I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in.

Part One: Oracle of Seasons

Chapter Eleven: Winter Shrine Part Two

On the other side of the door, Link and Romani at first saw nothing. It was too dark, and somehow colder with a light breeze that made them briefly think they stepped outside. There was no noise except for the gust brushing against their clothes and scattering the loose bits of snow of the floor.

The two stood in one place and started to shiver. Romani breathed into her hands in an attempt to warm them while Link rubbed his upper arms. "Do you see anything?" He asked.

"Nope. Nothing except my breath." She answered. "Wait, did you just hear something?"

Link listened very carefully for anything besides the breeze. "Yeah, I do. It's faint but it's there."

"What is it?"

"A sound I know very well. A horse running."

"A horse?" Romani asked in disbelief.

"Yep, and it's coming towards us."

Romani grabbed her sword. "I don't like the sound of that."

The light blizzard they were in made seeing anything difficult. It was about as thick as a bad day in Snowhead. But shortly, a shadowy silhouette appeared in front of them and it got bigger and darker quickly. Link and Romani got their shields and swords into position, awaiting their new enemy.

The creature came to a stop shortly it became visible. At first glance, it looked like a white centaur with black hooves and a white tail. But it wasn't a normal centaur, because this one had a horse's head instead of a person's. The mane was white, the eyes were green and the teeth were sharp and yellow. The centaur held in each of it's fist a short sword. It roared like an ape and stood on it's hind legs to intimidate the two teens for a moment. And because they had no fairy with them, they couldn't figure out it's name or weakness right away.

Once on all four legs again, the horse-headed centaur (which we will call Horsehead for simplicity) tried to cut it's two targets with it's swords. The shields blocked the attack and Horsehead looked mad because of it. He snorted and the breath coming out of his nostrils was clearly visible in the cold. But it didn't dissipate, rather instead increasing and heading towards the two humans. Link and Romani instinctively got away from the creature.

"There's something about that breath of his." Link commented.

Romani nodded. "I agree. I don't know what it does and I don't want to know, but I just know it does something."

Horsehead chose to focus his attention on Link and tried to trampled him with his front legs. With his back turned to Romani, the ranchgirl swing her sword to cut the creature. However, the tail swung and deflected the blade with enough force to throw it out of her hands several meters away. Romani made a small shriek at losing her weapon and began digging thru the snow to get it, her hands quickly going numb.

Link was trying to do some damage to the centaur but the creature proved to be a good defender. It blocked with it's swords and it's weird breath made Link too afraid to get any closer. And whenever Link tried to bring out his bow, Horsehead would attack his open area, requiring Link to block rather than gain his weapon. "Romani I could really use a hand here." He shouted.

'Yeah me too.' She thought as she tried to rub some warmth back into her hands. Finally she found her sword, but had to be careful touching it since it was so cold now. 'Why didn't me and Link pack some gloves and cold weather clothes for this? Did we learn nothing from Snowhead?'

Romani finally got a comfortable grip on her blade's handle and tried to strike the beast from behind again. This time, it tried to kick her, but her shield took the brunt of it and saved her life. Her shield got a good dent in it, in need of repairs now but still functional, making her swear under her breath. She backed away and pulled out her own bow and fired.

The arrow made contact in Horsehead's rear end on the right side of the tail. The jolt of pain made him rear up on his hind legs and roar in brief pain. Link took the chance to cut the creature's underside but had to move quickly to avoid being crushed by the hooves. He got close to Romani. "I'm guessing this thing isn't too good at long range fighting."

"Problem is, neither are we. We're better at close range." She replied.

"Yes, but we can do some long range fighting. You should use your bow while I get close when he comes to a stop."

Romani frowned. "Why you?"

"The quickest one needs to be the one to get the most damage or we'll just get hurt. I think I can be fast enough." He told her.

Before Romani could argue him, Horsehead regained their attention by trying to stampede over them both. Only their quick reflexes saved them from certain death. Horsehead continued to attack Link and ignored Romani as if it felt she was no real threat to it. She proved it wrong by firing another arrow at it's back, hitting it in the left shoulder. Horsehead reared up again and Link attacked, but at the same time Romani rushed forward to cut it as well. "What did Romani tell you about having all the fun Grasshopper?"

Horsehead appeared to be slowing down with the bloodloss and the fact that it's blood was freezing on it's skin. Frostbite was potential but unlikely since it was a monster that seemed suited for the cold but not impervious. Link drew it's attention and Romani got ready to attack from behind. Only this time, she used a fire arrow, hoping it would do more damage. It hit the back of the skull, making the mane go aflame and Horsehead stamp around erratically. Link was unable to get close enough to do any damage so he threw a deku nut but it had no effect.

The centaur exhaled a large amount of it's weird breathe and it went upwards towards the flames, putting them out. Once Horsehead calmed down he glared at Romani with complete interest in harming her. He striked at her with wild abandon with his swords hoping to chop her to bits. Her already damaged shield was getting several knicks and scratches on it and might have to be replaced later on.

Link tried to stab Horsehead from behind but the centaur tried to kick him. Like with Romani, his mirror shield took the hit for him but the glass shattered and several pieces fell off and into the snow. Unsure what else to do, Link managed to pull out his bow and readied a stone arrow. He fired it, and it impacted Horsehead just above the back of the right kidney. The petrifying effect of the area began to immediately but slowly take effect, and the centaur stopped once it felt it's body become cold and unable to move bit by bit.

The equine beast roared in panic and forgot it's enemies at the moment, running around wildly as if trying to stop the arrow's stony effects. It proved to be futile, as in less than a minute, the creature turned into a large statue and toppled over, shattering upon impact. Once it did, the small blizzard in the room came to a stop and visibility greatly increased for the remaining occupants.

Link and Romani saw a blue light where Horsehead died and entered it. The light took them away to another room with a statue of a woman in a blue dress. The face of the statue appeared to move and the eyes glowed. "Hello young ones. I am Fuyumi, the Goddess of Winter. Thank you for purifying my shrine."

"You're welcome. Can you tell us what's happening here in Holodrum?" Link asked.

"Someone cruel is trying to destroy Holodrum by throwing nature out of order. His name is Onox, and his power is greater than it appears. Without the Rod of Seasons at full power, no one person can stand up to him."

"Good thing we have it then." Romani said.

"You have the rod, but it needs it's power restored. I can restore one-fourth of it's power, the Essence of Winter. With it, you can summon the season of winter to the surrounding area and gain power over water, ice, and snow. It will prove useful, but it won't be enough. You need the other Essences too." Fuyumi told them. When she finished, Link pulled out the rod and saw one of the sides gain a large snowflake emblem on it.

"We will get them and save Din. You can count on it." Link told the goddess.

"In that case you must head for the Spring Shrine next if you wish to minimize your time and rescue the oracle as soon as possible. If you don't it will take much longer than you or Holodrum can afford." Fuyumi warned.

"What do you mean?" Romani asked.

"Once you leave this shrine, it will be the first day of winter, regardless of the amount of time you actually spent in here. When you finish each shrine, the same will happen with their respective seasons. To reach your goal in the shortest amount of time, you must gain the powers of spring, summer, and autumn in that order."

Link and Romani looked stunned. "But... but if we do that, Din might not last that long."

"There is no other alternative." Fuyumi told them. "And do not worry about the oracle's life. Onox cannot afford to kill her or else his work will be for nought."

"Why?" They asked together.

"I'm afraid our time is up. You will learn more from the next goddess you help. Head for the Spring Shrine." Fuyumi answered.

Before the two teens could ask anything more, the room brightened until they saw nothing but white.


Link and Romani found themselves to be standing outside the Winter shrine holding the Rod of Seasons, and it was still snowing outside. "What do you think we should do next?" Link asked.

"First, I want to get somewhere warm. Then, I'd like to get back to Horon and confirm the date." Romani answered.

"Sounds good to me. Think the band is still there?"

Romani shook her head. "Probably not, but I'm hoping. It would be nice to see a familiar face."

"Mine not good enough anymore?" Link joked.

Romani smiled and kissed his cheek. "You know what I mean. Now let's get going."

The two then left back towards Horon, unaware that they were being watched by two witches using a crystal ball in a hidden lair far away.

"So they got one down and have three more to go?" One of the witches cackled.

"I guess Onox was right about them; they will prove both troublesome and helpful to us." The other stated.

"You sure it's wise to just let them roam around and get stronger?"

The second witch scoffed. "Like they can prove to be a threat. Besides, we need the Flame of Sorrow to be at full strength. What could provide more sorrow then for the people to have hope in someone being able to rescue the oracle only to have them fail at the last minute?"

"Yes, that will prove most effective. But we should still monitor them to guarantee they won't prove too dangerous to our plans." The first replied.

"Again, they can't be a threat to us. And we still have two more countries to ruin."