the glowing smooth surface of the mirror. The staircase appeared in front of me, beckoning me back to my home.

I turned back once more. To Link.

“Thank you. Well, the princess spoke truly: as long as that mirror’s around, we could meet again.”

Everything came to me at once. The thought of leaving behind this world and all its people. The thought of never seeing Zelda-never seeing Link again hit me. How could I do anything that would cause me to never meet them again? Good friends should never be separated. Why did the goddesses organize that we live in different worlds? Why did it have to be that we could not live in the same realm?

I felt a tear shining on my cheek.

“Link…”

The tear drifted away from me, floating in the air. It was a tear that held the magic that I rightfully owned as the Twilight Princess. But it also held all my sorrows and emotions. The hollow feeling that consumed me. The feeling that I’d never be able to see Link again.

I slowly reached out to the magic tear floating in front of me. I gave it a gentle push and it floated away.

“I…”

The tear glistened as it slowly made its way towards the mirror.

“See you later,” I said at last.

My tear splashed against the center of the mirror. Immediately, fine spider web cracks spread across the patterned glass.

Link and Zelda both stepped towards the mirror, startled as the cracks spread across the smooth surface.

By the time they turned back to me, I had run to the top of the stairs, standing in the last beams of light that flowed from the breaking mirror.

I turned to them and gave them one last smile.

Just before the mirror shattered, its last fragment of magic sent me flowing back into the twilight. Away from the light, away from my old friends. I left my adventures behind me. It all existed now only in my thoughts.

My last sight of the light world, Link and Zelda standing together beside the cracking mirror faded.

At long last, I was home.