When the weather outside is frightful… stay inside and write fanfiction!
My school was canceled today due to inclement weather, and the ensuing snow day gave me plenty of time and inspiration to write a short Zelda fanfic. Enjoy!
Snow Day
By Falls-44
Link groaned as his car stalled in the snow, the tires spinning uselessly as he struggled to get his vehicle to move. Of course, he just had to skimp out on the four-wheel drive feature when he bought it, and now the damn thing was stuck in his own driveway. Putting the car into neutral, he opened the door and felt his feet sink into the six foot deep snow.
It was the worst snow storm he had experienced in years. It had started late the previous night, and the blizzard had continued until only a few hours earlier. The snow plows were probably having a hell of a time keeping the roads clear.
Although it wasn't like anyone would drive in this weather, Link thought sourly, as he heaved and struggled and tried to push his car out of the rut. No luck. The snow was just too deep – it looked like he would have to dig the thing out.
He waded through the waist high snow, his movements feeling sluggish, as if he was walking underwater. It took him nearly a minute of concerted effort to forge a path from his car to the relative safety of his garage – a ten foot journey. Huffing and watching his breath crystallize in the frigid air, he dug through piles of assorted gardening equipment, boxes, and power tools until he found a metal shovel. Grabbing the item, he turned around and contemplated the unenviable task of clearing his driveway of the snow.
Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the fray, slipping on frozen ice, fending off mounds of menacing white snow with his dull steel shovel. He gasped for breath as he became overwhelmed by the momentous task set before him – even the Hero of Time would have struggled to fight the mountain of snow!
As Link continued in his endeavor, he became used to the dull repetition of the task. Stoop, scoop, shovel, toss. Stoop, scoop, shovel, toss. Each time he completed the routine, he stopped to catch his breath and feel his back, which was becoming quite sore from the amount of stooping and scooping he was doing. And, he noted with dismay, he hadn't even cleared a quarter of his driveway.
A loud, harsh noise greeted his ears, and Link looked up from his labor: across the street, his neighbor, Mido Kokiri, was plowing through the snow with effortless ease using a state-of-the-art snow blower. Link watched with envy as Mido cleared entire swathes of snow in seconds, the powerful machine doing the work for him. As if feeling Link's eyes on him, Mido looked up and cheerfully waved, before merrily turning back to his precious snow blower.
Bastard, Link thought enviously, regarding his own metal shovel with mixed feelings of distaste and resignation. As the sound of Mido's grating snow blower continued to rend the air, Link quietly returned back to shoveling his driveway. Stoop, scoop, shovel, toss. Stoop, scoop, shovel, toss…
Hours later, Link dumped the last load of snow into the small mountain that had accumulated on his front yard. He stopped to take a deep breath and admire his handiwork: his driveway was, for the most part, free of the snow that had smothered it only hours before. And with his task complete, he could now drive the car back into the garage…
"That really was too much trouble," Link muttered, as he hopped back into his car and keyed the ignition. The car started, struggling briefly, before dying. He tried again, with the same result.
"Good Goddesses, what have I done to offend you?" Link yelled out of his car window. A flock of birds that had been nestling in a nearby tree took flight at his loud words, chirping and fluttering in alarm.
Shaking his head and muttering dark threats, Link tried once more to get his car started, before giving it up as a bad job. At least with his driveway shoveled, he could push it into his garage…
Once more, Link geared his vehicle into neutral and began pushing it, inch by inch, into his garage. Even with the snow from his driveway cleared, the task was still tedious and –
Link yelped as his car hit a patch of ice and slid forcefully into his garage. Since he had been pushing it, he could only stop and stare in horror as his vehicle skid into the garage and collided into the opposite wall. There was a muffled crash, and the car's airbag popped out as flakes from the ceiling fell down and covered the top of his car.
Link closed his eyes in horror and covered his face as his car alarm went off, whistling and jeering, only adding insult to injury.
By the time Link finally stormed inside his house, evening had fallen, and he was cold and wet from the snow outside. As Link sneezed violently, he thought miserably that he had probably gotten ill as well. All in all, he was normally a patient man, but his ordeal today had made him seriously question the existence of the Goddesses.
He stumbled into the kitchen, boots trailing slush and residual snow, where he found Zelda busily preparing their evening meal.
"Goddesses, look at you!" she exclaimed, looking up from her work and seemingly trying not to laugh. It wasn't fair, Link thought, that he had spent all day out in the cold, and she could stay cooped up inside their cozy little home.
"Rough day?" she asked sympathetically.
"Not at all," Link replied sarcastically, sneezing loudly as he removed his coat.
"Oh, Link," she laughed, helping him out of his coat before ushering him into their living room. "I hope you haven't caught anything. Lie down on the couch, I'll bring you something warm to drink."
As Link flopped down exhaustedly on the couch, he sighed in contentment as Zelda draped two heavy blankets over him, wrapping him snugly into the warm cloth.
"Thanks," he mumbled, still sniffling from the cold, gripping the blankets around him like a protective outer shell. She smiled sweetly.
"I'll be right back," she replied, planting a small kiss on his forehead and walking away.
Wrapped up warm and tight in his layer of blankets, closed his eyes and rested his head on the couch's armchair, occasionally letting out a small cough or sneeze. Yes, he was probably ill. He hated being sick – he always felt so weak and helpless.
The sound of footsteps heralded Zelda's return before he could actually see his wife. "Here you go," she said, handing him a hot cup and sitting down at the foot of the couch.
He peeked into the cup curiously. "Ah, hot chocolate, Zel?"
"I know it's your favorite," she laughed. "Drink up!"
The scalding, sugary drink was pure heaven to Link's frozen lips. He drank the entire cup greedily, enjoying the warmth and steam that washed over his face from the hot drink. Zelda burst out laughing.
"What?" he asked, looking up from his drink in genuine confusion.
"Nothing… you just look so cute," she giggled, and Link felt his cheeks warm up ever so slightly. Her laughter was infectious, and soon he was chuckling along with her.
"So," she asked, as their laughter subsided. She abandoned her position at the end of the couch and snuggled up next to him, wrapping the blankets around her own body and resting her head on his chest. "Were you having a bad day?"
"Well…" Link mumbled, running his fingers through her golden hair and feeling her warm body next to his. "It wasn't so bad."
"Mm." She shifted slightly so that she could look at his face better. "Do you want some more hot chocolate?"
"No thanks," he replied, setting the empty mug down on the table next to the couch. "Thank you, though."
"Are you sure? I don't want to see my big hero getting a head cold," she smiled playfully, poking his nose with a finger.
Link kissed her and wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close to him. He smiled as he inhaled her scent, felt her warm hands entwined with his, enjoyed the pure warmth that radiated from her body. So what if he had broken his back shoveling snow, so what if his car was dead in the frigid temperatures, so what if there was now a misshapen dent in the garage wall? All that mattered was her.
His Princess, his Goddess.
His Zelda.
"You know," Link said, as she snuggled up closer to him. "I think this was a pretty good day, after all."
"I'm glad," she laughed, kissing him once more, and the sweetness of her lips made Link heady with love. Yes, she was definitely worth it.
They whiled away the minutes like that, entwined in each other's embrace, feeding off each other's warmth, enjoying each second that passed in such a blissful existence. Outside, the storm had picked up once more, the winds whipping fiercely and the snow drifting in torrents, but inside their home, the hearth blazed with warm fire and the couple sighed in contentment.
"Link?" Zelda asked, after several minutes of silence.
"Yes?"
"What was that loud crashing sound from our garage earlier?"