Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART

Part One

It had been a few years since Link had returned from his adventure with the Twilight; his life had returned to normal, or as normal as anyone could expect from the Hero of Light. Winter however, was no different. From the first snowflake to the first thaw, he would be secretive and often come home bleeding, but no matter how many times, no matter who asked him; he would not answer or ask for medical attention from them. This is the story that has been passed from generation to generation about the wonders of a dream that made it into reality.

It was a hard time in Ordon during the winter months, the rush to get clothes and houses suitable for winter was stressful for every adult, children had to dress up in clothes double their own weights and be careful around the rivers. Monsters of ice and snow were around every corner; breathing the cold stuff out and freezing their prey on contact.

There, lived a dreamer, a young Hylian man, now of twenty years old was part of the work force that only armed with a sharp blade and axe could brave the forests of ice for wood. He was a quiet man that never ruffled any feathers and wore a beaming smile even in the worst of times, under a thick fur coat; a pointed nose and soft blue eyes could be seen with dark blond hair that was tied at the back and long pointed ears that stuck through little openings in their hood. He was tall, over six-foot in fact, with workers' hands that were covered in blisters and cuts; they showed up through the knitted mitts he wore; he had a strong build from carrying logs on his back to his faithful companion; a chestnut horse with a thick winter coat; both of her own intuition and one made by her caring owner out of out-grown winter coats.

"Almost done, girl." the man whispered lifting a set of seven logs up onto the saddle of his mare. With a small chuckle he blew on his hands and rubbed them together; he loved winter, he loved how it made water sparkle and turned everything it touched white so you could see the tiny footprints of birds and mice to the lazy, dragged footsteps of a frozen Bokoblin on their way home for a good dinner with their families at least that is what he hoped they were doing. During this time of year, family was important, to friend and foe alike, the season was brutal to those who had to go through it alone; he had done many years ago as a child till he had found refuge in Ordon, it was all but a memory now.

The man tied another set of seven logs to the saddle and held the reigns; his mare watching him through her hazel eyes as he clicked his tongue to make her move forward through the deep snow, the clouds forming already to sprinkle more down onto the cold earth; let it fall.

Let it snow.

Even with the heavy snow shoes on his feet; the man found it difficult to not walk like he was wearing flippers and with the aid of a stick to help him move smoother, he thought he must be hilarious to watch from a distance. He came around the bank, passing a snow covered house build into an old redwood; the branches were clinging onto the house itself almost like the tree was hugging it to keep it warm but gave way to the smoke coming out of a small chimney sticking out of the side. It was a nice little house with a basement dug into the roots of the tree and a small window at the front looking out from the top floor across the horizon further into the valley over the undergrowth of unexplored terrain. The man halted his mare and stroked her nose while untying a knot with his other hand to let the logs drop onto the snow. He shouldered one of the seven and threw it down on a sledge that leaned against and evergreen near the house and did the same with the other batch before pulling the sled down to a quaint little village with several houses. Two children one about eleven and the other was about ten; both dressed up penguins they threw snowballs at each other while dodging the little missiles from the other person. It looked fun and he hoped he could join in their game when he had done his duties or better still, throw a couple on the sly.

The man leaned back on a post of a porch just outside a little shop and lifted three logs from the pile onto his shoulder, with his other mitt he rolled up a snowball, keeping it well hidden by his thumb he tossed it over so it hit the hood of a child; they squealed as the snow slid down the back of the coat, soaking into the fur and down their trousers. The child turned on their heel and only spotted the body of a man; his face hidden by the logs, the child quickly rolled a snowball up and threw it as the closing shop door

"Ah, I missed him." the child whined, pulling his hood down to show thick blond hair and round blue eyes that shone in the afternoon sun. "He always does it when I'm not expecting it!"

"That's the fun part!" the other child giggled removing her hood to show a pair of dark eyes and brown hair in little pigtails. "He knows when and where to strike."

"So would you if you did what he has done." the boy mumbled, a lone crow echoed in the distance as if it was a bad thing he had said "He's a warrior, Beth."

"Maybe so, but he seems just as happy as he normally is." Beth shrugged taking one of the boy's mitts in her fingerless gloves "I saw him come home the other day with his leg plaster on again."

"Again?!" the boy shrieked but covered his mouth "I don't even know why he wears it, no one does. We tried spying on him last year and look how that turned out."

"Hello, Colin, Beth!" the man cheered waving a hand "Enjoying the snow?"

"I knew it was you who threw it!" the boy wailed marching over; the man raised an eyebrow and dragged the sledge full of logs further into the village

"Maybe, maybe not." the man chucked heaving the sledge over the deep snow with Colin's help

"Link, why are you wearing your bandage again?" Colin asked making the man stop dead in his tracks.

He turned slowly on heel to face the boy and smiled, one that looked rather unsure to a good eye "Knee's a little sore, Colin. There's nothing to worry about."

Colin nodded, though that look in Link's eye meant that his winter secret was around again. Ilia had to know about this, though he was his younger brother, there was not enough bravery in him to try and coax him to tell; he had tried many times over many winters; sadly, nothing had come up. he watched him head round to the other houses, distributing logs to every hungry fire before heading back to the redwood house or more appropriately named: The Gate Keeper's House. Nothing and no one got past that house without getting spotted; if they were a friend nothing would happen but no monster dared risk that clearing by the village because of the swordsman that lived there; the skill he had rivaled the knights, no, passed the knights that protected the royals in the capital city. Colin knew that Link was said swordsman and he and the rest of the village had taken a vow of silence to keep the peace between the monsters and the humans; it was best that no one knew where the Hero of Light had disappeared to, it would be and remain a mystery and secret as the Twilight were; though Link had told stories of his adventures in the coldest mountains and the hottest deserts; he knew that his blade could start and stop a war in one slash; so to keep the monsters in fear of his presence and the humans unaware of the protection they had; Link had faked his demise.

It had been an especially hot day in the desert in late autumn, a body covered in blood had been found on the steps of Arbiters grounds, wearing the green garb that the monsters were used to seeing as their final sight; the eyes were open and glassy, staring chills into every onlooker. The monsters were terrified of the body; for it always seemed to be watching them, even after it had been thrown on the fire to take care of the restless spirit inside. Not that they realized they were burning a sparring dummy in Link's clothes; the eyes had been made out of an old pair of glasses and the hair had been taken from Link's own ponytail; though it had looked convincing enough. The real Link had been spotted many times throughout the desert in sandy coloured garb with a torn cape and because the monsters now feared that this was a ghost, they feared the ghost of the hero past and the news had somehow spread through the provinces till it reached Ordon where the youngest children had to prod him to make sure he was solid.

Either way, the secretive behaviour continued.

Evening soon came, the cold sun dropped behind the horizon allowing the sky to turn purple and red against the snow and ice. Link chopped a few vegetables up with a large knife, humming softly under his breath as the iron pot over the fire began to bubble and the lid began to clatter against the sides. His home was filled with the scent of tomato soup to take the chills away and he had a lot of work to do over the winter months so he needed all the warmth he could get. His door opened slowly, blowing the cold snowy air into his space. A long haired girl stood there hugging her shoulders, Link left his food and went to aid the cold young lady. Unlike him, she could not stand the cold; she wore thick fluffy boots that were speckled with snow and a long over coat that made a trench like a snail trail; her hair was almost white blond in colour and was loose around her shoulders, showing off her eyes and deep red cheeks; he thought she looked beautiful in the winter, she thought he was being stupid.

"How can you like this weather, Link?" the girl whined handing him her coat and scarf "Its freezing."

"I've told you why I enjoy this weather many times. It is a time of peace. There is no fighting or ill manner in the cold, where fellow men and women come together to exchange gifts, stories and laughter." Link giggled, cupping his hands to blow on them and pressed them against the girl's cheeks

"Times have changed, Link. The cold can kill and there is rush and arguments over the last toy in the shops, the days that follow are ones filled with 'I want!' and chaos of a family meal." the girl argued as she held Link's hands.

"Ilia, the Yeti on Snowpeak live in this weather all the time and are always hospitable. They know the dangers of the cold as do I, unless you run around naked, nothing will happen, as for gifts, you should get the shopping early in the season." Link smiled "Can I offer you some soup?"

"You're not a child anymore, Link. You can't be this happy about the snow and storm when you have to work." Ilia sighed sitting down on the rug as Link buttered a few slices of bread

"I am aware that I am not a child anymore. I just get so happy around this time of year." Link spoke bringing some generously buttered bread to Ilia as well as some for himself and two bowls

"And secretive too. I know that you are meant to keep presents a secret to preserve the amazement, but you always seem so happy, yet I've never seen you make or wrap a gift in years; you always disappear days before and don't return for days after; where do you go?" Ilia asked as Link plated up

"There isn't really much point in asking again, Ilia. It is no concern of yours." Link said, his voice low like a warning

"It is when you come home injured!" Ilia shouted, Link drew his ears back and lowered the bowls to the floor

"I can understand your concern when you see a few drops of blood, but there is really no need for it." Link mumbled taking a slice of bread

"A few drops?! Link, last year you came home with an injury on your hand it looked like it would come off, almost like a blade had gone through it!" Ilia whined holding Link's shoulders "Please, if there is something happening-"

"Nothing is happening, Ilia. I am the same as every year, my axe slipped, that all." Link snapped, "And that, Ilia, is the end of it."

Ilia nodded while biting through a slice of bread. It was beginning now. Link was not the type to keep secrets, even before he became the silent hero of Hyrule; he never hid the fact during his tales of adventure that he was scared when he faced powerful monsters and new terrain, he had never lied about the amount of pain and bad nights he had sleeping wounded in the rough and how much he had dreamed coming home many times. But this, a series of late nights, bad conversation and wounds were something that was worrying her; yet, it worried everyone. He would change in a split second of the weather changing, as soon as he spotted the first snowflake, he would change like it were a spell or curse that the winter brought.

Ilia left him alone after they shared the meal. It was after dark when he ventured out into the cold, holding rope in a loop over one shoulder and a belt with three pouches he wore when he was working with the goats. Lighting oil in his lamp, he set off for the woods to the north; Faron Woods.

He walked for some time in the cold, no monsters bothered him and no people stopped him as he continued deeper and deeper into the woods. His ears heard footsteps approaching from behind; they were trying to be silent but they knew they had been heard out. His fingers played with the hilt of a dagger inside his coat as he slowed his pace down, waiting for the sound of footsteps to restart.

They did.

He recognized the shuffle of them, the young footsteps of his brother; convinced that following his older sibling was a wise move at this hour. He did not have time for this. Link blew his lamp out so that the area was only lit up by the clouded over moon and slunk behind a tree; waiting for his little brother to pass by, trying to locate his brothers' lamp. Link crouched down and made a snowball up; he would not enjoy this, but he needed to scare the boy away without showing himself.

There was a reason he enjoyed the cold so much.

Link brought the snowball up to his warm face and blew his breath onto the snow; allowing it to sparkle with ice before throwing it up into the snowy covered trees, cupping his cheeks to replicate the sound of a crow. The body flinched as snow fell from the treetops, coating him like a freshly made snowman. Link made more snowballs and continued to throw them upwards into the trees, forcing the snow to rain down on the ground creating thick dunes. Colin backed away a little as Link's echoing voice made the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end; Link shot a snowball that was jewelled up like ice at the back of Colin's head; icicles that had managed to cling onto the leafless branches stabbed into the ground. Link groaned, he could tell Colin was trying to work out what to do. Time for the Ace in the Hole

Muttering to himself; Link's fingers found a rope hidden in the branches of an old evergreen and he gave it a tug, dropping a skeleton down on the snow; empty skull facing his brother and bony fingers just touching his feet. Colin screamed and ran back the way he came. Link breathed a sigh but he needed to keep him away. To keep his secret, no one must know it.

Link replaced the skeleton high in the trees and yawned; he could sleep at the base, he thought. Speaking of the base, he was near the location now. Just across from the Forest Temple, there was a bunch of very convincing fake rocks. It was almost midnight when he got to the mouth of the Forest Temple Path, just before the little shop; unmanned or more, unbirded as the owner had flown south. Link lifted the iron pots that used to be filled with oil and potion and pressed a hand against the back of the shop; his fingers sliding into little indentations on the wall that had been built to fit him, jerking his wrist the indentations turned and they glowed red, lighting through his fingers, the rocks parted; showering him with dirt and fallen pebbles.

Before him lay a corridor with an ancient wind echoing through it, he began to walk into the dark; the wall closing behind him. Upon this, the walls lit up with light green flames that shone against his coat and the temperature began to rise slightly as the flames ran down the corridor to a small hub in the middle with three dusty passageways; each one labelled with a wood sign. He smiled and took the leftmost path; leading to a place where the floors were coated with straw and the stone walls had hollowed out areas with several water troughs and empty buckets ready to be filled.

His magic was returning and that meant so were they.

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Link has a secret that everyone wants to know and he's going to great lengths to keep it, what could this secret be?

Hi guys! I'm back! Did you miss me? Nah, of course you didn't. I've been really busy with work that I'm surprised I managed to get this out today, this is my December writing work, what I have done for a couple of years now. This has been the first time I've done a fan fiction piece though, I hope you like it, it will be uploaded every week, the last part being on Christmas Eve. See you later!