After a few moments, Midna held her hand up an a gesture for silence. Not a second passed before she began to speak, drowning out anyone still clapping or whistling. Her voice reverberated through the room, surprisingly practically everyone present with its strangeness; its tones were all across the board, a seemingly random assortment of octaves that barely outclassed gibberish. Despite this whimsical, lilting accent, however, her words rang loud and clear.

“First off,” she sang, “No, this is not a freak show. We have come to speak to you about politics. But of course, what is the difference?” While the majority of the people still looked confused, a general easing of tensions and a smattering of smiles proved that Midna's humor had broken the ice. “As sir Groose says, my name is Midna. Midna, you might ask? Midna who? Well, that is difficult to say. My father, King Mizorant, did not have a last name to pass down to me as is your custom, so I am sadly bereft.” At her mention of her lineage, a murmur set in across the hall. For a moment, Midna stood silently, her arms folded beneath her chest, surveying the crowd. Then the stream of language began again. “Aha! I hear the whispers. What is this strange name, I hear, and if he is a king, then surely...yes! I am a princess. Not your everyday blonde damsel, pretty in pink, no!” The low voices increased; surely this strange, alien woman was not referring to Princess Zelda?

“No,” Midna repeated, tossing her head disdainfully. A frown appeared on her lips, and suddenly her charm vanished, to be replaced by a condescending severity. “I am not like our princess. There are no legends that feature the name of Midna, but for this I am glad. I read the chronicles and hear the stories, and in every age I find the same sorry tale. A budding young princess is stolen from her throne by the malevolent Demon King, and she must rely on the green-clad Hero of Time to save her. People talk of Zelda's legacy with glowing words. They say she brings purity, peace and, prosperity to Hyrule. When I look at her legacy, I see no golden glory. I see...weakness.”

A few angry shouts assailed Midna from the sea of faces. She regarded them coolly, making eye contact with every one she could pinpoint. When the commoner's brown met her own ruby-red on yellow, they couldn't help but be silent before the regal stare. One man, however, proved braver than the rest. He stood on his stool, rising above the crowd, revealing the yellow coat of arms of the Hyrulean Forces on his breast. “Zelda has been good to us, her ancestors have been good to our own, and her heirs will be good to our children! We have had nothing but kindness from her, yet this woman -who hasn't even the common decency to properly clothe herself- tries to shame her with treason. I don't know why you all are listening to her [i]lies![/i]”

The roar of the crowd redoubled. More degradations flew Midna's way, even insults. The Twilight Princess didn't move a muscle. Finally, a voice, louder and deeper than the rest, surpassed the others. “[b]Ungrateful![/b]” bellowed the Goron, and the next instant a ripe tomato sailed toward Midna's face.

-=-=-

Silence fell upon the crowd like a wet towel over a candle, extinguishing all its fire. The tomato hovered in empty space, turning in slow revolution, inches away from Midna's nose. She stared at it curiously, then plucked it from the air and took a bite. There was an uncanny eeriness to the way she ate. “Nothing but kindness?” She drawled after she had swallowed. “It may seem that way. But your golden girl is not as pure as you think. Barely more than a teenager, yet she's the one running everything? Her father no longer ruling, her mother nowhere to be found? It all falls so...happily into place. I know all of you look at my face and see a stranger, but if you look deeper you will find honesty, integrity, and a right to the throne more powerful than blood and entitlement. You will not find...weakness!”

Midna tossed the tomato into the air, and inclined her head at her companion. Zant raised a sleeve with incredible speed and released a ball of red-pink energy. Magic collided with vegetable in midair, and the latter exploded like a bursting Bombling. Shocked, the crowd turned back to look at Midna, whose arms were raised ceremoniously.

“It's about time for a new leader in Hyrule! One that will not hide behind stone walls, a trained army, and a facade of generosity! One that will not inevitability fall victim to the Demon King, and helplessly watch this fair world plunged into darkness! One who would never poison her father, exile her brother, or betray the light of the Goddesses! Princess Midna!” In the course of the Twili's closing speech, while some of the Magtail Fort's patrons had been fleeing outside into the rain, the Goron that had called Midna out had tucked himself into a ball and started to roll. Just as he was about to smash into Midna, however, her body melted into a cloud of black particles and vanished without a trace.

Just like that, it was over. Zant was nowhere to be found, and even Groose, who had been forgotten for the first time in his life due to the excitement, had disappeared. The remaining people talked in a tumult of excitement, all wondering if their neighbors had seen the same thing they had. The Goron, embarrassed by the failure of his attempt to protect the tavern-goers by subduing what he clearly saw as a threat, checked to make sure that he hadn't accidentally crushed the scroll in his backpack before jumping off the stage. The other Goron rushed to his side. “Gorko! What was [i]that[/i], brother? That wasn't like you at all!” Offhandedly dismissing his friend with a gesture, Gorko hurried outside. “Bad business, brother Golo! Bad business!” he called over his shoulder as he departed. He certainly seemed to be in a rush—moreso than anyone else.