Chapter 4: A Dream of a Life Again

It didn't take me long to tell Anju, Ilia, and Rusl, what had occurred between me and Zelda. They, like me, were taken aback by how forward she was. The fireplace behind me roared in a pleasant warmth along with the scent of delicious soup, but I couldn't help but shiver when I told them of her confession.

Rusl's eyebrows furrowed as he stood to my right, "She took on two dozen trained soldiers by herself? Something's wrong with that, it's impossible."

I nodded my head in agreement, "I understand your disbelief, but if you had just seen her eyes. They don't lie. They more bore into your soul and set it on fire."

Across me and to the left, Ilia scoffed, crossing her arms and glaring into the fire, "this woman… Zelda- she is no good. I say we take her to the authorities."

"That's easier said than done," replied Rusl, running his hands through his hair, "her skill level is much higher than both me and Link combined if her story holds weight. We have to come up with a plan."

"She won't fall for a trap easily. She's too intelligent and well read." I said, "A plan won't work either, and she won't trust me- the one who saved her. If she doesn't trust me, how will she trust anyone else?"

Anju, who sat across from me, was surprisingly silent throughout all of this. Her eyebrows were furrowed and lips pursed, but it wasn't in anger. It seemed more thoughtful, like she was mulling something over. Her green eyes flitted and met mine, but moved away just as quickly. It finally occurred to me that I hadn't seen Kafei in almost a week, and I felt terrible for it. I had assumed he had gone to town to get supplies, but it never took this long. It was when Anju spoke up that I knew something was definitely wrong.

"I say we let her go." Anju whispered. Her voice was quiet, but it rang in the air filled with authority and worry. Was she serious? Rusl and Ilia turned to look at her, all of us extremely puzzled.

Softly I asked, "Why?"

Anju's eyes doubled in size as she met my gaze. She knew I suspected something now, and I saw her face flush and her eyes water.

"Kafei… has gone missing. The day before you came back, Link, he left the inn to get supplies. He said he'd spend the night in Ordon and would be back this morning. The trip was only supposed to take three days, like they normally do."

My breath caught in my throat as I watched Anju's tears pool at the corner of her eyes and then finally fall down her face as she spoke. Worry lines creased her petite forehead and she looked like she hadn't slept in days as bags beneath her eyes showed themselves through her veil of makeup, which was quickly smearing with all of her tears.

"Why didn't you tell any of us?" Ilia asked, touching Anju's arm in support.

Anju shook her head, "because when he left, no one but me was around, and when you all got here after your own trips… you knew he had gone to get supplies without me telling. I wanted to tell you about it today, but then that woman showed up and I was at a loss of what to do. The thing that worries me most is… there was nothing different about this trip!"

She broke down sobbing, snot dripping out of her nose as she tried to wipe it away. I fell back in my chair, the helplessness and shock I felt from before settling into my bones. Kafei was missing? Had he deserted Anju? No, that wasn't right. Kafei was hot-tempered, sure, but he was as honest as the snow was white, and if he and Anju were having problems he wouldn't just run away without giving her a heads up. Besides, I've seen those two together, and I have never seen a more perfect couple.

I reviewed Kafei's supply route in my head. Every other week he would take the main road, in the inn's carriage and mule, straight out of the inn. The road was a direct shot to the nearest village of Ordon. The snow levels were lower as well since now and then a carriage would join the main road after riding along a smaller, back road. Kafei then would stay at one of the villagers' home for a day to make trades, our lumber for various items such as clothing, food, and other needed supplies. Ordon was surrounded by forest, but to them the forest was sacred and so they didn't dare touch any of the trees. Therefore, our lumber was always in high demand and became our sole income for the inn. After that day of trading, he would rest for the night and then head back come morning and be back around dusk.

To me, nothing should have held Kafei up. There had been times before when he didn't get any trades, times were tough for everyone after all, and he knew that the most important thing was to come back on time. This was something he had succeeded at doing the five years I spent here. That was why it was so strange that he hadn't made it back yet.

We sat in silence a few minutes before Anju's loud and teary sobs finally calmed, her shoulders quaking as she shakily sucked in air through her mouth.

I gripped her hand across the table and gave her a reassuring smile, "We'll find him, Anj, we will. Is that why you want to let Zelda go? You think she can lead you to Kafei?"

Anju shook her head, "no. I doubt she even knows who he is. I just have this feeling… That if we let her go, Kafei will come back. If we give her to the authorities, we won't"

"You think he's been kidnapped?" asked Rusl.

Anju slowly nodded her head and hiccupped, "like I said, I don't know how. It's just a gut feeling. Recently, Kafei took an interest in the sun and its disappearance. He was the one who told me to give up on it before though, so I thought it was pretty weird. He never explained where the interest came from though, just said that the hope was 'in all of us anyway.'"

I gave Anju's hand a squeeze and backed my chair up before I stood. So, in a way, the situation did come back to our enigma murderer, Zelda.

"Are you okay now Anju?" I asked. She nodded, tear stains marking her face. I walked around the table and gave her a hug, and Rusl and Ilia both joined in. Once we pulled away, I crossed my arms in deep thought.

"So… we're going to let her go?" Ilia asked. After all she heard, she still sounded dubious. For once, I didn't blame her. A gut feeling wasn't enough evidence to turn a murderer loose. It was stupid to rely on that. No one had the chance to answer Ilia, however, because at that moment, Zelda walked into the kitchen.

She held her head high proudly, but for some reason, I also saw humility there. It was very tiny; like the aura was struggling just to be there, but nonetheless, something about her stature told me she wasn't full of herself- the exact opposite of before. She still wore her black cloak, but it looked clean, and she looked refreshed. A smirk played on her rosy lips when she sat in the seat I had just been in, but said nothing to anyone.

It was silent. No one moved; no one dared to even breathe. The room was too quiet.

Finally an exasperated sigh left Ilia's lips and she left the room. My whole body ached to go with her, to be anywhere but in the vicinity of a murderer, but my feet remained planted. This woman was my responsibility. I saved her, after all.

Anju looked terrified as she was suddenly facing Zelda. So it wasn't just me, Zelda's eyes unsettled Anju too. After a minute or so though, Anju seemed to gather her wits and remember that she was a hostess. She cleared her throat as she asked,

"Umm… W-would you like anything to eat or drink?"

Zelda perked a brow at Anju and her smirk became even wider, "I thought you would never ask."

Anju nodded stiffly and stood, rushing over to the soup pot which sat over the fire. She looked at me in fear, our eyes making contact. Unable to help myself, I scoffed and then went to get the witch a drink.

Meanwhile, Rusl took Anju's seat across from Zelda. The two stared at each other, and it seemed a silent agreement was passed between the two because after a moment, both began to laugh uncontrollably.

Anju and I stare in utter shock. What the hell? Did they know each other? It wasn't until Anju almost over poured Zelda's soup bowl and burned herself that the both of us were knocked out of our confusion. I also couldn't help but feel a pang of something weird towards Rusl. How come he gets on her good side, when I'm the one that saved her life?

"Do you know each other?" Anju asked as she placed a bowl of soup in front of Zelda. Zelda immediately picked up her spoon and began to eat in slow, dainty sips. Her eyes widened at the taste of the soup, it was cuckoo and rice after all, but I wasn't sure if she enjoyed it or not. At least she kept eating.

Rusl shakes his head, "of course not, but I know a foreigner when I see one. She ain't from Hyrule at all. She's from Termina, somewhere south of here."

I placed a cup in front of her and take the seat next to Rusl. South? But she was west of the inn…

"How did you end up in that clearing, then?" I asked. Zelda turned her head towards me, a cruel look of amusement running through her.

"Oh, don't look so annoyed. I hate having debts towards anyone that is the only reason that I am angry with you. Although my nature is caustic and brash, I am not an unreasonable woman."

I rolled my eyes, "you just described an unreasonable woman. And you still haven't answered my question!"

She chuckled, waving her spoon at me, "In due time Link. You know… I made my mind up, and I have decided that my quest starts here. Those soldiers were just a detour, a way sent by the goddesses to right me on my path. As you well pointed out, I was coming from the wrong direction to be from Termina. But I am incredibly horrible with directions, so it shouldn't be surprising."

She was lying.

Her eyes gave it all away, but her head was turned towards me, shielding her face from both Rusl and Anju. She winked at me and turned back to them. My blood boiled- what the hell? She didn't even mention the king like she did before. What in Farore's name was that!

I stood abruptly, all eyes on me, and left the kitchen. I needed to cool off. That woman, I couldn't explain how, grated my nerves and made me a very angry man. I never usually got angry, not at people anyway. There'd never been a need, not when we're all stuck on this hell hole, forced to freeze to death because the Triforce left us. Now, this woman, who claimed she was going to bring back the sun was here, I should be happy. Hopeful. Anything but angry.

I keep walking, past Ilia who was sitting on the bench in front of the inn's front desk. I ignored her questions and just kept walking, out the door, into the snow, the cold. I didn't stop when I passed the gate, when I entered the main road, or when I could no longer see the inn. I needed to cool my head.

Eventually, I figured I made it about four miles away from the inn. The main road was about a day's trip long on horseback, two on foot. I knew I wouldn't make it to Ordon, I wasn't even trying.

The road was empty, and snow dunes were piled high on each side. With each gust of wind, streams of snow flew into my eyes, and they stung. I needed to sit and think, but in the middle of a road, there was obviously nowhere to do so. I decided to climb a dune and get to the woods behind it. There, there was bound to be a fallen tree somewhere.

I climbed the snow dune, that was the easy part, but when I got to the top I didn't think of the steep, icy incline down to the bottom. It was easily 20 or 30 feet off the ground!

Carefully, I made my way down the back of the dune. I shuffled my feet to the side in a zig zag pattern downwards. Twice I slipped and fell on my face, and once I almost fell to the bottom and into a tree trunk where I would've certainly smashed my skull in. Once I was finally at the bottom, I took a minute to catch my breath. I was hot again from all the exertion, and the heat annoyed me because it reminded me of Zelda.

Shaking my head, I stood and continued to walk deeper into the forest. I didn't have to go far before I found a log that I could sit on, but I decided to go even further until I could no longer see the snow dune behind me. Of course, this was dangerous, because now I could be lost forever, but I didn't care. It was hard for me to admit that it was anger that carried me all that way.

I walked for about half an hour before I finally sat on the log of my choosing. I relaxed, stretching and leaning and shifting until I was in a comfortable position.

Surrounded by the bleakness of the snow, the biting teeth of the cold, and emptiness of the forest, I allowed my mind to wander. For a while, it remained on Zelda and her infuriating nature, but eventually it moved on to Rusl, then Ilia, then Anju, and finally Kafei. I wondered if I, with zero supplies to get me through a cold night, would be able to get to Ordon and back without dying. Eventually someone would have to anyway, we had to check on Kafei and his whereabouts. Hopefully, he was still in Ordon, and unhurt as well. Then that whole mess could just blow over, but I seriously doubted that that was where he was.

I wondered if Zelda really had something to do with it, whether she knew it or not. Maybe the king found out that she was hiding at our inn and found Kafei and used him as blackmail. I chuckled to myself, that didn't makes sense and I knew it. Still, I was worried for Kafei, and Anju too, wherever he was I hoped he was warm and well fed.

I don't know when it happened, but eventually my mind turned completely blank. I thought of nothing, did nothing, just stared at a fixed point in the distance. A point I couldn't even completely see. Maybe I sat there for hours, or maybe only a couple minutes, but the silence and cold reached into my soul, which had been ignited and burning with an uncontrollable heat, and quelled it, the flame now nonexistent. My head cooled, and finally I was at peace again.

It was a good thing too, because an amazing thing happened.

Zelda appeared.

She came from the direction that I did. She was still decked in her cloak, but it was drawn over her head so that I couldn't see her eyes. Her feet crunched lightly in the snow, and her breath came out in heavy tendrils of vapor. I definitely wasn't glad to see her, I knew that much, but for some reason, I wasn't upset that she was there. Maybe the cold fixed my anger and I became the complacent person I usually was again. Maybe.

Zelda walked over to the log and sat next to me, her breathing labored. Again, she said no greeting, like my existence wasn't worth noting. It didn't even occur to me that it was weird that she came instead of Ilia or Rusl. It seemed right in a way. She was the problem, so she came to fix it. Although how she found me I wasn't sure, nor did I really care.

"You know…" I began, "there's no need to lie to them. They know everything you've done."

Zelda laughed, airy and without humor, "oh I know. I heard your whole conversation. And 'bitch' is a good way to describe me."

It shouldn't surprise me, given all that she's pulled already, but still, it does. She must've followed me down the stairs after Ilia took me.

"Then why the lies? Why the fake humility?" at least I figured it was fake, it was the one characteristic that didn't fit with anything she'd done so far.

"I never lie, because I know my eyes give them away. Yet that one was necessary, and it was also necessary that you knew it was a lie."

"There you go again," I spat "spouting nonsense like it should make sense to me, when it doesn't."

Zelda stood and walked over a nearby tree in front of us. She circled it, looking at it the whole time as she spoke.

"What do you know about the sun? Surely you weren't born in the time when it was still around, yet you give off this… feeling that it intrigues you the most among your friends."

I shrug, peeved that she once again changed the subject, "I know that it was warm, that it grew our food, that it was a good thing."

When I said 'good', Zelda began to laugh again. Like everything I said was a big joke.

"There you go. That's the problem. People regard the sun with too much fantasy tied to it. While in truth, it is all the things you speak of, there are two sides to the sun, like a coin. Everyone is associated with the good side- the heads, if you will- but everything has a bad side. A tail to its head, a con to its pro, a consequence to the action."

"How can the sun be bad? It's better than all this snow."

Zelda removed her hood and looked at me, and I had to hold my breath to meet her gaze evenly.

"Tsk, tsk. And who was it sporting the calm and complacent look when I walked in? You, and admit it, it was an effect of the snow. Snow also has two sides to its coin, but in its case- since it is literally everywhere, everyone sees the bad. Me too, I hate the snow. It is white, but it doesn't create light. It reflects it, away from the earth, from the people who need the light. Right now, it is late, but the snow creates a fake atmosphere, like it is very early in the day, and that is the snow's fake light. I hate it."

I sighed, "You're very opinionated about weather, aren't you? Well what's this second side to the sun?"

She grinned, a playful and mischievous light entering her eyes, "much like everyone hates the snows' cold- everyone loves the sun's warmth. But heat is a better word for it. The sun isn't merciful. It doesn't give a damn about the inhabitants of the earth. Relentlessly it will pump its rays of sun down onto the unsuspecting victim- be it human, animal, or plant. When the sun is angry, everything dies of dehydration- of the sun literally stealing the energy out of your body. The heat that makes you sweat, makes you uncomfortable, unhappy. The sun which destroys everything in its path and creates a desert out of an oasis. That is the bad side."

I looked at her incredulously, "you're kidding, right? The sun has never done that."

Zelda scoffed, "no one knows the evil face of the sun, and no one is ready to face it. They complain about snow, but once it's gone and the sun comes back, they'll complain about that too. People don't know what they're signing up for, praying for the sun's return."

"I thought you were going to bring the sun back."

Zelda nodded, "I am, but part of my mission is to make people prepared for it. No one can have their cake and eat it too. To have the sun, you must keep it- all of it."

I laughed and shook my head, "you're really something strange- you know that? You hate on everyone you meet, but are going to make the ultimate sacrifice and bring back the sun. You are a contradiction, I am not even sure you can do it."

She smirked, "oh I can do it, and I will show you proof in a moment. But first, it won't be I who makes the ultimate sacrifice. It will be my companion."

I perked a brow, "companion?"

She crossed her arms and kicked some snow around, "I wasn't lying about saying my quest starts here, just everything else. My quest just doesn't lie with your whole group. It lies with one person."

"And you think that person is me?" I asked, catching her drift. There'd been no other reason for her to come out here after all. She sauntered over to me, her eyes never leaving mine, their clearness pierced my soul, relighting it so that once again it was a burning inferno of uncontrollable heat. Anger. So she really was the cause. Suddenly her face was right in front of mine, and she whispers.

"Are you willing to kill a man for my sake?"

Immediately I recoiled, falling off the log. I sputtered and stood; indignation and anger coursing through me once again. I wanted to hit her for some reason. And here I thought I was peaceful.

"No!" I yelled, "I will never kill anyone! Never!"

Her eyes hardened and became a stormy blue, her face was angry, like she knew the truth.

"Then you are not the companion I seek. I have no further use for you." She said; her tone clipped and terse.

My gut sank. She was going to kill me. I had no doubt in my mind she would, but she just turned around and walked to the tree from before.

"You doubted my ability to bring the sun back?" she demanded, her voice barely audible from the distance, "I can, and I will, because I am like the sun. Vicious, unforgiving. I can control its power and bring it back for all to understand my might. I will prove myself."

She placed her hand on the trunk of the tree and a bright, yellow light exploded from beneath it. It radiated such energy that everything blew with a mystical wind away from it. It took all my strength to remain standing as I shielded my eyes from the incredible light. I was almost blinded, both in sight and mind. Warmth finds its way into me as the light washed over me in waves- quelling the incessant inferno inside and leaving behind a nice warm flame, like that found in a fireplace. It was the complete opposite of the snow- which had merely snuffed the flame and left a cold feeling behind.

I was bathed in this light, reborn.

I squinted through the light to see Zelda's outline. She too had a calm and happy look on her face, her eyes filled with a warmth I had never thought she'd be capable of expressing. I stared, becoming drunk on her expression. Time stopped. All I felt was the gentle tug of the waves of light- of sunshine, and warmth. I was happy.

It felt like the blinding, beautiful light ended all too soon. The effect was immediate; I could already feel the warmth leave me as I squinted to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness but simultaneously hold on to the imprinted rays of light in my eyes.

Zelda was right; the snow was not bright, not as bright as the rays of the sun.

I felt blind, and as deprived as an addict- black spots danced in my vision, and my whole body felt woozy. I sat in the grass, feeling the cool blades against my hands. My eyes shot open, and I ignored the blindness, forcing my brain to register what I was feeling. My hands were touching grass. Live grass, not the snow that was here just a moment ago, not the dead grass you sometimes found in the plains of Hyrule, but real green, beautiful live grass.

I had never felt so amazed by something so small, but so alive. I looked behind me, sure enough, a few feet back the snow was still there. In front of me the log looked different. No snow adorned its top like it did a moment ago, instead a variety of mushroom sprouted from it, along with moss on its bark. I stood, shakily at first, but with each passing moment with more confidence and strength. Was this a dream? Did I actually smell flowers? In front of the log they grew, in a variety of colors, from red to orange, to pink and blue. And then I saw the largest flower. I shook my head. No, it wasn't a flower- it was the tree that Zelda had touched.

No longer looking sickly and dead like the trees around it, that tree stood straight and majestic. Its limbs stretched to the sky where leaves- green, bright, alive, sprouted. Some branches had flowers as well, and as a light wind blew through, the petals were dislodged and fell to the ground in a slow movement, looking like snow but a thousand times prettier- in sight and scent. I was in awe, my jaw literally hung open.

The area around me was a circle of live grass and flowers, but a few feet away there was snow and dead things. The contrast hit me harshly, and it was like someone had just punched me in the gut. This tree was an oasis, in a desert of snow.

And then there was Zelda. She was in the same position as before, under the eaves of the tree, her hand on its trunk. Her eyes were still filled with that wonderful warmth. She gazed at the scene around her lovingly. She no longer looked like a princess, but a goddess. Her hair glowed in some of that heavenly light and her eyes were literally clear, but lucid and tranquil. It was as if they were no longer absorbing the light from around her, but creating it. Her skin glowed, no longer pale but slightly tanned, and her grey tattoos were now a shining gold. I looked at my hands. They were tanned as well!

I looked back up at her and our eyes met. She actually smiled at me.

"Do you believe me now?" she whispered. I nodded and she removed her hand from the trunk. I wanted to stop her, to tell her that whatever magic she was using needed to stay, but the scene didn't disappear. In fact, it seemed to grow stronger with the scent of flowers. I couldn't form words, there were none to form.

Zelda replaced her hood on her head and walked away. I couldn't follow. I was physically unable to do so. I drank in the sight of spring, a long forgotten myth, unable to get enough of it. If the sun could do that, if Zelda could do that, then maybe… I would follow her.

My stomach sank. Did I just agree to kill? My palms sweated and I rubbed them on my tunic as I began to panic. No, I would not kill. I was not her, I was no murderer.

My thoughts flew to her expression from just moments before- that wasn't the look of a murderer. That was the look of innocence. Whatever statement she wanted to prove, had she proved it?

If she had, I would ever know.

Merry Christmas all! And if you don't celebrate Christmas,

Happy Holidays!

I think I'm done with celebratory one-shots for a while. I'd rather update my MCs

Which reminds me, I need to update Codega soon, don't I?

Well, I'm working on it! I was actually surprised I got this chapter out on time, to be honest.

Anyway, this is my present to you for the holiday season,

So please let me know if you liked it or not by reviewing!

Thanks for reading!