Chapter 15

Lotus flower

Get me out of here! Link relayed to Midna, however she ignored him in favor of studying the frosty environment of Snowpeak. Paws freezing, he transformed back into a human amongst a chorus of growls and bone snaps and grabbed the Twilli by her shoulders.

"This is the golden wolf's realm, take me out of here," he demanded. Midna remained silent, eye fixed to a snow white creature barely visible through a copse of naked trees. Startled by her intense concentration, Link half turned, skin prickling at a fat, furry creature standing on a snowy outcrop.

Temporarily shoving fears at the back of his mind, he grabbed his bow and weaved through trees bearing leaves like delicate grass.

His breath escaped in a vapor of white and steadying it, he stalked right behind the creature and aimed an arrow to the head. Somehow, it felt wrong. Beneath the outcrop, wind howled through a forest of pine trees and his hand quivered.

The beast moved, bringing two gigantic paws to its head and he jumped back, bowstring taut. Terrified, Link watched the beast pull its head off and screamed, startling the birds nesting in bare trees.

A flock burst into the grey sky and Ashei raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Dude, your scream is real loud yeah," she drawled and despite the dark circles underneath her eyes, Link found her pale face attractive. A shock of jet black hair, held by jeweled pins, cascaded into the beast's costume and he lowered his bow. "Rusl told me you'd come," she rummaged in her pockets, "and I'm currently on the trail of a thief. Someone out here is steeling reekfish yeah."

She handed Link a drawing of a fish and he studied the diagram, mentally revaluating the woman in front of him.

"I can draw better than this." He pointed to the sorry excuse of a drawing. And I'm twelve. "That aside, I came here to find the alternative hiding place of the Mirror of Twilight, I don't have time to chase around," he scowled at the drawing, "reekfish."

"That's a shame." Ashei swept her fringe backwards and Link quickly dropped his eyes to the page when Midna teased him inside his head. "Because the thief is actually the guide to the Snowpeak ruins, yeah." She raised a perfect eyebrow. "And the Snowpeak ruins is...was the resting place of the Mirror."

I hate you all.

The Zora on guard studied the picture Ashei gave him and Link pitied his new fishy friend, clearly no one could decipher the lady's pre-school scribbles. Neck choked with pearls and ears dangling with rings of coral, the female guard tilted her head and Link glanced at the dagger fastened at her waste. Pretty and deadly, he concluded. At long last, she returned the drawing and told him about the fishing spot of the Reekfish, a place called the Mother and Child rocks. She also stressed that the picture reminded her of Prince Ralis.

Head buzzing, Link headed to a secluded area in the domain and consulted Midna. The Twilli wanted to hop over to the fishing spot and wrestle the fish out with a pole but Link brooded about the prince...

The prince.

A child without his mother.

Wolf and imp landed on the outskirts of Kakariko Town and Link tasted dust. The familiar creaking signs and the looming, yet welcoming, shadow of Death Mountain falling on the valley, elicited a smile from him. He started on the dirt road, eager to reach Renaldo's house and check in on everyone. Materializing into view, Midna pinched Link's elongated ear and pulled him to the graveyard. "I just wanted to say Hi," he sputtered and shuffled along. "Let go of me, you're going to tear my ear off," the adolescent grumbled and rubbed his reddened ear. "So he's here in the graveyard, how can you be so sure?"

"Where would you go if your parents died?" Midna questioned and rolled her eye. "To a graveyard to mourn them, right?"

The human sniffed. "Like I'd know, my parents died in shipwreck at sea." She quickly let go of him, these days, her expression flitted freely across her face. "It's not much of a big deal," Link said and tried picturing his parents. Daffodil curls...Kind smiles. A heart melting lullaby? His mother's or father's warm breath fanning across his face. "It doesn't matter," he added brusquely and skirted a wide path around the tree stripped of leaves and bowed with guay foliage. "They are gone and I'm gonna make sure Aryll doesn't," his voice hitched and he lowered to his arms and knees, "follow them."

Scuffling through the crawl space, Link emerged in a green glade and a pond separated the Royal Zora graveyard. A fish-child straightened from its kneeling position and the human used a moment to gape at the familiar face.

"It's that slimy fish thing," he whispered to Midna before forgetting she conveniently disappeared in front of others. Embarrassed, he dove into the water and emerged on the graveyard, hair plastered to his scalp.

Ralis regarded him with lime green eyes full of mistrust. Smiling gently at the boy, Link inwardly praised Ralis' fashion sense (the fish-child sure rocked the golden regalia) and crouched to his level.

"Hello, my name is Link," the human began and Ralis' suspicion softened. "I don't think you've heard of me." The prince quietly assured that the children spoke highly of Link. Glancing at the graves, Link brushed a tombstone and a spell of silence descended between them. "Losing both parents must be very difficult," he said and Ralis nodded, face trained to his feet. "But you can't hold on to them forever." The child crouched at the base, green irises boring in the tombstone and Link gently patted Ralis' head. "The Zora expect greatness from you and I know it can be overwhelming," the adolescent broke off, remembering the time he fainted in the Forest Temple, "but I'm sure if you are willing to do your best, they will do what they can to help you." Extracting the reekfish drawing from his wallet, Link showed it to Ralis. "A guard told me this fish reminds them of you." Ralis giggled, bringing a webbed palm to obscure saw teeth. "I don't see any resemblance though; you are one good looking fish thingy."

The young prince laughed some more.

"You need a special lure to catch them," he explained and fished in a jeweled waist pack. "Here," he fixed a coral hook at the end of Link's fishing rod. "Thank you for talking to me." Ralis faced the graves and brushed a pink, pearlescent hand over the stone carvings. "After those shadow creatures murdered my mother, I ran away. I was afraid of returning, but my people need me." The previous uncertainty in his eyes transformed into a burning dedication. "I shall make sure the Zora are ready to contribute to this battle between good and evil." Backtracking, Link regarded the child warily and Ralis smiled. "Just because I'm a little boy, doesn't mean I don't know what's happening. I'm a prince; we are expected to be knowledgeable about these things."

Inside the human's head, Midna appraised the Zora, eye glinting.

Late evening sunlight bounced off the Mother and Child rocks. Two obelisks of stone, top half covered by moss, plunged in the clear water and overhead, a tiny waterfall drained in the pond. Bending, Link looked past the surface reflection and admired the schools of colorful fishes below. Settling on the grassy bank with a sandwich in one hand and the rod in the other, he patiently waited for the reekfish to bite.

He worked through two sandwiches, a packet of salted crackers and a wedge of cheese before the fishing rod tugged. Shooting to his feet, Link expertly reeled and victoriously held a dark reddish fish in the dying light.

Materializing, Midna held her nose and examined the gaping fish for a few seconds before tossing the shadow crystal in Link's head. The sacred wolf took one whiff of the reekfish and his ears flattened disagreeably. Kicking the gasping fish back into the lake's marigold waters, Link sniffed the air and retched.

Great, now he smelt reekfish everywhere.

The stench of half rotted fish led him through an icy cavern in Snowpeak. Paws freezing on the gelid surface, Link traced the trail into the province proper and stepped into a burning mush of snow. His elation at wanting to see snowflakes falling from the sky evaporated and he trudged miserably while falling flakes settled on his back, clumping long fur together.

A thorough study of the region revealed it was not the Golden Wolf's domain and Link liberally thanked Jabun for the good fortune. Wet nose hovering an inch above the icy breath of Snowpeak, he diligently plowed through the slopes till the aching pain in his joints numbed to a comforting paralysis. The wolf paused and sniffed the air, tongue catching snowflakes and strange odors; ears cocking to noise, he crouched into a defensive position when a pack of wolfos shimmered into view. For a moment, Link failed to see the glowing, angry scarlet eyes and hostile jaws dripping with freezing saliva, instead, he inhaled at the sight of a majestic pack of wolves and their blinding white coats.

One sprang forward and buried icicle teeth in Link's hindquarter and he stared blankly, not feeling pain. A splash of warm blood oozed from the wound, drying instantaneously and matting blue-grey fur into stiff spikes. The wolfos eyed the intruder and exchanged bewildered glances.

An idiot this one, the attacking wolfos confirmed and signaled to the pack with its tail. Does not pose a threat, retreat. The pack howled in unison and dissolved among the snow. Link bristled at their words.

Did you hear that?! He indignantly turned to Midna, nonchalantly scratching her ear. They called me an idiot! Link barked furiously, daring the ghost wolves to come out and attack. Howling atrocities, he ran after a streaming tail in the woods and leapt to pin a wolfos down. Unfortunately, his paws scrabbled on the edge of a ravine and whining piteously, Link tumbled over.

The Twilli lazily hovered to the edge; underneath, the sacred wolf buried in a mound of snow, legs twitching. He irritably shook snow off its snout and stumbled upright. The ten meter drop dazed the creature and she sighed, dissolving into his shadow.

Alone at the bottom of a ravine, Link snarled at the outcrop. Declaring his utmost hatred of snow with a long, bone chilling howl, he retraced his steps back towards the reek of the reekfish and dutifully followed it. The path winded through the forest of pine trees and ice keese fluttered in his face. Growling a warning, he padded through when the bats allowed him safe passage before swarming all over him. Frost crept over his fur, biting into his skin. Whipping, he pierced the nearest bat's wing and tossed it into the swarm. Lowering his ears at the high pitched squeaks, he bolted out of the forest, tripped over a stone covered in snow and landed with his back legs banging against a circular door.

The oppressive chill seeped into human Link's bones and his teeth clattered uncontrollably.

Feeling sorry for the poor human, Midna bled into view and offered to hold his hands in her hair. Lips cyanotic, Link stared at her dully, shook his head violently and stamped the ice slicked ground.

The cavern, lit by an arctic glow, consisted of ledges covered in moss and the Twilli examined the weedy vegetation growing in such inhospitable conditions. Her fingers lingered on a violet flower and she commended the plant for being like her. Surviving with nothing. In front, Link, fingers inflamed and prickling, climbed a trellis of vines and heaved to the upper areas. Frost glittered on his lashes, sparkling dust caked his fringe. The cavern spat him to an incline and he petrified at a familiar figure.

The golden wolf.

Unsheathing his sword and shield, he waited for the creature to pounce, instead, the wolf waited, its blood red eye deceptively calm. Peeking uneasily at Midna, who waved him away almost callously, he approached the wolf and his knees sunk in the snow.

Out cold.

One hour later, the inert, blue form of Link rose from the blanket of snow and he grimaced, flexing unresponsive fingers. When the pain proved to be too much to bear, he let his cerulean limbs hang uselessly around him. Sitting on his shoulder, Midna grabbed his hands and held them fast when the human complained. She massaged them vigorously, coaxing blood back into shriveled fingers and Link pulled venomously from her grasp.

"Stay still," the imp commanded and he glowered at her balefully. "You will lose your fingers and toes if the blood does not reach there. Want to live as a cripple?" she asked and kneaded her small hands in his own.

"Can't feel pain," Link slurred, "feels better this way." He attempted another tug and Midna let go of him. Legs pedaling backwards, he crashed against a warm, furry body. Initial alarm melting into relief, he curled into a ball when the beast lifted him. Grasping tufts of eggshell fur, Link raised his face to thank his savior and the words vaporized in his mouth. "Uh...I'm not tasty," he warbled and attempted to detach from the comforting spread of fur. "Please don't eat me."

"Yeto doesn't eat anyone," a voice droned and Link, cradled in large, leathery hands, gazed at Ashei. A black scabbard hang at her waist and silver boots mirrored the icy brilliance. "So you've been stealing the reekfish yeah?" Ashei leveled a glare at the white furred beast and it trembled.

Sneaking a glance at the obviously stricken monster, Link paled when the woman unsheathed a blade. Against the backdrop of snow, the sword glinted black as night.

"I told you to entrust me with your problems Yeto." The wind tossed Ashei's silken fringe. "The Zora are angry, and we resistance members do not have time to catch a pitiful thief, yeah." The charcoal blade tip hovered near the terrified beast's neck and the frantic faces of both man and monster reflected off the woman's silver bodice. "Castle Town is a wreck and I'm dispatched here to deal with you." The blade returned to its ornate sheath with a dismal scrape and Yeto inched backwards, still holding Link carefully. "Let's talk, yeah?" Ashei compromised but the beast uttered a strangled cry, knocked a bare tree, dislodging a sheet of ice and boarded it. "Yeto!" the woman called too late.

Screams thrust at the back of his throat, Link succumbed to the greater forces. Body limp, he distinctly remembered the scenery whirling past him.

Grey and emerald and white.

Mountains, pine forests.

Winding trails dipping through valleys. A pack of wolfos ran with them and abruptly dissolved in the wind.

Wind stung his side; the sun did not have a place in Snowpeak. A halo formed around the burning ball in the sky and yet, the warming rays refused to touch him.

His eyes drooped shut.

The aroma of delicious soup roused Link from a long slumber. "Grandma?" he asked and rubbed his eyes, lips quirking into a smile.

What a strange dream of snowy mountains and weird snow people and a black haired lady wearing fashionable armor.

Inhaling the hearty smell of broth and cheese, he opened his eyes and registered a warm blanket over his chest. "Grandma...Aryll?" Link called.

The kitchen seemed a bit too big and did they have such a fancy fireplace? Logs, glowing orange and crimson, crumbled in a granite fireplace and he rubbed his eyes. The fire fought with shadows present in every corner and windows rattled. Suddenly afraid, Link shot up from the oversized armchair and flung the moth eaten blanket off him. The couch sported rips, the stuffing spilled on the floor. Threadbare velvet carpets covered stone tiles and his boots echoed too loudly. Whipping around, his irises roved the dark paintings hung on the walls and he hugged himself.

"Midna?" he whispered and crawled to the roaring fire. "Where am I?" He waited for the imp to appear but several torturous seconds later, he gave up and clung to a pillar near the fireplace, fingers worrying intricate, soot covered grooves. Eyes wandering to the paintings half covered in shadow, he forcefully watched the fire, limbs chilled despite the toasty heat.

"Hello, human." A rough, warm voice shattered his concentrated terror and Link screamed. His flailing arm knocked a vase off the mantle and a loud crash echoed in the dismal room. Glass shards glittered red. "Oh!" the snow monster exclaimed, a bowl of soup in her hands. "Yeta's favorite vase," she muttered softly and Link bowed apologetically. "No problem, uh," the beast smiled and passed the comforting porcelain bowl in his hands. "Yeta sick so husband make soup," she added giddily and Link smiled. "You hurt?" She pointed to a faint scar spiraling down the side of his face and gently pressed a fragrant fingertip against his cheekbones.

"No and I'm sorry about your vase," Link apologized again and gulped the soup without bothering to use the spoon. "This is delicious," he grinned toothily, "it tastes like my Grandma's special soup."

Yeta's lips inched into a glowing smile and she sat by the fireplace, her fur absorbing the amber hues. Licking the bowl clean and no longer afraid, he hunkered near the beast and basked in the warmth, forgetting about the ominous chill saturating the house.

"Do you and...Yeto...Live here alone?" he asked, icy blue eyes reflecting dancing flames. "Don't the humans look at your and run away?"

"Ask about the Mirror," Midna advised.

Oh, now she could speak.

Ignoring the fuming Twilli banging in his cranium, Link listened, starry eyed as Yeta's dulcet tones flowed over him like tepid water. He barely understood her broken speech but the affectionate twinkle in the eye prompted him to snuggle closer.

She garbled about her mansion being nice and pretty, about the pack of wolfos guarding the place. Of days when she spent her time snowboarding with her husband and when humans wore thick animal hide and lived at the foot of Snowpeak in snow igloos. Every year, they held a snowboarding competition. Sighing, her palm dropped from Link's sandy head.

"What happened to those times?"

Yeta stroked his hair carefully. "All gone," she mumbled. "Yeta sick, so husband stay all day inside and look after me." A log inside the fire broke, releasing a cloud of bright sparks. "People move away, too cold." She shivered and Link wrapped his arms around her. "Ever since Mirror, uh..." Stiffening, he stared at the misery in her slate face. "Not good, Mirror." The beast rocked to and fro. "Not good," she repeated, "man in robe."

A sudden throb of pain rocketed through Link's skull and he pressed his fingers on his temple. Midna must be mad again.

"I'll take the Mirror away from you," Link offered and Yeta turned to him. "Tell me where it is, if the mirror is gone, you will be fine and you can go snowboarding with Yeto again, right?" Her monstrous face, which did not seem so bad anymore, crinkled into a smile and she swept him in a fluffy hug.

"Brave," she patted his head, gratitude shining in cinnamon irises, "Brave little...Uh human." Link glowed at her praise and eagerly handed her the empty bowl, hopefully they will have the grace to give him another helping of the divine soup before sending him on a death quest.


Not only did Yeto give him another brimful bowl of soup, he also bottled half the remains and bundled them in a sack. Elated, Link procured a map and compass from Yeta and climbed the grand staircase leading to the upper floors of the palace ruins. The double doors to the cozy living room banged shut and the corridors stretched endlessly before him. Ice dusted stone reliefs and Link shivered, raising his lantern. The glow illuminated skewed portraits nailed to the walls. A lattice of wooden beams hung above his head, edges ragged and slung with skulltula webs. The floor, covered in frost, crackled loudly underfoot and he whipped around, heart thudding in his chest.

The comforting bottles of soup, nestling against his waist, bolstered what little courage he possessed and Link stalked forward, closing his eyes when a gale blew freezing dust through shattered windows. Snowpeak ruins creaked and lantern held high above his head; Link turned in circles, slid on the icy floor, fighting for balance and landed in a tangled heap against a square block of stone.

Fingers clawing on the carved sides, he stood upright and examined both rock and the rectangle of ice covering the room. Pale light filtered from a gate beyond the block and Link skated to solid ground and jumped for the exit.

The gate refused to yield.

"Why is it not opening?" he kicked the door for good measure and suspiciously stared at the block of stone, sitting smugly on the quad of ice. "Let me guess, I have to do something with the stone." Hanging the lantern on a rusty nail, he walked around the perimeter and noted squat pillars of ice positioned at odd places. Thankfully, Midna bled into view and Link receded into the shadows, waiting for her to wrench the stone block in her hand-hair and hurl it at the unresponsive gate. Instead her eyes flickered to the engraving on the granite cube. "What should we do?" he asked.

"Solve a puzzle," came the simple reply.

Link blinked. "Huh?" Fingers tingling, he rubbed them on his tunic and frowned. "A puzzle?" He pointed to the block. "This is a puzzle?" The Twilli pointed her chin to a switch cased in ice. "I don't have the brains to solve a-" he ducked when Midna swiped at him. "You always call me an idiot!" the adolescent protested. "I can't read a map so how am I gonna solve this?" He stabbed a finger at the block and its icy edges.

Ignoring the bumbling male and his useless antics, Midna hovered over the center of the floor and calculated.

Slide the stone to the left and it will bump against the edge.

From there, a nudge to the right and it will rest against a stub of ice. If Link pushed it towards the south, the block will land over the switch and hopefully, allow them passage to the courtyard.

Still mumbling and wiping a dribble of soup leaking through the corners of his lips, Link navigated the block according to Midna's instructions, and the hunk of stone rested on the fettered floor switch. For five long seconds, nothing happened and the human glared at his companion. "It didn't work," he griped and marched to the door. The basalt gate groaned apart to reveal a snow covered courtyard and an army of chilfos.

"Duck!" Midna yelled.

A group of tall, white bodies crowded the opening and leveled their glass spears at Link. A wave of elongated icicles soared through the air and Link pulled out his shield. A shard bounced against the middle and crumbled to frost.

He backed into the room.

More projectiles arced through the air; one impaled his shoulder, the other skewered his thigh. An icy tip vaulted for his forehead and he crouched, letting the spear crash uselessly against the block of stone. Grappling with the icicle in his shoulder, he dislodged it, threw the steaming, bloodied spear back and tossed a windstorm. Used to the raging blizzards of Snowpeak, the chilfos huddled against the tornado and waited for the magical storm to die.

Spearheads glinting, they spilled inside the room, their fragile bodies glimmering menacingly.

Left leg numb, and back pressed on the stone, Link hopped, brandishing his sword to keep the nearest chilfos at bay. Ice spear and steel sung a duet, clangs echoing in the darkened room. Arm shuddering, he stabbed a chilfos through its glassy rib and blanched when the blade refused to come out. His eyes stung and a warm tear sailed down his cheek.

The chilfos pressed mindlessly, stacking against the one in front and fanning out on either side.

Letting go of the sword, Link swiped sideways with his shield, letting out an enraged howl. The Hylian shield rammed into the monsters' chests and they cracked. He lopped off a chilfos head, grabbed the horned, icy skull and bashed it against another monster aiming for his stomach.

A shadow fell over them and Link looked up.

Face screwed in a sadistic smile, Midna balanced the stone cube above her head. Wrenching his sword from where it cushioned in a chilfos' ribcage, the human hobbled out of the way as the cube descended.

Silvers of ice exploded outwards, inking a mesh of scars on Link's face. Reveling in the chaos, the imp's grin stretched wider till Link dragged her away from the shrapnel. Clutching a fistful of his tunic, she turned to the carnage and the glee in her face faded.

She yanked a piece of melting ice from his arm. "I think...I enjoy killing things." Midna stared at her hands, veined in turquoise. "Hmph, I guess I'm no better than those monsters on the floor."

The human refused to comment; Link drowned a potion and eyed the fused shadow on her head. Floating to the ground, Midna kicked a piece of chilfos away and rocketed to the air when a pair of hands grabbed her headpiece.

"What...What are you doing?" she screeched and twisted when Link did not relinquish his grip. "Let go of me." Midna warned. Wrestling the thrashing imp into the crook of his arm, Link attempted to pull the fused shadow off her head. "Huma-" she paused when he pulled the headpiece off and clutched it protectively in his chest. "Give...It back..." Midna desperately reached for the fused shadow and weakly flopped to the floor. "You don't know what you are doing...LINK!"


XXXXX


Shards of copper and glass

"I believe I heard your phalanges cracking." The King of Red Lions slowed against the wind and rotated, his neck creaking.

Dumbfounded, Link stared at the blush of crimson staining his felt boot and placed the other cannonball on a crate. The first one rolled, it bumped against the mast, bounced off a barrel and rested at the base of an iron trunk. Hopping delicately on one foot, the boy wrenched the shoe off and examined his mangled toes.

Above them, the sky darkened to pewter. Rolling clouds flashed thunder and seagulls squawked a warning. Triangular fins, a constant companion, peeled away, diving back to the safety of the sunlit sea. Cracking a piece of wood into a splint, Link sat on the edge of the boat, washed his foot and bandaged it with the splint. Gathering water in a bucket, he soaked his bloodied footwear and adjusted the horizontal boom so the boat speeded towards the kraken. With a Guide to Cannons and Carronades, open on a chest, he cleaned the cannon while splatters of rain trailed his cheeks and wetted the pages. Dragging his throbbing foot, Link loaded the gunpowder and a cannonball.

The sky churned angrily, a funnel of clouds and wind. A huge shark, snarling, flew over them and disappeared into the waves below. Foamy waters swamped the deck and Link skidded, bare feet sliding on slimy planks. Grunting, he aimed the cannon at the monster thrashing in the middle of the whirlpool and waited.

"Go around," the boy ordered and hurried to collapse the sail. "The wind here is like a vortex, the sail won't work." Chaining himself to the mast, his eyes roamed over the gigantic sea beast. Waves slapped the hull and the little boat rocked dangerously.

A dozen, fluorescent yellow eyes peppered the big Octo's body. Link trained the cannon and fired. The resulting boom exploded in his ear and for a brief minute, he could hear nothing but a shrill ring. Shaking his head irritably, he checked through the telescope and grinned.

One fist sized eye bled, useless.

The second cannon ball hit wide, denting the main body and blasting a chunk of pink kraken flesh into the sea; the monster roared defiantly. A shipwreck rolled towards the boat and boy. Glaring at the debris, Link lopped a bomb at the wooden carcass and splinters rained on his head.

"Out of cannonballs," he reported and hung at the figurehead's neck. "Can we get closer? I can use my boomerang and blind it."

The King of Red Lions shot his passenger a withering look. "You want to get close to it and blind it with your boomerang?" he asked and the duo watched as the cyclone lifted a gigantic mast out of the waters and flung it outside the whirlpool. "I don't think your banana shaped piece of wood will do anything in this weather." Link's arms tightened around the boat's neck. "...Try lighting the cannon again, I'll see what I can do."

Sending the boat an unimpressed stare, he tottered back to the cannon, swaying unsteadily. "If you could shoot magical cannonballs, then why did I break my toes?" Link exasperatedly stated and pointed to his foot. "It hurts," he muttered under his breath. Angling the cannon muzzle to a protruding eye, he lit the fuse and waited for nothing to happen. To his astonishment, a leaden ball soared out of the cannon and crashed against the big octo, sending it toppling to the side. Link gawked at the boat whose painted eyes twinkled mirthfully.

"You don't believe in magic," the boat said and Link lit the fuse again.

Three explosions gouged three eyes. A dead shark bumped against the hull, pushing them further into the whirlpool.

"I think," the boy hollered over the roar of monster and sea, "you are doing a good job of changing my mind."

Whirling winds dimmed in intensity and shafts of sunlight pierced the slate grey cloud cover. Furiously tugging the burdensome cannon and aiming at the eyes, Link dotted the kraken with holes. Big octo's tentacles thrashed for the boat. A cannonball collided with a looming limb, its underside filled with suckers and blood, mixed with water, rained on deck. The monster sunk deeper into the sea and the King of Red Lions struggled against the magnetic pull of the whirlpool center. Thunderous cracks rent the air and at long last, the tentacles stopped waving and limply floated in the sea.

The kraken disintegrated and the clouds parted, letting a flood of sunlight wash the area.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Link slid to the base of the mast and breathed deeply. The monster hunting episode left him exhausted and happy. He bobbed on gentle waves and squinted when a silver...humanoid descended from the sky. Suspicious, he screwed his eye against the spyglass and his mouth fell open. A figure with four limbs and entirely glimmering like quicksilver, hovered a meter above his boat and spoke. The boy registered a few words about his magic meter being extended, although he felt no difference, and the specter vanished in a cloud of graphite dust.

Shrugging at the bizarre experience, Link reached for the map and halted when the boat spoke, "That was a fairy," a snort escaped Link's mouth, "I trust you don't believe in them?"

The boy nodded, much to the boat's surprise. "I've never seen one looking so abnormal before," he admitted. "The ones back at home were tiny," he gestured to his palm, "I could fit them inside my hand. Mostly, they hid in tall grass and fruit trees, if you caught them and blended them with fruit-" the King of Red Lions regarded his passenger with renewed horror, "-they resulted in a delicious and restoring drink." The blonde boy smiled politely and checked the sea chart.

"You eat fairies," the figurehead drily noted, "anything else I should know?"

"I like spear fishing," the child cheekily replied and the two stared at each other.

The spell of silence broke when the King of Red Lions laughed, a booming, nobleman's laugh and Link joined in, small shoulders shaking. He clutched his stomach, wiped the tears streaming down the side of his face and shaded pitch irises from the sun.

"I don't remember," he whispered softly and swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't think, I've ever laughed this freely after I left Hyrule Castle.

Lacquered eyes pinned the child curled on deck, mouth agape in laughter. The King of Red Lions looked away, a memory tugging his heart.

That's my boy.


The submarine reeked of rot. Wood intermingled with the briny stink of fish. Wrapping his hat around his mouth, Link prowled in the dark, sword out and eyes straining. A plump shape brushed against his foot and he whirled around, barely seeing a blinking hazard before throwing himself forward and using his shield to mitigate a bomb blast. As soon as he hit the floor, the stench of rotten wood wafted up his nose and he held his breath. Several other fuses sparked in the dark and he blinked in disbelief. Bombs simultaneously detonating? Hardly fair. Rolling to his feet, he swiped his sword low on the ground and the blade whistled across a multitude of fuses. The orange blazes died and he heard a terrified squeak.

Letting the shield drop, he clamped his hands over a fleshy, furred figure and brought the rat closer to his face. The purple rodent lit a match, accenting beady, plotting eyes and an oversized front tooth. The flared match dropped sideways, caught a bomb flower rooted on the submarine floor and the bomb flashed.

Stepping back, Link threw the rat in the explosion, eyebrows drawn in sympathy. He did not want to hurt the rats...unfortunately the current circumstances forced him to hunt them into extinction.

Lighting a candle bolted to the side of the wall, his eyes widened when the flame showed the deck planted with bomb flowers. Rats scurried to and fro, picking the flowers and lopping them at the human. Standing near the stern, he caught the flashing hazards and lobbed them back, wincing each time a rat imploded, letting loose a haunting squeak. Bits of rat organs, bones and the occasional, intact tail, spread like gore confetti in the cabin, choking it with the smell of metal and death.

The last of the rats screamed vengeance and Link threw his boomerang, pretending not to hear how its skull cracked under impact.

He stepped over a hairless tail and his foot sunk in a warm, disembodied body. Tiny lungs, spongy surfaces filled with blood, depressed under his heel and sprayed a scarlet splatter over the boots. Twirling his sword and sheathing it, Link climbed the ladder leading to the upper decks and snatched a treasure chart from a chest. He surfaced at sunset and grinning, hopped on the boat.

The King of Red Lions pointed to the north west, where the horizon darkened. "We must visit Jabun," he said solemnly, "I have a bad feeling about something."

Noting the pirate's charm wedged between two crates, Link swept the sea with the telescope. "Did your mysterious friend tip you off to something?" The boat nodded vacuously. "You...trust him?" This time, the boat paused before nodding uncertainly. "Jabun is a minor deity, if I'm correct." The boy rummaged through the trunk and flipped through hand written notes. "I believe he might be a descendant of the great Jabu Jabu fish that swallowed the Zora Princess during the-"

"Boy," the boat interjected, voice hoarse, "we need to leave immediately. I appreciate your interest in history, but time is not on our side." The winds changed abruptly and the sail billowed in an unnatural gale. The boat spurted forward, flying through the waves.

Seeing the figurehead's mouth pressed into a grim slash instead of a normal, amiable smile, Link's stomach twisted into knots. He did not like this. Adjusting the sail, he listlessly paced the deck while the watercraft cut through the sea, leaving a foaming trail behind. Exhausted by the day's events, Link slunk to the deckhouse and returned with a thin blanket draped over his shoulders. A crescent moon scarred an indigo heaven and he crammed crackers and cheese into his mouth. Gulping a mouthful of water, he strode on the deck some more and eventually sat at in the bow.

"Get some sleep," the King of Red Lions ordered without looking. "There is much distance to cover before seeing Greatfish Isle. It was a long day today, so rest awhile." Instead of leaning against the mast or going back into the safety of the mini deckhouse, Link wrapped his arms around the figurehead's neck and rested his head there. "...I hardly think this is a good place to rest. You will be as stiff as a corpse when you wake up." The boy mumbled in affirmative but failed to move from his spot. "You miss your family," the boat muttered. "Perhaps after we meet with Jabun, we will visit Outset Island and your Grandmother. I know she is will be of little consolation..."

"It's okay," Link sleepily assured, "I have you." He lazily patted the dragonhead's mane. "You're the best boat a guy could ever want." He smiled disarmingly, lowered his head and snored.


A damning chill roused Link from his sleep. A biting tempest raked through his hair and he jerked awake, reaching for the sword on his back and his fingers closed on air. Shielded by a tall spire of rock, the King of Red Lions turned to see his passenger lean out of the boat and note the situation.

Crashing against the obelisk of stone, the boat moved forward and retreated against his will. "Jabun is gone," the King of Red Lions related calmly. "I think he might have been erased." Alarm flared in the boy's ebony irises and he peered through the cracks in the rock.

Greatfish Island spread under weak moonlight. Ravaged houses, torn palm trees and debris scattered on the beaches. It's gone. Link concluded and his head whipped back to the boat. An entire island, ravaged in a few hours.

Gone.

Gone.

He closed his fist on air and clenched his teeth.

Obliterated.

And a dark skinned Gerudo will pay for his crimes.


A/N: Link finally got to drink the soup of his dreams, which wasn't much consolation because Midna is scaring him. Other Link single handedly executed the rats, was anyone sorry to see them go? No? Excellent.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Although I can't write humor, I hope this story made someone chuckle, if your sense of humor is as weird as mine.

At AkabaneKazama: Right after he got his fingers chopped off, Midna stitched them back together with a bit of her magic, though, he will still feel pain in his fingers from time to time.

Please read and review, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.