Chapter Fourteen: Strengthening Bonds

Darkness... evil laughter... haunting smiles and death defying stunts... hundreds upon hundreds of demons, and the most malicious one of them all, standing right before me. Eyes wide, I tried to run away but my legs just wouldn't move. They were stuck. They wouldn't budge. Frozen over with fear, I tried to move my hands, wanting to reach for my bow and arrows, needing to use something as a form of defence. However, upon trying to move my arms, I realized that they too were frozen solid. Not one part of my entire body could move. Everything was stuck, even my mouth.

Wanting to scream but not being able to, all I could do was stare in fright towards the putrid being heading towards him. He smirked, his laughter soon beginning to erupt within the room. Chills ran down my spine. It was far too nerve-racking. He approached, taking small but quick steps forward. I could conclude that he was doing this just to torment me even more. More then ever, did I just want to wipe that smirk off his face and kill him right now. He was the reason behind why people were suffering and why everyone I know has been through such hardship. He deserves death.

"Hello Kagome," his voice whispered into my ear, sounding like wind rustling between dead tree branches. "Do you remember me?" I felt his disgusting hand reach up to touch my neck. His hand glided over my neck slowly, reaching upwards towards my face. I could feel my heart pounding violently from within me, but could do nothing to cease the fear.

"How would you like to have a little bit of fun?" His fingers drummed against my neck, tapping the skin harshly. His nails were digging into my skin and I could feel intense pain spreading from within my body. Though I could not move, I could feel pain. "How about we try some?" His smirk widened, growing even more inhuman. Eyes wide with fear, my heart rate soared as he then gripped my neck tighter. With just one hand, he was trying to strangle me.

I can't breathe... I thought, feeling my whole body scorching in pain. Stop... please...

"Hnn," his eyes darkened, most likely enjoying the pain he saw written within my eyes. "Good." He gripped my neck tighter, sending violent amounts of pain within my body yet again. Moving his head towards my ear while still keeping a tight grip on my neck, he whispered words that forever stain fear on my very soul.

"Never forget Kagome. No matter where you are and how much time has passed. I will haunt you. For you belong to me." Laughter then sprouted from his mouth. Darkness appeared all around us and started to encase me. I watched in fright as it started to wrap itself around my body, mirroring that of a rope. Slowly, my body started to disappear within the darkness. First my legs, followed by my torso and afterwards, my arms. Soon, all that remained was my head.

I still couldn't move, even though I could no longer feel the hidden parts of my body. Fear still embedded within me, all that I could was watch in terror as he watched the rest of me disappear. His eyes glistened with vast amounts of amusement, and his smile was much too large. He was enjoying this more than ever.

"Never forget Kagome," his voice whispered, ringing throughout the darkness. "I own you, and will own you for the rest of your life." He paused, taking in a breath, "Now, goodbye." And with that, I disappeared fully within the darkness...

...

Huh?

Sitting up rapidly, Kagome glanced around her surroundings. She surveyed the area before her with impeccable speed, her eyes ghastly large. Breathing in heavily, her chest rose up and down as she sighed with relief. Thank goodness, it was only a dream.She was more than overjoyed to see the sight of the blazing fire just across from her and the wide fields of Hyrule.

Once again, Link and herself were camping out atop a rather steep hill in Hyrule Fields, facing the direction of Zora's River. Epona was off sleeping in the distance and she was covered by a large red blanket that Malon had given to them, when they paid her a visit just earlier this morning. After having defeated Volvagia, the two had tiredly returned down from the mountain towards Kakariko Village. Upon descending towards the bottom of the mountain, both heroes had been greeted by the entire village of Kakariko. They had torches in their hands and looks of sheer pleasure etched across their faces. Everyone, ranging from children to elderly, were happy and grateful for what they had done. Because of their bravery, the two had managed to put an end towards the village's fear of the mountain one day erupting and killing them all.

Both teens had been thanked with loud cheers and rounds of applause. The duo however, had been much too tired to enjoy the act, and just wanted to sleep. Immediately, Anju had once again stepped forward and invited them both into her home. The two walked into her home gratefully, removed their gear and just fell right onto the beds. Within seconds, they had been fast asleep.

When morning came and went, they both left Anju's home—but not without receiving another bundle of food—and headed off. They had left rather early in the morning, not wanting to be receiving another large round of thanks. Although the act had been kind, the two were never ones who enjoyed basking in glory, and much preferred to just head off without starting a parade.

They had decided to venture off towards Lon Lon Ranch for a little while, just to check up on Malon again. She had very happy to see them and had invited them in for a while. Kirara had been especially happy to see her. The quartet, including a very happy Talon, had fun catching up and spending some time together. After a few hours of enjoying their company, Link and Kagome thought that it was time to leave, and start heading off to Zora's Domain...

Now lying by the fire, Kagome could sigh to herself and bring her legs up close towards her. Mumbling under her breath, she gazed sadly up towards the starry night sky and frowned to herself.

"Never forget Kagome, I own you, and will own you for the rest of your life." His disgusting voice hissed within her mind causing her to tremble. Eyes shaking, she laid her head against her knees and sighed, crying to herself.

"I'm still scared of him. Still, even after all this time. Why?" She questioned, taking in a deep gasp of air. "Why?" The wind howled, seeming to be the only one to answer her question. Eyes saddened, she glanced over towards Link out of the corner of her eye. The lummox was dead asleep, leaning against Kirara as a pillow. A light blanket was draped over him—which the two were sharing—and Kagome couldn't help but sigh at the sight. He looked so peaceful, sleeping there without any worry.

"Lucky," she grumbled, yawning. "You're so lucky Link." Yawning again, Kagome knew that she had to try and get some sleep.

But I just can't sleep, she thought sadly. Not with that dream still bothering me so much.

Frowning, she decided to move closer towards Link. Edging herself over towards the Hero of Time, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Link groaned and shifted in his sleep, moving closer towards Kagome. She watched him keenly for a minute, hoping that he wasn't trying to pull a stupid stunt. But when she saw him just shift positions, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

Good.

Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his side and pressed herself close towards him. She already felt safe. Sighing in what sounded to be contentment, she reached for some of the extra blanket that was just lying across the grass and draped it over herself. It was a little bit chilly, and the blanket provided an extra means of warmth.

This is nice, she concluded, snuggling up closer towards Link.He makes a nice pillow.

Yawning yet again, she slowly shut her eyes and began to feel at peace. The bad thoughts and dream she had experienced before, were slowly started to fade away, and not bothering to return. Instead, thoughts of Link were filling her mind, and how safe she felt, being so close to him.

"Link..." she whispered, finally feeling good after that horrible nightmare. "Thank you."

"Mmm," Link groaned, hugging the blanket closer towards him. His arms wound themselves tight around the material, and he pressed it closer him.

It's so soft.

His fingers started to play with the strands of string that were at the ends of the blanket.

It feels so real.

Cracking an eye open, he gazed down towards the soft pieces of string, only to realize that they were black.

Huh, shouldn't they be red?

His eyes tightened as he leaned in closer, inspecting the string. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it wasn't string that his fingers had been playing with but rather hair. Long black strands of hair. That type of hair could only belong to one person.

"Kagome," he mouthed in shock, finally looking down towards him. With his mouth dropped wide open, he realized that Kagome was sleeping right next to him and was quite close to him too. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and her head was snuggled into the crock of his neck. Right away his face flushed red, and he was about ready to start shouting profanities.

Did she do this on purpose? He thought, staring down towards the sleeping girl rather confusedly. Is this some sort of trick, something to try to get me to look stupid again?

But in all honesty, the thoughts of such trickery and sorts, started to dissipate from within his mind, the longer he gazed towards her sleeping figure. She looked to innocent to have planned to do something like that. Even though, she's done it to him before.

Sigh. Rolling his eyes, Link just decided to say nothing about the matter and just let the poor girl sleep. They had been through quite a bit just less then forty-eight hours ago, and she would need to have plenty of energy and endurance for the next part of their adventure.

Gazing out towards the horizon, Link watched as the sun slowly started to rise up from east. He caught sight of Death Mountain and couldn't help but want to look away.

I don't even want to think about that place for a very long time, he thought, sweat dropping lightly.

To put it simply, their adventure within the Fire Temple had been... dramatic, to put it at best. A lot of tension had formed between them and plenty of bickering had started. Though everything appeared to have been settled as the two put behind their differences to face off against Volvagia, Link just couldn't help but feel that there might still be some unresolved tension between the two of them.

I acted like a real jerk back in there, he thought, running his hands through her hair. It was quite soft, which actually surprised him. I acted so hot headed and stupidly. I kind of regret it now.

Sighing, he just shook his head and wrapped an arm around Kagome's waist, pulling him closer towards her. The Sheikah mumbled some words in her sleep and snuggled up closer towards Link's chest, seeking the warmth in which his body provided.

Feeling rather flushed, Link could only stare down towards Kagome, and watch as she continued to sleep peacefully. "Link," she murmured in her sleep, her tone sounding quite soft and happy. Raising a brow, Link wondered what it was that she could be dreaming of. Since he heard her voice, he knew that she must be dreaming of him, but what to do with him? Thoughts started to appear in his mind, which just caused him to sweat drop. Some questions are better left unanswered, and this one was definitely one of them.

So, without doing anything about the matter, Link just shut his own eyes and tried to get in some last minute rest. "Sleep well, Kagome," he said, patting her head rather affectionately. "Sleep well."

"Hmm," Kagome blushed, not wanting to meet Link's gaze as the duo rode on the back of Epona.

"Kagome, is something wrong?" Link asked curiously, holding onto the reigns. Once again, Kagome was seated in front and he was behind her. Link always felt that this position was much better. He felt safer about the idea of Kagome sitting in front of him where he could see her and keep his arms at close proximity to her.

"Its nothing," she said simply, gazing down towards the passing grass.

Nothing? Link thought, eyes clouded over with confusion.

That's not like her.

Gazing towards her curiously, Link could only take in her backside, and not see much of her actual face. Though, her backside did give him a slight impression of what was wrong. Her shoulders were tense, and her back was hunched upwards, occasionally twitching. Just from this view, Link could conclude that something was bothering her.

Could it have been from this morning? He wondered, recalling the interesting morning they had shared. See before, when Link had woken up from his supposed quick nap, he realized that Kagome had still been sleeping. Knowing that they had to get a move on, he tried to wake her gently, not wanting to startle or scare her. But just by tapping her shoulder, he received a fierce slap to the face and fell back. From there, things just got worse with each passing minute.

Sweat dropping, he just hung his head in shame and directed Epona towards the nearby stream with a whip of the reigns. "Hya," he cried, excitement filling his veins as the rush of Epona running briskly caused his heart to pound. Kagome shrieked, surprised by the sudden speed and held onto the front of Epona for dear life.

"Woo," Link said, tugging on the reigns as Epona stopped just feet before the water. Sliding off her, he landed gracefully on his two feet and waited for Kagome to get down too. "Come on," he said, waving his hand as he walked over towards the water. "We need to cross onto the other side in order to reach Zora's Domain."

"OK," Kagome nodded, silently walking into the water. She went before Link and stopped midway, upon feeling the temperature of the water. It was freezing cold! Eyes wide, she let out a loud yell and made a dash for the nearby land, sprinting quite quickly in cold water. Link chuckled to the sight and shook his head. Kagome could be so silly sometimes. Then making his own way into the water, he too stopped for a second, suddenly understanding her earlier notions. Eyes going bug eyed wide, he let out a loud yell and ran towards the ground.

"AHHH! WHY IS THIS SO COLD?" He fell towards the ground, tripping by accident. Kagome shivered, her teething chattering but extended him a hand.

"I don't know," she said, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm. "Say Link, do you feel a cold breeze?" She questioned, looking towards the path that led to Zora's Domain. Link stood still for a second and then nodded. This was definitely a chill in the air.

"Woo," Kagome brought her hands towards her mouth, blowing on them. "That water was ice cold, and the wind feels chilly. It kinds of reminds me of winter."

"Winter?" Link questioned, looking rather confused. "What's that?"

"Huh?" Her jaw dropped. "You don't know what winter is Link?" She said rather flabbergasted, staring towards Link in surprise. Link shook his head, looking rather curious.

"What is it?" He asked, wanting to know.

"It's a season," Kagome said simply, rubbing her hands together. "Like spring, summer, and fall."

"Ahh, I see," he noted, crossing his arms over his toned chest. "So this winter is another one of the three seasons then."

"Yeah," Kagome nodded, looking towards him keenly. "Have you seen snow before?"

"In books and in stories," Link said. "But never with my own eyes. Neighbouring countries get snow, but for some odd reason, Hyrule doesn't."

"Are you serious?" Her eyes grew. "Wow," she murmured, staring towards Link in what appeared to be a new light. "That's kind of shocking."

"Not really," Link said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "In Hyrule, we never get snow. We only get the basics: sun, rain, hail, and cloudy days."

"And what about the seasons. How many do you supposedly have?" Kagome questioned.

"Three," Link said briskly, wanting to keep moving. "Summer is the most dominant of the three. Spring lasts somewhat long, and fall comes and goes in the blink of an eye."

"Huh. I didn't know that," Kagome murmured, looking rather surprised. Gazing out towards the field before her, Kagome's eyes widened as thoughts started to speculate within her mind.

That's crazy. Not having winter, she thought, beginning to walk down the path with Link.

But then again, this is another world. A world which is inhabited by Gorons, Hylians, Zoras, Sheikah and so many other kinds of creatures. I guess not having winter is just another trait which differentiates Hyrule from my own time and era...

"What is that thing?" Kagome shrieked, pointing towards the monster that resembled that of an octopus in some form. It had bright yellow eyes and was a scaly purple colour. It had a long nose or mouth—one of them, she couldn't tell what exactly—and appeared to be firing rocks at them!

"It's an Octorok," Link said simply, holding his shield in front of them. "They're monsters which thrive in water and shoot rocks at their enemies." Holding his shield in front of him, Link smirked, watching as the Octorok fired a rock towards him. It easily bounced off his Hylian Shield and hit the Octorok square in its face. The Octorok released a squeal and exploded in a flash of black and yellow.

"Now, wasn't that easy?" Link asked, putting his shield down.

"I suppose," Kagome trailed off, continuing down the path. Link watched her in confusion.

OK. Something is definitely wrong with her, he concluded. Because he knew, no had expected her to make a remark to his somewhat "cocky" behaviour as she could have most likely called it. She should have should rolled her eyes, or stuck her tongue at him, and complain at him for being a show off or something off the short. Not walk away and act like it was nothing. That just wasn't Kagome. It wasn't the Kagome that he was too.

Frowning, he kept his shield in hand, ready just in case he would need it some more. Walking towards Kagome, he made his way over towards her, watching as she nervously glanced around her surroundings. To any normal person, it would seem as though she were just on her toes, waiting to see if any Octorok would pop out of the water and fire rocks towards them. But to Link, he could tell that she wasn't fairly worried about the Octorok. Rather, they seemed to be the least of her worries.

Judging by how she on edge she appeared to be and how her hands kept reaching for her blades, the young hero could conclude that she was nervous. But the question was, why? Glancing around their surroundings, Link could guess that there weren't many other monsters—besides the Octorok—to worry about. So, if it wasn't the monsters she was nervous about, what was causing the usual collect and joyful Kagome to become so quiet and tense. It was somewhat unreal and odd to Link.

He wasn't used to such silence when going about their adventure. He expected Kagome to continue to be brash, making plenty of loud and idiotic statements, trying to make him look foolish for a good chuckle, and things like that. Ever since they started their adventure, she had been like that. And well, since she was acting differently—not like that—it was just plain weird. And Link didn't like it. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed her playful banter, her cheeky smiles and conniving remarks. He missed her sudden hugs and even the handholding. Sighing, he knew what it was that he had to do.

Quickening his pace, he reached for her hand and clasped it within his own. Kagome looked towards him curiously and raised a brow. He merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders, acting like he was doing nothing wrong.

Boy, do I feel out of character right now, he mused, squeezing Kagome's hand tight.

"Link, is that snow?" Kagome asked suddenly, looking up towards the sky in surprise.

"Huh?" Following her gaze, Link was met with the sight of small snowflakes falling down towards the ground. Puzzled, he looked around and noticed up ahead a small patch of ice forming on the grass. "This is so odd," he murmured, walking forward. "Why is it snowing? And why is there ice?"

"What about the chill?" Kagome questioned, her teeth chattering.

"Hmm, that's true. It is getting colder," Link noted, feeling a cold chill beginning to blow their way.

Just what could be happening? He thought, highly confused. What's happening to the weather? What's with the random weather change?

"Link, let's go," Kagome hissed, her eyes narrowed. "Something isn't right up ahead." Nodding, both of them started to run down the path, trying their best to avoid the patches of ice and occasional Octorok firing rocks towards them. Jumping down and reaching high for the odd ground platforms, the duo eventually reached the end of the pathway that stood before a stunning waterfall. There was a door behind the waterfall encased with old Hylian writing.

"What do we need to do here?" Kagome asked, looking towards the ground. She saw an odd block of stone that held a picture of the Triforce. Why is that there?

"We need to play Zelda's Lullaby," Link said, reaching into his pouch to pull out the Ocarina of Time. "It's the only way to open up the pathway to Zora's Domain." Bringing the instrument up towards his lips, Link began to play a wonderful melody. Kagome smiled, humming the tune. Thoughts of Zelda and Impa soon started to flash through her mind and she couldn't help but frown.

I miss them both, she thought, saddened by the fact, just as much as I miss all of my other friends.

Over the course of time that Kagome had spent in Hyrule before this adventure started, she had found herself thinking of Impa and Zelda as a family. Yes, none of them were related by blood and Zelda was royalty, but that didn't mean that they still weren't a family in some aspects. Impa reminded her so much of a mother. Since she was devoted solely to protecting Zelda and being a good mentor for her, Kagome could picture Impa as a good mother. Though it might be rather odd, imaging Impa with a child and all, it just fit her personality so well. She was level headed and never scared to speak her opinion. She might have been too tough at times, but it was just her way of showing that she cared for the ones she loved. She always put Zelda's safety before her own, and Kagome knew that she cared quite a lot for the young princess.

Impa, you might have been really rough during our training. But if it wasn't for all of your hard work, I wouldn't be as strong and capable of helping Link as I am right now, Kagome thought. Thank you. Thank you for everything.

And then, there was Zelda. Zelda in so many ways, reminded Kagome of a mixture between Rin and Shippou. She was always so excited about things just like Shippou was, and she loved having fun and smiled quite often, just like little Rin. Zelda had many aspects about her, that made Kagome view her as a little sister or even a daughter—as odd as that may sound. She loved to spend time with the little princess, laughing and having a good time together. It always made Kagome smile.

But she may not be able to see them ever again. She didn't know whether or not they were dead or alive. She hoped it was the latter, and that they were both OK. She didn't want to have to lose a second family, like she had lost her first.

"Kagome, come on," Link said, snapping a finger in front of her face.

"Huh?" She blinked. "What, what are you talking about Link?"

"The doors opened. We can enter into Zora's Domain."

"Ahh," her eyes widened. "Nice work Link," she smiled sadly. Link cocked a brow and looked towards her confusedly—again.

"Kagome, are you sure that you're OK?" He asked, looking towards her.

"I'm fine," she protested as she petted Kirara. "Now, let's get going." Her gaze was directed towards the opened passageway. "So Zora's Domain is through there?" She asked, looking to Link. He nodded and ushered out a small yes. "Well alright then, let's get going." She took a few steps back and charged towards the opening. Jumping through the waterfall, she landed gracefully into the passageway and waved a hand towards Link. "Come on," she said, looking somewhat tired. "Let's go."

"Yeah," Link nodded, mirroring her prior actions. Within a few seconds, he landed next to her, and the two started to walk into the passageway.

"What happened here?" Link questioned, gazing towards Zora's Domain in shock. For what used to be a thriving and beautiful waterway, was now a frozen and chilling area. The rocks walls were fully encased in ice, the water was frozen over no longer allowing any water to flow, and snow was falling down from the sky.

"This had to be the work of Ganondorf," Kagome muttered darkly, looking around the frozen domain. "Only he would think of doing something as cruel as this."

"I agree," Link said, looking around the area in slight dismay.

"Hey!" Navi buzzed, flapping her wings as she flew down towards them. "Let's head up towards the top. Maybe someone's there and can tell us something."

"Sure," both Kagome and Link chorused, looking towards one another in mild surprise.

"Come on!" Navi buzzed, fluttering in front of Link's face.

"Gah! We're going Navi," Link said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Kagome. I'll show you the way."

"...T-thank you," she chattered, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to stay warm.

"Are you getting cold?" Link questioned, looking towards her in concern.

"Y-yeah, a little bit," she stuttered, now blowing onto her hands.

"Here. Allow me," Link spoke, reaching for her hands as he brought them into his own. Blushing scarlet, Kagome could only watch in silence as Link started to rub his hands against her own. Her slightly cold ones were feeling the friction from Link's slightly warm ones, resulting with her own beginning to heat up. Sighing, she offered him a small smile as he let go of her hands. Her hands were now somewhat warmer, and felt much better.

"Thank you," she said, bringing her hands up towards her face, trying to heat it up somewhat.

"You're welcome," Link frowned, noting that she still appeared to be cold. Maybe he should give her the blanket that Malon gave them yesterday. Reaching into his magical pouch, he withdrew the blanket and held it within his hands. He was not the least bit phased that something so big such as the blanket could fit in something as small as his travel pouch. Opening up the blanket, he waved it a little bit—airing it out—before walking towards Kagome and placing it over her shoulders.

The Sheikah blinked, watching as Link wrapped the blanket around her. He was trying to help her stay warm. Blushing yet again, Kagome gazed towards Link shyly. Link saw the look and blushed as well. Backing away, he scratched the back of his head and cast his gaze towards the frozen waterfall, not wanting to meet her gaze.

"We should... we should really be going," he said, nodding her forward with a wave of the head. "The sooner we find out what happened here, the better."

"Yeah," Kagome nodded, smiling as she held onto the ends of the blanket. "We should." Choosing to not say another word, Link just began to walk towards the stairs, knowing that Kagome was trailing behind. His face slight red, he sighed to him and shook his head.

What's wrong with me? He thought, looking down his moving feet. I'm blushing and Kagome hasn't even done anything to me yet.

Holding back a groan, the Hero merely shook his head once again, and decided to quicken his pace.

Kagome giggled inwardly, watching as Link fumbled about and looked to be rather confused. He was shaking his head about and looked to be quite out of it himself. Typical. It was just like him. Shaking her head, she brought an end of the blanket up towards the ends of her face and pressed it towards her mouth. Inhaling the rather nice scent from the blanket, she exhaled and smiled.

Thank you for the warmth Link, she thought, smiling to Link. It is definitely helping.

Looking forward, she locked her gaze on Link and chose to watch as he walked up the stairs. Eyes twinkling in mirth, she giggled, her mouth still covered by the blanket.

Huh?

Link stopped dead in his tracks, turning around to look towards Kagome. She had the bright red blanket pressed up towards her mouth and was following behind, just a good ten feet from him. D-Did, did she just laugh? He thought happily, noting the faint outline of a smile underneath the blanket.

She is smiling... that's wonderful.

Eyes shining, Link decided to wait for Kagome to catch up. Offering the miko a hand, he looked towards and stared to her complexion. She looked quite cute with the blanket covering part of her face, and her red eyes wide with what looked to be surprise.

"Want some help?" He asked playfully, entwining his hand with hers.

"Yeah," Kagome said, gripping his hand tight. Although it didn't make much sense to her as to why he was offering her help—she didn't need any—she wasn't going to turn down an offer of Link wanting to hold hands. Smiling shyly, she looked towards Link out of the corner of her eye. He stared right back to her, watching her for a minute, before then beginning to continue walking up the stairs. Now both were scaling up the large flight together, walking hand in hand.

When arriving at the very top of the room, both had discovered that the Zora King was frozen solid. He was encased in a different kind of ice. This one was red and shimmered and looked to match that of a gem. Both were confused by this, but decided to investigate even more. They walked through the hidden passageway that the frozen king sat next to, and entered a rather large open space, that was as well frozen. There had been some water remaining outside, but it was so shallow, that not even a small baby guppy would be able to last long within it. The water was also quite cold. Colder than the river water they had sloshed through before.

Climbing up the few steps, the two had wandered over a frozen pathway where the Lord Jabu Jabu had once resided. Glancing down towards the bottom, both heroes noticed that were quite a few frozen glaciers placed miscellaneously throughout the freezing water. The sizes ranged from large to small and were bobbing up and down in the large section of water.

"I'm not going to even try that," Kagome said, backing away.

"But it's the only way to get to where we need to be Kagome," Link protested.

"And where exactly might that be?" She questioned, crossing her arms.

"To that cavern," Link pointed through the falling snow. True to his word, off in the distance there actually was a small cavern. It was releasing a fair amount of light and looked to be quite suspicious. For one, it was of the only remnants not covered in snow, and two, on account of the oddly bright light emanating from within the cavern.

"So Kagome, how do you suggest that we get to the cavern if you don't want to jump across the glaciers?" Link asked innocently.

"Kirara of course," she spoke as though it were obvious. Sweat dropping, Link just watched as Kirara jumped off Kagome's shoulders and transformed right before their very eyes. "Get on," she said plainly with a wave of the hand.

"Coming," Link said and slid onto Kirara's soft and furry backside. With a loud roar, the neko took off into the air, flying towards the cavern.

"Hmm, this is really weird," Kagome noted, inspecting the blue flames. They were within one of the many chambers the cave contained, and were atop a rather large pillar.

"It looks like blue flames," Link said, looking towards it curiously. Both heroes looked up and exchanged glances. "Obviously this is something important," Link concluded. "But what could it be for?"

"We should try to take some with just in case," Kagome said, her eyes locked on the bright blue flames. Raising a hand towards the fire, Kagome felt a rather odd presence from it. Yes, it was warm—it was fire after all—but that wasn't what made it feel so odd. What made it feel odd was the bizarre aura it seemed to be giving off. It was rather strong and felt quite powerful. When Link said that this was something important, he was right on target. Eyes narrowed, the Sheikah looked towards Link and opened up a hand. "Do you have an empty bottle?" She asked.

"Yeah, I have three empty bottles. Why?" What did she want with his empty bottles?

"Bring them out," she said plainly, waiting for him to hand her one.

"Here," he placed a bottle down into her hand. "Is this OK?"

"It's perfect," she said, bringing the bottle down towards the flame. With one swift motion, she snatched up a chunk of the blue flames within the bottle and shut the top. "Well, it stays," she blinked, looking quite surprised. "Here," she said, handing him back the now filled bottle. "Put this away, and give me the other two containers you have." Nodding, Link put the filled bottle back into his pouch and handed her another empty bottle. The same process went on for the filling the next two bottles. When all three were filled and safely secured within Link's pouch, the duo continued on, going through the temple.

Within this temple, it was mostly filled with puzzles and cold ice monsters. There were many Freezards blowing away terrible patches of freezing winds. One touch from them, and you would be frozen for quite a while. Mixed in with the flying Ice Keese, who also could freeze you upon just one touch, both heroes were in for quite a work out as they slashed their way through the hoards and hoards of monsters. Blades were drawn and arrows were fired as they slew every single creature that came their way. While facing off against many challenging cold monsters, the two also had to go through quite a bit of puzzles. This cavern had more puzzles hidden within it than did both the two previous temples combined!

With spinning blades, frozen items that required to be melted with the suspicious blue fire, stalagmites falling down from nearly corner, and odd gems that looked quite a bit like rupees needing to be collected, the two of them were in store for quite a bit. Topped off with a large ice block that needed to be pushed through a rather large room, they were very much grateful for when they soon found themselves reaching the end of the ice cavern.

"Finally," Kagome sighed, extending her arms. "We're done."

"I don't think so," Link spoke, his sword still drawn. Something wasn't right in the room. Something was off. Looking around the oddly coloured dark walled room, Link took a small step forward, his foot making a rather loud crunching sound against the snow.

"Ahooo!" A monster hollowed as then a large white wolfo emerged from within the snowy banks. Weapons drawn, both heroes didn't even bother to spare the monster a glance before charging towards it. Kagome led the wolfo towards a corner, it following her as she dodged its raiser sharp claws with ease. Link meanwhile, attacked the wolfo on its back, slicing through its midsize with ease. The wolfo howled in pain and turned around to face Link. Red eyes flamed with hatred; it bore its teeth towards the hero, hissing and howling with displeasure. Trying to slash away at Link, the wolfo seemed to have completely forgotten about Kagome—it was much too angry at Link for inflicting pain upon it.

Smiling wide, Kagome slashed a sword through the wolfo causing its entire body to be cut right into two. Link had delivered the first blow by removing the rather hard frozen skin the wolfo had as an exterior. With that gone, Kagome was able to easily slice through the wolfo, killing it with no problems. Watching as it howled with pain, both heroes sheathed their weapons and watched as it vanished in an explosion of dark colours.

"So, is that?" Link asked, looking around the room.

"Not quite Link," Sheik's calm voice was heard as he then dropped down from the ceiling. "We meet again." Sheik glanced back and forth from Kagome to Link. With the coil covering his face, no one could notice the smile that was beginning to form. Taking steps forward, Link and Kagome walked over towards Sheik, gazing towards him apprehensively.

"Kagome, what troubles you so?" Sheik asked, noticing hat she seemed much different then usual. There just seemed to be no bounce in her step, to put it at best.

Eyes hardened over with emotions, Kagome replied coolly, "Nothing. I am perfectly fine."

"Your mouth speaks one story, while your eyes tell a whole other tale," Sheik expressed simply, his gaze locked with hers. Batting her lashes, Kagome merely gazed towards Sheik, choosing to not say anything. The staring between them went on for a minute or so. Neither one was willing to look away. It wasn't until Link spoke up, asking about the Zoras did the gazing finally cease.

"If you came here to meet the Zoras, you wasted your time. This is all there is," Sheik finished coolly, his eyes glancing around the ice filled room. "With one exception," his eyes danced towards the door. "The Zoras are now sealed under this thick ice sheet."

"You mean the one within Zora's Domain?" Link asked.

"Precisely," Sheik nodded. "All are frozen, sleeping away. They are unaware of what has happened and what is going on at this very moment."

"That's awful," Kagome breathed out, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Yes, it is rather dreadful," Sheik nodded, looking over towards Kagome. His gaze was locked more so on her than Link. For reasons unbeknownst to them, it looked as though Sheik were concerned for Kagome. His eyes were glossed over rather mildly, and he looked to be very concerned for the other present Sheikah.

"All but one Zora are still under the frozen magic of the ice," he spoke, continuing. "I had managed to rescue the Zora Princess from under the ice, but... she left to head for the Water Temple."

The next place we need to head too, Link thought to himself.

"Tell me, Sheik. Is Ganondorf the reason behind this dastardly deed?" Kagome spoke rather aloofly, her head titled to the side.

"Partially," Sheik replied. "It was Ganondorf's wrong doing that caused the whole problem to occur, but it began when he resurrected the evil creature from within the Water Temple. The ice curse was actually created by the monster that Ganondorf resurrected."

"I see," Kagome breathed. "Thank you. That does clear up some confusion then."

"It was of no trouble at all," Sheik nodded, his eyes shut. "Now Link, I must be leaving rather soon. So please, draw out the Ocarina of Time. It is time for you to learn the next song."

"Alright." Following Sheik's directions, Link withdrew the Ocarina and brought it towards his lips. He was ready. Sheik pulled out his harp and held it within his bandaged hands.

"If you both have enough courage to confront the danger and save the Zoras," Sheik warned. "Then this melody will be the one to lead you both to the temple." Strumming the cords of the harp, Sheik thus began to play a light but beautiful tune. "Time passes, people move... Like a river's flow, it never ends... A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth..." Ending the song, Sheik glanced upwards and nodded towards Link. It was time. "That was the Serenade of Water."

Blowing into the Ocarina, Link and Sheik started to play the tune in unison, filling the cold room with a nice and soothing tune. Unlike the other two songs, the Bolero of Fire and the Minuet of the Forest, the Serenade of Water was different. This song sounded much deeper and appeared to have quite a bit more meaning embedded within the tune. It wasn't as playful as the Minuet of Forest was, and it wasn't quite as rambunctious as the Bolero of Fire was. The Serenade of Water sounded to be quite rich in melody and seemed to have some different emotions mixed in with the song.

As the song came to a close, Sheik put away his harp and Link lowered the Ocarina. Sheik then backed away and looked about ready to disappear once more. "Link... Kagome, I'll see you both again..." He sent one final glance towards Kagome, meeting her gaze. Smiling, Kagome could tell that Sheik was worried about her.

I'm fine, she thought, knowing that her face masked her words truthfully. With a shake of the head, Sheik merely said nothing and threw down a Sheikah flash bomb. He disappeared in the large puff of smoke.

Coughing, both heroes wiped away at the smoke with waving hands and directed their attention towards the right. Unbeknown to them, whilst talking with Sheik, a large wooden chest had magically formed in the right corner of the room.

"I wonder what could be inside," Link murmured, opening up the chest. Kagome walked over towards him, and leaned over, watching as he opened up the chest. Inside, there were two pairs Iron Boots. They looked to be quite heavy and made of thick, rich material.

Removing the first pair of boots, Link handed them over to Kagome, who took them with ease. Grunting quite loudly, she was rather surprised at how heavy they felt. It was like she was lifting forty pounds. Sighing, she dropped the heavy pair of boots down onto the ground, snow flying everywhere.

Link groaned and wiped away at some of the snow that had fallen onto his face. "Thanks," he said dryly, looking towards Kagome.

"Sorry," she whispered sadly, ears appeared to be drooping. Blinking in uncertainty, Link placed his own pair of Iron Boots down onto the snowy ground and looked towards Kagome in concern. Now he was sure that something was definitely troubling her.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" He asked, walking close towards her.

"I'm just tired," she moaned groggily, letting out a yawn.

How could she be tired? She slept for so long this morning, Link thought to himself.

"I didn't exactly get the greatest rest last night," Kagome moaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Why not?" Link asked curiously.

"...A bad dream," she said simply, speaking so quietly that Link could barely pick up what she had said.

A dream? That's what causing her to act so out of character?

"It was a bad dream. Something I don't like to think about." Shutting her eyes, Kagome turned away from Link, facing the direction of the wall. Frowning, Link tried to reach out for her, only to have her jerk away.

What made the dream so bad as to cause her to act this way? Link wondered, looking towards Kagome concerned.

"Hmm..." he heard her sniffle. Titling his head, he noticed a few drops of water falling down towards the ground. Eyes wide, he then realized what it was that Kagome was doing. She was crying.

"Kagome," he mouthed instantly, saddened by the fact that she was crying. Spreading his arms out wide, he reached for the girl, pulling her into his arms. She immediately latched onto his torso, hugging his body almost desperately. "Shuu," he breathed, running his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. "It's OK. It's OK. It was just a bad dream." Sniffling, Kagome continued to sob into his neck, not even bothering to correct the hero. "It's all over now, Kagome. Whatever it was that was in your dream can't reach you now." Pressing her closer towards him, Link hugged her tight, making sure as to not let go.

...Kagome, he thought, gazing down towards her crying figure. What could have caused you to start crying like this so much? What was in your dream exactly that caused you to experience so much pain?