Fair warning. Profanity is a bit strong in this chapter.

Chapter 99: After Stories - The Queen

"When you're ready, Your Majesty."

Midna took a deep breath. She stared down her adversary with a ferocity that could ignite it. Two wooden beams in parallel. They taunted her in cahoots. Midna heard their laughs and tightened her grip on the armrests of her chair.

Planting both hands beside her, Midna pushed herself out of the seat. Her arms and legs worked as one. Her balance shifted. Midna corrected before she crossed the point of no return. At last, she stood shakily on both feet. The first hurdle was behind her.

Moving her weight onto one hand, Midna carefully extended the other forward. Her fingers curled around the first beam. She claimed her handhold. Midna swallowed as she shifted her weight forward, placing her second hand on the opposite beam. With both in line with her waist, Midna stood as tall as she could.

In the corner of her eye, the healer nodded. "Go steady. Take your time."

'Take your time,' Midna chanted. 'One foot after the other.' Thus, she stepped forward. Then she repeated the motion with the other leg. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Never much further than a shuffle.

Ahead, Link stood past the beams; waiting; encouraging. Midna concentrated on his eyes, as well as the shape of his smile. His arms held open to receive her. 'Just focus on him.' Her mind must hold onto what was in front of Midna. Never must it linger on herself or the cold sweat breaking across her skin all over.

"You're doing great, Midna!" Link cheered. "Keep going!"

She made it to a third of the way. The midway point was fast approaching. A smile broke on Midna's lips. Maybe this was it. She decided to step a little further forward. She pushed her boundaries by a margin. Half down, half to go.

Midna then felt the room spin. Her thighs spasmed. Her biceps shook. Alarms rang through her. Midna's heart leaped through her throat. 'No! No! Not now!' She hastened her pace.

"Your Majesty! Slow down!"

"Midna!"

'No!' She ignored their cries. Midna threw one foot in front of the other. Each step landed further off centre than the last. She could practically leap forward and touch Link! 'I'm almost there!'

Her knee buckled. The world swirled around her. With a shriek, Midna fell. Leather-padded mats smacked her in the face. Her soul shook loose from her body. "Midna!" she vaguely heard Link cry. Hands flew across her.

"Are you alright?" the healer asked.

Midna's fist slammed into the mat. "Damn it!" she screamed. Hot tears began to build in her eyes.

"You were doing so well, Midna," Link told her. "Don't worry. You'll get it next time."

"What's the fucking point?" she shouted back. "It's been more than a fucking year since we started this and I'm still no fucking closer to walking again! So, what's the point anymore?"

"These things take time," the healer consoled. "When you first woke up after the battle, you could barely move at all. Today you managed to walk a full three metres! That's incredible progress that you have worked hard to achieve."

"And after that, I nearly pass out and fall! Great bloody progress that is!"

"You're doing better than you think," Link said softly. He touched her arm but Midna swatted him away.

"Save it! Both of you! I'm sick and tired of hearing this over and over! My body is fucked up all ways to hell and nothing in the world is going to put me back to the way it was before! We all know it! So, just give it a bloody rest…"

A sob shook through her. Midna could no longer hold it in. More followed the first until she was soaking the mat with her tears.

"I think we're done for today," she heard Link sigh.

"Very well," the healer replied. "I'll leave the both of you be. Please excuse me, Your Majesty."

Midna felt Link's hand return to her arm. She did not drive him off. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know this is frustrating for you."

"Why do I have to be like this?" Midna asked when she was able to speak again. "What am I being punished for? Why can't I be normal again?"

Link sighed. "I don't know."

He then laid on the floor alongside her. His arm wormed around Midna, pulling her close to him, as he often did when her thoughts leaped into the spiralling abyss and dragged Midna down with them. She wrapped her arms around Link, crying into the fur exposed above his collar. His fingers ran through her hair. His palm stroked along her back. His warm scent filled her nose.

"I'm sorry… I was a total bitch just now," Midna sniffled. She felt calmer in Link's embrace. "Gods, I can't keep myself together…"

"I'm always going to be here for you," Link reassured her. "It might not seem like it now, but I still believe you'll be able to walk one day. I know you will."

"I'm just tired of feeling useless all the time. I feel like a ragdoll with a brain. That's all I am."

"You are not useless," Link argued. "You are a wise and caring queen. Every day, you look for new ways to help the lives of your people. Lesder can move everything save his ass and yet all he does is complain."

Midna snorted. Taking shots at their least favourite councillor always cheered her up. "A lot of twili love you because you are not useless. Not to them," Link asserted.

"I just want to be able to do things with my body, though," Midna moped. "I want to go on walks with you in the garden. I want to be able to dance at our wedding. Gods, I'd be happy just to be able to be on top when we have sex."

"You get to be on top plenty of times."

Midna scowled at him. "Sitting on your lap while you do most of the work is not what I call being 'on top.'" She pressed her hand against her temple. It smarted like hell from the fall.

Link averted his eye. He seemed to wrestle with something. It stoked Midna's curiosity. "Link? What is it?"

He held his silence. Midna was about to press him again when he answered at last. "There might be… something that could help."

The obvious answer that Midna thought of was a wish made through the Triforce in its complete form. Last that either of them had heard, however, Zelda was yet to find any leads on the Triforce of Power following Ganondorf's death. That wouldn't be something that would trouble Link, though. "Well?"

"Do you remember when we talked about getting you a set of power bracelets from the gorons?"

Midna sighed. "Link… Getting a full-body set of those made would still cost a fortune. The kingdom can't afford us splurging on something just for me, especially when it might not even work."

"I know. I wasn't suggesting that. But… there is someone who's willing to pay for a set for you."

Midna's brow rose. "Who?"

Link twisted his mouth, hesitating. "Auru. He sent a letter a few weeks ago offering."

"A few weeks…? Why didn't you tell me this?!" Her spike of anger swiftly receded. Midna knew the answer already. "You're still angry with him."

"How can I not be?!" Link exposed his fangs. He then saw her alarm and washed the glare from his face. "Sorry… It's just… Every time I think about it…"

Midna cupped her hand along his cheek. "Link… Think about all the good that Auru has done. He's championed good relations between our kingdom and Hyrule. He makes sure that the rights of twili and bulblins are protected and upheld. He has done all this to make up for what happened to me. I don't hate Auru or hold the past against him. So, why do you?"

"Because he hurt you," Link whispered. His voice trembled on the verge of tears. "Because he's still hurting you. It's because of him you can't walk and hate yourself for it. I can't ever forgive him for that… I can't…"

Midna shifted closer and kissed Link on the brow. He shook as he wept into her touch. "Link, I understand how you feel. But it's not healthy for you to hold onto this hate. Don't forget that Ahlkrog kidnapped you and the others from your village and scarred you all for life. Yet, you forgave him and the bulblins in the end. You gave them the chance to become better. So, why not Auru? Please just let him try to make things right."

Link closed his eye, frowning. Midna could not make out what he was thinking. "If nothing else, he'd lose a whole lot of money," he mumbled.

"I'd rather not think of it like that, but can we at least try the idea?"

"Fine… But only because it's for you."

Midna kissed him. "Do you still have the letter?"

Link nodded. "It's somewhere in the office. I'll have to look for it."

"Great. I want to read it for myself."

Midna tried to get up. Unfortunately, her head was still light and just propping onto her hip made the floor wobble. "Could you… help me back into my chair? I've had enough of being on the floor now."

Link got to his feet and lifted Midna into his arms. She hugged his chest until he lowered her into the seat. "Anywhere you want to go?"

"To bed? I think I need a nap after all that."

"Yeah," Link nodded. "That sounds pretty good right about now. I'll join you."

Four months later, a package arrived from the Light Realm. Midna held it in her lap. Tentatively, she peeled away the paper and twine, revealing a case of polished wood. A card accompanied it with a message written in elegant script.

"May Din's might within these stones flow through you. – Auru Vaxis."

Midna flipped the locks on the case. Inside, a set of golden trinkets glinted in the faint light. Bracelets; anklets; a belt; a necklace; all inlaid with gleaming rubies. Tens of thousands of rupees laid within her hands. That was enough to build a large estate in the country. Midna prayed to the goddesses that this will be worth it.

Link helped her put on the pieces. Back in the room set up for her rehabilitation, the healers gathered to observe. Midna sat before the wooden beams again. She didn't feel any different this time. Link vouched that she'd notice once she got going.

Swallowing, Midna engaged the lock on her wheels so the chair wouldn't roll from under her. She stood up and grabbed hold of the beams. So far, so good. 'Take your time. One foot after the other.'

She made it a third of the way. Nothing too special. She made it to the halfway mark. Not too bad. Midna grew more anxious with each step that followed. Sometime soon, a dizzy spell would strike, and she'd be on the floor again. Link encouraged her to keep going.

Right. Left. Right. Left. One baby step at a time. Only a quarter of the beams' length remained. The healers murmured to one another. Midna usually didn't make it this far. She felt fine!

Right. Left. Right. Left. Before she knew it, Midna's hands ran out of beam. Link stood just another pace in front of her, arms waiting for her to take that final leap. Heart hammering in her ears, Midna let go of her support. Her arms wrapped around Link's shoulders. He held her waist with all his might.

"You did it!" he laughed.

"I did it…" Midna breathed. Tears welled in her eyes. "I did it!"

Applause rose from around them. The healers swarmed in, asking Midna how she was feeling. She suddenly felt tired. Someone fetched her chair before Midna dropped like a sack of grain. Her endurance was still shot, but it was better than she'd ever felt in ages.

"Your Majesty, that was magnificent! Congratulations!"

"Those goron jewels are astonishing," another healer exclaimed. "Think of the other applications they might have in medicine."

"But what about the long-term implications? Will the enhancement pose any detriment to Her Majesty's physical health?"

"He's right. We still need further study."

Midna ignored the rest of their yammering. Her focus was on Link, who hugged and kissed her with tears running down both sides of his face. "I'm so proud of you," he said.

"Alright! That's enough!" Midna clapped her hands, silencing the healers. "Thank you, all of you. I know I've been… hard to deal with at times over the past year. But it's thanks to your support that I've made it this far. We'll keep working at it later, but right now I would like some time to rest and appreciate this."

Respectfully, the healers dismissed themselves. They chattered excitedly even as they left the room. Alone with Link, Midna hugged him for all her strength was now worth.

"This is incredible!" he said. "You actually made it across the whole room on your own!"

"I know! I never expected the bracelets would work this well." Midna's hand touched the belt around her waist. "I have to thank Auru for this. I don't think I could have done it without his help."

Link made a face, uncertain in his response. "Sure."

"Do you still hate him?"

"Not as much right now. It's a start, at least," Link relented. Midna stroked the side of his chops. "Soooo, what do you want to do now? We could go to the garden. Walk amongst the flowers for a little bit?"

"I've got another idea." Midna leaned forward and whispered into Link's ear. It twitched as he pulled back, eye wider than a saucer.

"Right now?"

"I've got my meeting with Ahlkrog in an hour. But afterwards…" Midna winked.

"I'll… get the room ready for us," Link offered.

"Ooh! Get the spiced candles out. I want to make this extra special."

"As my queen wishes. Anything else?"

Midna thought it over. "Get a tray of sweet cakes from the kitchen. I think I'm going to need the sugar."

"I'll keep them warm for you." Link kissed her on the temple. He then took Midna down the hall to her office, where she would wait until the servant came to escort her to the next appointment. As he left, Midna watched Link's tail whip from one side to the other with a smirk on her lips. She was going to take that sweet ass all for herself and give her gorgeous man the best time he's had in over a year.