A/N - I spoil you guys.

I realized I forgot a disclaimer! Yes I don't own Zelda, but I own a Zelda hoodie. So, that's cool.

Enjoy this!


Getting back onto their horse's back, the two rode into the direction of Kakariko. If he had been alone, he would have travelled between shrines to arrive at Zora's domain himself. He considered it for a beat, but realized that she would never forgive him if he left her behind. It wasn't more than a day and a half journey on horseback to Zora's domain from where they were anyways. He figured if they needed too, they would stop at Kakariko for the night, but riding through the last leg of the journey might be worth it as long as they got to Zora's domain as soon as they could – for Zelda's sake.

During the day, the temperature seemed to plateau, and Link had to bet it had something to do with the interference from the sun. If they had been in the middle of the already temperate winters Hyrule usually had, then he figured they would have been plunged into a polar vortex. However, the summer sun and the humid winds coming from the south provided them with a much better outlook on an otherwise dire situation.

"Have you been to Kakariko recently?" Zelda asked him, making simple conversation.

Link nodded to her, and continued looking ahead. Zelda had opted to sit behind him this time; hands wrapped around his middle. He waited for her to see if she was going to ask anything else, she didn't. Instead Zelda continued to look around, eager to drink in as much fresh air and landscape as possible. A hundred years was a long time to stay inside.

The sun dipped lower, and the temperature immediately began to drop a couple degrees. Zelda shivered and pressed herself into Link's back, trying to get a close to him to feed off any body heat he was providing. He didn't neglect her touch, since he was close to shivering himself. He breathed out loudly, letting his warm breath touch his lips and chin.

"Can we use the potion?" Zelda asked, voice small.

Link shook his head, "We need to save it. I'm sorry."

"Okay."

"Can you hold out longer?"

Zelda nodded her head, "mm-hm," she tightened her grip around him and he breathed in sharply, "I'll be okay."

"Zelda." Link said, and she lifted her head off his back and looked towards his face. Link leaned his head back to look at her, "Don't lie. If you need help or want to stop, let me know."

Zelda nodded, a little surprised at the intensity of just a simple request. He had told her things such as this before, but he never looked like he genuinely meant it like he did now. "Okay, I will."

"Good."

Silence relapsed between them once again; Zelda leaned back down, pressing her left cheek to the fabric of his doublet. She was tired, and honestly wanted to sleep right here. She could if she wanted too. He was comfortable and warm against her. But she knew that if she fell asleep the cold weather could do some serious damage to her body. She needed to stay awake to get to Kakariko. Perhaps the Sheikah would be able to aid them like Purah had helped. She hated to say this to Link, but she felt like she needed to stay the night in Kakariko. They had only been riding for nearly four hours, but the temperature was dropping more by the minute. Every time Zelda looked out towards the horizon and saw the sun peek out of view just an inch more, she panicked.

Link cursed suddenly, tightening his fist around the horse's reigns. Zelda became alert immediately, trying to see where the danger was. She looked up and out into the white expanse, not seeing any immediate threat she looked at Link questioningly.

He struggled to get the horse under control, and his voice strained with the effort. "I'm not sure what's got her so spooked." He gasped. The horse bucked and Zelda screamed, falling off into the snow below. She landed awkwardly, and hit her head on a block of ice. It started bleeding immediately.

"Zelda!" He yelled, and threw himself off the horse to her side. Their horse ran back into the direction of the duelling peaks stable. Leaving Link and Zelda alone and stranded in the middle of the Necluda wilderness.

"Zelda, Zelda!" Link cried, shaking her limp form. Zelda was unconscious, the back of her head bleeding steadily. It wasn't a dire wound, but if he didn't get them out of the cold and treated soon her life would surely be in danger.

He needed to lift her, but he was unsure of how to go about doing it, what would be the fastest way to get her to Kakariko? Link bit his lip. It was at least another 2 hours walk to Kakariko from here. They wouldn't make it. The sun was already going down, and Link could see Zelda's lips going from the healthy pink to a sickly pale.

Seeing no other options, Link took out the sheikah slate. He had never attempted to warp with two people before. He used it throughout his journey for convenience and speed, but what if the slate couldn't support them both?

Obviously, he really had no other choice. It was either make the walk and risk Zelda bleeding out in the snow, or warp to Kakariko to get her treated. He turned on the slate and zeroed in on where they needed to go. It was now or never, and Link decided that the best time was definitely now.

A flash, a pop and a materialization of bodies- Link and Zelda landed in a heap at the base of the Shrine overlooking Kakariko village. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Link looked down to Zelda to see she was more or less in one piece. He raised his hand from where he was pressing against the wound on her head and watched it come away crimson.

He needed to move, now.

He raced down the mountain with Zelda in tow. Trying as best as he could to make haste but to be gentle. She was whimpering and murmuring in her unconscious state, and it only pushed Link to move faster. Zelda was the only person he could have considered a friend in this world. If she died tonight after a measly accident like a bump on the head, he would never forgive her.

He burst into the clearing, scaring a couple of rogue sheikah guarding their homes. Eventually people became panicked at the sight of Link holding a bleeding girl. When he made a beeline for Impa's house, he didn't have to ask for room.

Bursting the door open and startling Paya, Link raced up to the old woman. If Impa was startled, she didn't express it. Impa merely laid her eyes upon Zelda, weak, pale and bleeding all over her hardwood floor.

"Paya." Impa said calmly, "fetch a basin of warm water and a cleansing salve please."

Paya scurried upstairs, eager to find what was going on but also anxious to help. Link looked towards Impa desperately, and the older woman only shook her head and kept his gaze. "I will need to see what I am working with."

Impa packed much more vigour than she looked. Despite age holding her bones brittle, she moved and tended to Zelda with the practice of an experienced Nurse. Link couldn't recall his days with Impa – but as he watched her, he realized this conclusion could have very well been true.

Impa placed a hand on Zelda's forehead, "She's too cold." Looking at Link, she grabbed a warm towel from Paya who returned with the water. "She won't be able to heal if she can't warm up." Impa's eyes looked towards a small hearth in the corner, which was unlit. Unusual since it was so cold outside. "I'm afraid a common flame won't warm her up. It needs to be a blue flame. Ancient flame."

Link turned desperate, the only blue flame nearby was Hateno's and it wasn't as if he could walk the day's worth of blue flame to Kakariko. Link would definitely try but he knew it would go out before he could get there.

Impa didn't seem concerned, "the source of our blue flame has been compromised because of this out of season weather." She waved a frail hand, "It's the divine beast, isn't it?"

Link nodded.

Impa continued, "fix it, and then Zelda will get better. Sorry to do this to you after you deserve some rest, but it seems you're needed again."

Link let his shoulders sag, but understood that he needed to do this to protect Zelda's life. He made a promise a long time ago, but the most important promise was the one he made to himself. When he heard her voice guiding him to the place he needed to be when he woke up, he knew someone had helped him. He would protect the person who saved him, so saving her once more was the least he could do.

Link took out the sheikah slate, and zoomed in on Zora's domain, with a nod to Impa, and a nod to Paya, he quickly exited the room.


All throughout the night, Zelda dreamed.

They plagued her and they delighted her. It was no secret Zelda struggled with nightmares – she had even when she was a child. But the dreams that fever brought her always felt as if they were omens to future events.

She had dreams of the past, of places she had not seen and faces she had not recognized, with names she did not know.

Zelda felt as if she was trapped within a place where she could not climb. She could hear Link speaking to her but could not reply. She could feel people tending to her but could not assist.

In her gut, Zelda knew that this sort of sickness, whatever it was – was not to blame solely because of the bump she suffered. She knew it had something to do with her power. She also knew it had something to do with Link.

She had visions of what she needed to tell him when she placed the sword in its pedestal in the Lost Woods, but for the life of her could not remember! What was so important? What had the goddess whispered to her that was so critical for him to find?

Zelda dreamed and slept and teetered on the verge of consciousness, but never found a way out.


As soon as he arrived in Zora's domain, Link downed the potion. It was so cold you could nearly see the vapour in the air solidify. Link also noticed something else.

Zora's entire domain was completely frozen over.

He blinked back a wave of familiarity; it was almost like he had seen this before.

He walked the path up towards the main room, seeing two Zora's completely encased in a block of ice. It was almost as if they were taken immediately by surprise. One Zora had her hand up in a conversation, the other looked to be thoughtfully listening.

Link felt a little uncomfortable, almost like he was eavesdropping. Granted, he did that often (mostly accidental, sometimes on purpose) but it was one thing to be in on a conversation where someone could tell you to get lost, and another where they simply couldn't.

Grasping the crystal railing, Link continued up. He passed a couple other Zora's, some not as frozen as others. Link could've sworn he saw one's eyes move to follow him as he walked across his field of vision, but blamed it on the eerie feeling he was getting from the whole place. Entering the throne room, Link was taken aback at how surprised he was, since he expected to see the following, but also hoped he wouldn't. The Zora King was completely melded to the throne, and his beloved son- nowhere to be found.

Link left the domain, trying to understand what could've malfunctioned so badly in Vah Ruta to cause such a horrific side effect. He took the steps up to the divine beast's lookout double time, and once he arrived at the top gasped at the sight. Vah Ruta was nearly standing straight tall, trunk in the air- spewing a mix of snow and cold air. Link had to get inside it, but it looked like he would have to improvise a little.

The bright side – the lake was completely frozen over. Betting his luck the ice was pretty solid since Zora's domain seemed to be, he stepped tentatively down on the surface. Making sure it held, he jogged across the ice.

As he got closer to Vah Ruta, he noticed a figure standing near the centre. After a few more steps, he realized it was the Zora prince - Sidon! The stark red of his fin a contrast against the white and blue of the environment. Link picked up the pace, eager to ask him many questions jumping on his tongue.

Until he reached the Prince and saw him completely frozen solid.

Now Link was confused, surely the Zora's wouldn't have just stayed in one place to be frozen like this. Something must have frozen them in a short amount of time.

The ground rumbled and shook. Link looked up towards Vah Ruta and suddenly paled. Coming out of her trunk was a steady stream of water. How cold it was – Link didn't know. But what he did know was that he needed to find cover before he was splashed and frozen for good.

He ducked underneath Vah Ruta's body and began climbing frantically. He stayed as close to the beast as possible in an attempt to shelter himself from any possible exposure to the freezing water. Thankfully, halfway up Vah Ruta's leg, the stream ceased. Link sighed in relief and set his sights on a small opening at the apex of where Vah Ruta's leg met her torso.

He let himself inside, squeezing through the gap and into the chamber. He knew the beast well, and upon seeing the familiar area once again, became more hopeful in his plight to help Zelda. He knew she would be upset that he had left to investigate the divine beast without her, but obviously, he had to have his priorities.

Upon entering, he didn't notice anything strange. It was exactly as he'd left it many weeks ago. There weren't any signs of tampering, which was strange since it was behaving so oddly. Link made his way to the control panel, hoping to see if the slate could tell him the thing he needed to know.

Tapping the device onto the panel, he waited for it to activate. He waited, and waited, and waited again. It was strange to him because even when the blight of Ganon was upon this place the panel responded. Link wondered if the fact that Mipha's presence left the beast caused this reaction? He hoped not.

Leaving the panel for now, Link dived deeper into the beast. Once he arrived at different rooms, he noticed dark spots that belonged to corruption. Why was it returning? Didn't he banish it before? Growing more concerned, he made do with the spots with an arrow and continued his trek inwards.

Along with his search, he spotted more instances of blight and got rid of them as he went. Why were they here? Did he forget to do something last time? He made a mental note to himself to contact every region with a divine beast, was Vah Ruta the only one acting differently? Or were they all?

Exhausted with this journey already, he once again returned to the control panel, only to still have it be silent. Link didn't understand, he checked all the terminals, and all the rooms, but couldn't find anything wrong. Why was Vah Ruta still not settling?

It was then he spotted it, behind the control panel. It was a shadow. It was small and moved very oddly, like it skulked around waiting for someone to drop his or her guard. Link titled his head to the side, watching the little thing move. With every step it caused more blight to spread from its feet. Link finally understood, a benevolent spirit was causing the change in behaviour.

Link nocked an arrow, and as soon as he took aim, the shadow turned to look right at him. Its red eyes seeing deep into his heart, and Link dropped the bow.

He clutched his heart, and it was as if he felt himself growing weaker. The little shadow came closer to him, but Link stepped back. The further he distanced himself from this little monster the better he felt, but the monster kept coming closer towards him. What was this thing, and why was it so interested in Link?

The little shadow held out its hands, trying to reach for Link, trying to touch him. Link wouldn't dare let this thing place a hand on him, he nocked another arrow, taking aim and firing. No effect – obviously. But it didn't hurt to try.

He was running out of ideas, he couldn't stop time on a shadow, he couldn't magnetize a shadow, couldn't cut a shadow or freeze one. Think Link, think!

Suddenly, he felt the life energy he was feeling drained come back. Something deep within his soul thrummed, and he could hear a spark in the air. The sword? The one that called for him?

He drew the master sword slowly, and held it at arms length. The little shadow immediately recoiled, as if being burned in holy light. Link seemed to catch on quickly, and instead of being the hunted; Link became the hunter.

Either because he was stupid, or just reckless. Link threw the master sword at the little shadow, and the little shadow burst in shards of three – raining down onto the ground. They were black crystal, but didn't seem to affect Link when he touched them. He pocketed them anyways along with his sword, and turned towards the control panel.

He touched his slate to the side, and the beast lit up. He could hear the gears turning inside Vah Ruta as her trunk came back down to its relaxed position. The sky cleared, water dripping from the summer sun already doing its work on the melting snow.

While he wanted to stick around and fill in the Zora's – he would have to do that later. For now, he would need to run back to Kakariko, to see if by the time he got there, the snow had melted enough so the hearth could flourish with the blue flame.

He arrived at their mountain shrine and paraglided down to the porch of Impa's house. He was relieved to see bits of green grass and mud poking out from the lawns already and burst into Impa's main room.

Impa was seated at her usual spot, smirking, and waiting for him. "I really underestimated how hot Hyrule's summers get." She mused, "It seems humidity is a blessing rather than a burden on some days."

Not really in the mood for Impa's imparted wisdom, Link looked around anxiously, "Zelda?"

Impa pointed up, and Link bid his thanks and went.

He raced up the stairs and turned the corner to see Zelda lying down in bed. Paya taking the time to feel her forehead and keep her close to the hearth that extended through the house. He looked down at Zelda, and was relieved to see colour back in her cheeks and a fullness back to her lips.

"How did she do?" He asked Paya, and Paya seemed startled at the many words Link was gifting her.

"She struggled for a bit until the sun came up." Paya smiled, "But after the clouds broke away and she was placed next to the blue flame, she looked better almost instantly."

Link nodded, and watched Zelda intently, waiting for any sign of immediate wake.

"Would you like to sit with her?" Paya asked, "I will be downstairs if you need anything."

Link nodded to her, and sat beside Zelda, trying to judge if she was looking sicker, or if it was just him worrying over nothing.

He scowled, a bump on the head wouldn't have been this bad. He knew that the horse wouldn't have been spooked if it wasn't so cold, and then Zelda wouldn't have fallen, and then there wouldn't have been ice for her to fall on, and then-

"Link?" He heard his name being called, and he looked down into the confused green of Zelda's. "Are you okay?"

He felt instant relief, but didn't want to show it in case anyone was listening, "Yes, are you?"

Zelda nodded, "I feel a lot better, what happened? All I remember we were on the horse and then I fell…"

Link decided that he didn't care if anyone was listening, he was relieved.

He rushed towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to convey how happy he was that she was okay. Zelda seemed to get the message, because she patted his hands, "There, there" She said, "I'm okay."

Link laughed softly, which might have been considered inappropriate for the situation. However seeing Zelda's incredulous face made him laugh harder, the sound ringing out throughout the small room.

"Oh Hylia!" He said, startling her, "You've made me worry terribly!" even though as he said this, he was smiling.

Link was just glad she was okay, but honestly – the stress and the worry that had come with the mixture of emotions when she woke up just enticed something in him he couldn't explain. It was almost as if he couldn't believe what had just transpired in the past two days, his laughter could only be due to the situations absurdity.

Eventually, Zelda began laughing too. Her shoulders shook with effort, "Why is it that something so simple always seems to be so complicated with us?"

Link beamed at her, she nailed it right on the head – figuratively, of course.


Link had recapped for her what had happened inside Vah Ruta. The entire time he was telling this story, Zelda looked thoughtful. She agreed with him that they definitely needed to return to inform the Zora's of what went wrong. Zelda also agreed that they needed to contact the Gerudo, The Gorons, and the Rito as soon as possible. What Link and Zelda couldn't agree on though was what the little entity was from. Zelda was convinced it had something to do with Ganon; Link was convinced it had something to do with ancient technology. However the fact of the matter was that the master sword responded to whatever the entity seemed to be. If Link were going to travel to the four beasts to make sure nothing else lurked in the dark, they needed to find something that could harness the master swords power. Link was sure the only place they were going to find anything of the sort was in Akkala.

Impa had of course – realized the girl in her care was Zelda but had just never commented on it. If Zelda wanted her to say something about it, she would. But until the girl came out and said what she wanted, Impa would not assume she knew best.

She heard footsteps walking down the landing, and knew Link and Zelda were prepared to make the trip to Zora's domain, most likely to speak to the king. Impa looked at the young adults from under the brim of her headdress and kept whichever intruding thought to herself. Something about her granddaughter, and another about the way Zelda and Link looked standing beside each other.

"You're leaving I take it?" Impa asked.

"Yes, Thank you for everything, Impa." Link bowed his head a little.

"Wait, hold on. I'm sorry." Zelda looked to Link for an explanation, "You just happened to forget to tell me we were in Impa's care?"

Link shrugged, "I had other things to worry about. Like making sure you got better."

Zelda turned away from him and looked towards Impa, her kind eyes conveying her recognition and her thanks. She walked up to Impa and took the woman's hands, "It's been a while. But I am glad you are still here."

Impa smiled, "My dear, you must thank the Sheikah longevity, if I were Hylian, I would be long dead by now."

Zelda beamed, and Link stretched his arms behind his back absentmindedly behind her. "I wish to stay longer and catch up with you," Zelda turned towards Link, "But we really must be going. I promise to return."

Impa smirked, "Duty calls, travel safely this time, my dear."

Zelda sputtered and Link blushed, "I hope we do."

Exiting the house and walking casually down the stairs, Zelda raised her face into the sunshine, welcoming the warm air and the breeze passing through the clearing. Reminding her it was still in the midst of summer.

She turned to Link, who was handing her the Sheikah slate, "So, where to?"

Link smiled and leaned into her shoulder, showing her which location to tap.