As the day wore on, Midna spent her time alternatively sleeping and rehearsing. For lack of a better place to do so, she performed her resting and planning in shadowform; after taking off the warded hair clasp that allowed her to remain corporeal in the World of Light, she couldn't help but revert to a two-dimensional, transparent version of herself. In such a body, she was able to effectively disappear from questing eyes, and she could wander Castle Town freely and nap wherever she pleased.

At length, the shadows grew long. Midna turned her eyes to the sky and saw the orange sun making a grand exit over the horizon. It was the hour at which day turned to night. Though this foreshadowed the special event that would formally introduce her to the world, Midna didn't feel at all happy. Instead, a strange sort of sadness took hold of her. She cast her mind back to the faces she had left behind, her father, her friends, and more. The Twilight Princess felt not any surges of excitement; she felt only a pervading loneliness at this fateful hour.

Nevertheless she began to move, turning back from the stables where she currently found herself and quickly heading to Castle Town Square.

-=-=-

A small throng of people had already gathered, anticipatory of her arrival thanks to the spreading rumors. This instilled a mite of satisfaction in Midna as she floated invisibly up to the fountain at the square's center. Once hovering above it, she slipped her clasp back onto her hair, allowing her to regain form. Almost instantly a townsperson noticed her and released a startled exclamation, but Midna's charming smile dispelled any ideas of hostility. The attention of the rest of the townsfolk present took only another few moments to gather. Among the low-pitched chatter, Midna could make out a few statements like, “the rumors are true.” [i]Truer than you know.[/i]

“Good evening!” she sang, silencing the Hylians' talk. “As you have undoubtedly heard by now, I am Princess Midna. I am here on behalf of the Twilight Realm to utter a grievance.” She allowed that to sink in for a moment, and marked the confusion etched onto a couple faces. “My complaint is this: the good people of Hyrule are governed by an inefficient and antiquated monarchy. What is monarchy, you may ask? It is the system of leadership in which a single person, the king, holds absolute power. The only things in the way of such a king -or princess- are the extent of her ambition and the strength of the people. This is not so where I come from, and after I explain, I am sure that we will all share the same resolve.”