4th Memory – Frozen
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Ready to leave their previous ordeal far behind them, Link and Zelda decide to pay a visit to Impa in Kakariko Village to the north.
The elderly Sheikah has a glint in the eye and a warm smile on her face upon seeing them enter. "News has already spread far and wide of your success in the struggle against the Calamity," she informs. "I'm so proud of you both."
They thank her in turn.
Noticing a small amount of electric light radiating from Zelda's satchel, Impa cries, "Oh! What is that you have there, dear?"
"This?" Zelda asks, pulling out the scale.
"Oh, my! That's one of Farosh's scales! How did you ever find something so valuable?"
"It's a funny story, actually..." Zelda starts sheepishly. She proceeds to tell Impa the whole tale...minus the part about them only being in their underwear, of course.
"That reminds me of something I heard spoken of long ago," Impa recalls. "Rumor has it that taking a scale from each of the three dragons to the ruins of the Temple of Time will unlock something of great importance."
"Really?" they gasp collectively.
"Like what?" Zelda asks.
"Of that I am not certain," Impa replies. "I suppose you'll just have to discover that one for yourselves...oh, and that reminds me of one other thing. Lately, we've been hearing the ice dragon Naydra crying from her nest above the Spring of Wisdom. I fear she may be in trouble and need assistance. I hate to trouble you with such a task after all you've already been through, but I can't find anyone else willing and brave enough to make the journey up there to see what's the matter."
Link and Zelda exchanged glances, nodding at each other. "We'll go check on Naydra," Zelda assures the Sheikah.
"Thank you so much, dear."
As the duo turn to leave, Impa adds, "Oh...and Zelda, do be safe and please don't forget to dress appropriately this time. You remember what happened the last time you went up there, don't you?"
Zelda waves her hands in front of her in a desperate attempt to cut Impa off but can only groan in defeat as Impa starts telling the story she once passed on to the Sheikah.
O.O.O.O.O.O
"Really, Zelda, I don't mind if you borrow my jacket for a while," Link says as he and Zelda are seen trudging up Mt. Lanaryu. "I've got enough layers on that I'll be fine. I'd much prefer to shiver for a while if it means you won't get sick."
"I appreciate your generosity, Link, but I'm perfectly fine. This sort of thing builds up a person's resistance to the elements, after all," Zelda responds. Her arms are crossed in front of her and she rubs them constantly in an attempt to stay warm. Her only clothing is her white ceremonial dress which is undoubtedly much too thin for this kind of frigid weather.
Even after finding out that Hateno Village didn't have any cold-weather gear in stock, Zelda was still determined to climb Mt. Lanaryu without it, insisting that she could deal with "a little cold." Of course, Link almost refused to let her go without appropriate clothing and only relented after she declared that she was going whether he accompanied her or not. Her reasoning was that, since she had collected plenty of spicy peppers during their earlier trip to the Gerudo Desert, she could simply cook a hot meal to warm her up whenever the cold was too much for her. However, her supplies of peppers and other spicy foods hadn't lasted nearly as long as she'd expected, leaving her in her current predicament.
Link begrudgingly allows her stubbornness to win out even though he knows she's just setting herself up for a nasty cold...or worse yet, pneumonia. He keeps track of her out of the corner of his eye, looking for the telltale signs of illness. It doesn't take long for the first symptom to rear its head—an innocuous sneeze...then another...and another...
"Do you need a tissue?" he offers.
"No thanks" is her firm reply. However, the train of sneezes continues and shows no sign of stopping. A chain of events is set in motion after a particularly violent sneeze—the thick blanket of snow covering the steep mountainside ahead of them suddenly begins sifting downward...then it starts streaming...then so much snow is moving that it's nothing short of an avalanche heading straight for them!
Reacting quickly, Link grabs Zelda's arm and pulls her toward a boulder off to their side which they take refuge behind. To their relief, most of the snow is harmlessly diverted around the large rock, leaving them able to emerge a minute later after they can be reasonably sure the danger has passed.
Needless to say, Link doesn't take no for an answer this time after he plops his jacket onto her shoulders.
O.O.O.O.O.O
Zelda bristles at this unwanted recollection, of how she once put them both in grave danger simply by being so stubborn. It was one thing for her stubbornness to put her own self in danger as it had with the Yiga clan ambush on her in the Gerudo Desert, but it was another matter entirely for it to endanger someone else in the process. She had desperately wanted to make it up to Link...if only she'd had the chance to so before the Calamity took place. Zelda was painfully reminded once again of why she had only given Impa a handful of photos to pass on to Link.
"I think you're about the same size as my granddaughter," Impa comments after studying Zelda up and down carefully. "I know Paya has a few cold-weather outfits appropriate for those snowy mountains in her room upstairs. I'm sure she wouldn't mind letting you borrow one of them for a good cause like this. Help yourself."
Zelda is grateful for Impa's generosity. She selects one of the warm wool outfits and changes into it. Likewise, Link dons the cold weather gear he bought a while ago in Rito Village before they depart.
O.O.O.O.O.O
The two trek east toward Mt. Lanaryu, crossing paths with a variety of hardy animals along the way such as white foxes and moose. As dusk approaches, an aurora can clearly be seen against the darkening sky, illuminating it with an incredible breadth of colors.
Even long before reaching the peak of the mountain, decorated with a multitude of enormous ice crystals refracting the lights of the aurora, they can plainly hear Naydra's cries of anguish in the distance. As they come within view of the mountaintop, they see dark pools of concentrated malice covering the dragon's frosted, shimmering scales.
"I thought when we defeated Ganon that all the malice disappeared along with him!" Zelda gasps in horror.
"You and me both," Link replies, disappointment evident in his tone.
Once they reach the summit, Link pulls out his bow and begins shooting arrows at the malice slowly eating the dragon alive, putting it in indescribable agony. Although Zelda thinks taking aim at the friendly dragon is a strange way to help it, after witnessing the lesions continue shrinking the more Link's arrows pierce them, she realizes this must be the only way they can help it. Naydra's scales are protecting it from suffering any actual harm from the arrows, anyway. Thus, Zelda wields her own bow and lets several arrows fly at the dragon, although her aim is noticeably less accurate than Link's from having had far less practice.
Suddenly, Naydra starts flying away from its nest, taking to the skies. The dragon's side-to-side movement with its unbelievably long and slender body creates updrafts all around it. Link knows this is his cue to pull out his paraglider and follow after Naydra using the wind to keep him airborne.
Zelda can do nothing but watch him from the peak, unable to follow for lack of her own paraglider, a unique tool made from a magic-imbued cloth which unfortunately can't be replicated, not even by the most skilled craftsman in all Hyrule. She stares in awe of Link's skill with a bow, shooting arrows as quickly and accurately as if he was somehow bending the very fabric of time itself.
Just as Link is taking care of the last pool of malice on Naydra's lower body, the dragon unexpectedly swipes its tail, unintentionally hitting Link hard and causing him to drop his paraglider and plummet to the snowy ground below.
"Link!" Zelda cries at the top of her lungs. She can't believe what she just witnessed! A fall from such a height probably injured him, maybe even—no. She forces herself to maintain hope in his health and safety. She must have faith that he will pull through!
Zelda swiftly climbs down from Naydra's nest and runs as fast as she can through the high snow to his distant position, stumbling several times along the way but rapidly pushing herself back up.
When she finally reaches Link, she immediately notices his skin is tinged a light, sickly blue. Naydra's frigid tail instantly froze every last drop of moisture on him, causing icicles to stick to his clothing. Link shivers violently and uncontrollably as the cold rapidly numbs various parts of his body. His teeth clack rapidly and his breathing is short and ragged. He only opens his eyes enough to see Zelda hovering over him fretfully before he shuts them once again, unable to concentrate his thoughts on anything while the extreme cold pierces him like knives.
Zelda throws opens her satchel and hastily rummages through it until she finds a small fairy she captured around the great fairy fountain back in Kakariko Village. She silently thanks the goddesses that she remembered to collect one before they set off because it might very well be the only thing which can save his life now. She allows the fairy to work its healing magic on him as it flits around his prone form. Zelda hurriedly builds a fire next to Link using their small supply of logs and flint. She knows his hands and cheeks will succumb to frostbite soon if they aren't warmed promptly so she gets to work rubbing them, the friction generating essential heat.
Even with all her efforts, however, very little improvement can be noted in Link's condition. His skin remains light blue and he continues shivering uncontrollably. Night has fallen and the temperatures are dropping accordingly, so she takes off her jacket and places it over him, knowing he needs it much more than her.
There's one more thing she knows she could do for him which would undoubtedly be beneficial, although she hesitates to offer it out of stark embarrassment. Yet she quickly realizes that now is not the time to let shyness get in the way of helping Link survive the night, so she lays next to him in the snow and wraps her arms around him tightly, bringing her body as close to him as possible.
Zelda notices a large blue object sparkling in the snow not far off. Is that...one of Naydra's scales? she wonders. She makes a mental note to pick it up the next day when she has the chance since she can't afford to leave Link's side at the moment. She enters a light sleep at some point during the night, lulled by the peaceful quiet of the arctic tundra and the softness of the snow which protects them from the biting chill of the wind.
Upon waking the next morning, Zelda looks to her side to see Link stirring ever so slightly. His face is a much healthier color than it was the other day and his symptoms of distress have lessened significantly. He even manages to slowly rise to a sitting position on his own.
Zelda wastes no time before enveloping Hyrule's savior in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're all right!" she exclaims in excitement.
Link makes an audible groan at this.
"Oh, sorry! Did I hurt you?" she asks worriedly.
"Well...I'm still a little sore from yesterday, but I'll be fine," he responds, placing Zelda's coat back on her. He looks at her intently, face lit up with a smile, before adding, "Thank you."
She smirks. "A brave man once said, 'there's no need to thank me.' And besides, I was just paying you back for what you've done for me so many times before."
"Yes...but it was my duty. You, on the other hand, had no obligation to help me."
Zelda puts a hand to her hip in mock resentment. "Are you saying you wouldn't have helped me all those times before if you didn't have to?"
"Of course I would have still helped you," he protests.
"Then there you go! I helped you because I wanted to, not because I had to—the same way you always help me without giving it a second thought."
Link smiles even wider than before, feeling a warmth spread all over his body that no flame could ever hope to compete with.
O.O.O.O.O.O
A/N: Despite not having a plan for how I would end this fanfic when I started it (never a good idea, BTW), there will be a proper and (more than likely) satisfying ending to this. There will probably only be one or two chapters after this unless I decide to add filler chapters (but I probably won't).
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Outtake [crossover edition]:
(Zelda is trudging through the tundra when a silver-haired, crown-wearing young woman crosses her path belting out a familiar tune...)
"Wrong set, Elsa."
"But I thought the title of this chapter was—"
"The Arendelle set is over there." (Zelda points)
(The ice queen decides to let it go, stomping toward her kingdom of isolation, creating frozen fractals with every step)
