"Link, will you go out and get a Christmas tree for your dear old grandmother to decorate?" the old woman called up to the balcony. Link had been there for a few minutes, studying the shield mounted on the wall, as he did on occasion. The design and symbols on it told a story Link longed to know, but so far did not.
When his grandmother called to him, he smiled and called down to her with a jubilant cry and a wave over the side, so she would see him. His grandmother smiled, then went back to the kitchen, the source of a delicious cookie smell.
The young man climbed down the ladder, then made his own way to the kitchen, attracted by the aroma.
"They're not done yet, dear," his grandmother said with a smile, walking over to pat him on the head. Aryll continued to spoon out cookie dough onto the trays on the counter in front of her, but she also looked over to Link with a smile. "Now, if you could please go get the tree, we can decorate it while these are baking."
Again, Link smiled and raised his hand, then turned toward the door, to leave.
"Don't forget to stop by Orca's to borrow a sword to chop down the tree," the old woman reminded him.
"Pick a good one, okay, big brother?" Aryll told him with a big smile before she returned to her baking.
Link set out from the house, ready to stop by Orca's, then to find a wonderful tree to decorate later. He hoped he would be back in time to eat some cookies while they were still warm. Aryll loved baking, and especially with their grandmother's help, she was very good at it.
Before he knew it, he had walked the short distance to Orca's house, and knocked on the door. "What do you want!" he heard yelled at him after a moment, more annoyed than curious. But Link persisted in knocking until he heard footsteps, because he could to little else to get the man's attention.
The door swung open under his fist, and suddenly Orca was towering over Link, looking down on him. "Oh, it's you. Your grandmother said you might be by. I'll go get the sword—but don't just go swinging it around wildly, be careful with it!"
Link fought the urge to roll his eyes as he waited for the man to retrieve the weapon for him. "All I'm saying is, this isn't a toy," Orca said when he returned, still not holding the implement out to Link. "You have to be careful, or you might hurt someone. Understand?"
Nodding, Link held out his hand for the sword. It was as though Orca forgot that he did this every year – or maybe he just liked lecturing people too much. With what he hoped was a thankful smile, Link took the weapon and went off in search of the perfect tree.
To find one that wouldn't upset someone if it were cut down, Link knew he would have to go to the upper part of the island, like everyone did. This year, they were one of the first houses to start to decorate for the holiday, which was not unusual, considering his grandmother's love for it. But that also meant that Link would essentially have his pick of the trees.
As he walked to the upper portion of the island, Link couldn't help but look to the sky. Just the smallest dusting of flakes was starting to fall, barely starting to coat the ground. A few snowflakes fell on Link's face, cold but immediately melting. Thankfully, he was still nice and warm in his blue pajamas; his grandmother had not made him change out of them before he left, thankfully.
When he had scaled the mountain, Link walked amongst the sparse trees, trying to find just the perfect one. And finally, he saw it, somewhere among the others – full enough of leaves, not too tall for their house, and perfect to decorate. Living on an island, even a larger one like Outset, meant that holiday trees were palm trees – but it was the only kind of tree he had even known.
With a few quick, decisive strikes, Link felled the tree, relishing the way it crashed to the ground. He placed the sword in his belt, then grabbed the tree with both hands, grunting with the strain of it, and began to drag it down the mountain, trying to ignore the snow that had started to collect on the ground.
The sooner he got back to his grandmother's house, the faster the tree would be decorated – and the sooner he would be able to taste the cookies.
When he dragged the tree past Orca's, he paused to knock on the door and return the sword. Orca opened the door again with hardly any pause, this time, as though he had been waiting there. Link extended the sword back to him. The older man studied it for a moment before taking it gingerly, and closing the door in Link's face.
Vaguely he wondered if he brought cookies to Orca, if the man would be a bit warmer to him in the future.
But first, he wanted to try one of the cookies. He didn't even know what kind Aryll was making this year – he never did until they came out of the oven.
Thankfully, he was almost home, almost ready to set up the tree and decorate it.
With great effort, Link dragged the tree the rest of the way, then up the stairs, and ultimately through the door, where he was greeted with a kiss from his grandmother and the smell of baking cookies. "It looks lovely, Link. Let's put it over in the corner."
Smiling, feeling accomplished, Link propped the tree up in the corner and went back into the kitchen.
"Big brother! They're almost done! And it looks like you picked the perfect tree, just like I said," Aryll said with a laugh, looking into the oven at the baking dough.
He let out a pleased noise and smiled again, trying not to show how impatiently he was waiting for the cookies.
"We made chocolate chip this year," Aryll said in a low voice, as though trying to keep it a secret from their grandmother.. "I know they're your favorite."
Because it was impossible for Link to smile any more, he directed Aryll's attention out the window, to the lightly falling flakes.
"Snow! Grandmother, it's snowing out there!" Link's younger sister called out excitedly to the old woman. "That hasn't happened for years, has it?"
"I wasn't expecting to see another white winter before—that's wonderful," their grandmother said, walking over to the window and watching the snow for a time.
The timer went off, interrupting the woman's thoughts. But Aryll was already checking the doneness of the cookies, while Link practically hung over her shoulder in anticipation of his first bite.
"They're done, but they're really hot," she informed the other two, putting the cookie tray back on the counter.
The warning didn't stop Link, however; he immediately grabbed a cookie from the tray, blowing on it to cool it down quickly. He took a large bite out of the perfectly chewy dessert, and immediately it hit him. Closeness, love, and family: three things the holidays brought out more than any other time. Link felt so warm, happy, and safe there with his grandmother and Aryll.
"Let's decorate the tree while the rest of those cool," their grandmother suggested, giving Link a sidelong glance, even though she couldn't keep herself from smiling. "We need to make some more family memories."