A raw dull ache throbbed at the back of Cremia's head. An abrupt jolt
intensified that pain causing her to grimace. She cracked open her heavy
eyelids to peer at an unknown surrounding. Her heart sped skipping a few
beats when she realized herself to be in an unidentifiable wagon. Her mind
wandered back to the image of that awful grinning man. *Am I being held
hostage?* she wondered. The wagon was covered so she could not see where
she was. The inside walls of the cart were littered with scraps of metal
and wood.
"Ugoh, ug ugo ugho." Now that was definitely familiar. Craning her neck to get a better view, she nearly screamed when the metal helmet of the giant's head emerged merely inches from her face.
"So she is," the voice of the man at the milk bar joined the giant's. Backing up, the giant turned around while his friend swiveled in his seat to face Cremia. "Think you can handle steering for a few minutes while I check out our guest?" The giant grunted a response and the man turned his attention back to Cremia.
Still not sure if this was a hostage situation, Cremia tried to sit up but instantly regretted the action as her head started to swim. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man redundantly said.
"Who are you?" she croaked bringing a hand up to massage the throbbing base of her skull.
"I should be asking you the same," the stranger replied looking her over critically. "Me and Gabora here found you lying out in the middle of the road, care to explain?"
She hesitated wondering if it was safe enough to presume that the man was trustworthy. "I was on the road trying to make it to the next inn before sundown," she acknowledged. "I don't know where he came from, but this man jumped onto my cart and knocked me off."
"What was in the cart?" the man pressed.
Cremia didn't like being coerced into saying anything about her personal affairs. "Who's to say anything valuable was in the cart? All I known is that some theif jumped onto my back and stole what was mine." She crossed her arms self-consciously and met his eyes squarely, "Who are you?"
"My Farore, don't have a cucco," the man responded grumpily. "I was just asking. Like I've already said, that's Gabora and I'm Zubora," he pointed over at the concentrating giant.
"Got any rupees on you? Maybe we can drop you off at an inn or something," Zubora suggested.
*My rupees!* Cremia thought excitedly. Feeling down around the belt of her dress, her heart dropped when the bag was nowhere to be found. *The pouch could've broken off my belt loop.or.* Cremia swallowed hard, a lump rose in her throat. "Oh sweet Din," she cursed feeling her stomach begin to wretch.
"What is it?" Zubora asked.
"I _did_ have a bag of rupees," Cremia declared. She swallowed hard again. "The bag, the leather strip tied to my waist, it was all new. There's no way it could've simply slipped off."
"Oh man, did he touch you?" Zubora breathed and his face-hardened as he looked out of the wagon. Cremia followed his gaze and found to her horrid delight the beginning flurries of snowflakes floating gently to the ground.
Had the situation not just been magnified, Cremia might have enjoyed the scene. She didn't answer the grave man instead drawing her knees to her chest. "Hey listen," Zubora began. "I think you should ride with us, you know, just to be safe." Cremia didn't respond using a nod as her answer.
"Just until we reach the village at the mountain of course," he started before a growl from the giant named Gabora cut him off. "Wha-" the uttered syllable had no sooner left Zubora's throat before the wagon began to wobble and churn. "You big Deku Nut! Where are you going?" Leaping to his feet, Zubora sprang to the front wrestling the reigns from Gabora and screeching to a halt right before the cart collided with a lone tree.
"Urgh ugg urgo ugh," Gabora protested while Zubora waved an annoyed hand in his direction.
"Shaddup, I don't want to hear any of your excuses, I leave you to do a simple task for one minute and you nearly get us killed!" Zubora ranted in exasperation.
Feeling sorry for the downcast giant, Cremia intervened. "Why don't you leave him alone? I remember you from the milk bar; you were giving him a hard time there too! He didn't mean any harm."
"Why don't you stay out of this," Zubora shot back snappily. "You don't live with guy, you don't know what I put up with, he's not your problem, so why don't you just butt out?"
Cremia gaped clearly taken aback. Never before had a man spoken to her in such a manner. "Problem?" she exploded, "Is that what you think of him, your problem? You run a smithy right? I'm assuming it from the looks of your wagon. And I'm also _assuming_ that without the muscle on your _problem_, your business would not even exist!"
"I didn't have to-" Zubora started angrily and then cut off in a severe silence. Taking a breath to calm himself, Zubora began again, "Look, let's just drop it alright? We'll stop in a few hours and set up camp."
"Fine," Cremia resolved. Gabora had been unusually quiet the entire time. Looking over in his direction, she found his head turned towards her. He was watching her intently. She felt a bit awkward over the situation, but then shook off the feeling figuring that the poor soul had probably never had anyone stand up for him before. She would be relieved too after living with Zubora for however long he had. She gave the giant a small smile of reassurance before settling against the wall of the wagon and drifting off into sleep.
***
"Hey," a voice called.
"Huh?" sitting up groggily, Cremia rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up.
"Come on," the voice said again. "We're setting up camp here."
Nodding muddily she stood and walked the few steps needed to jump out of the back. Cremia gasped at the sight of two crystal blue sheer cliffs enclosing her on both sides. Her feet crunched solidly on the snow-packed ground and the gray overcast blanketed the soil with more tiny snowflakes. "Where are we?" she breathed.
Zubora regarded her for a moment in disbelief before saying, "We're at the Mountain Pass, entrance to the Mountain Village."
Behind her, Gabora finished unloading the last of the camping items. Cremia took the spare time to glance around again. Certainly she had encountered snow; the ranch received it on a yearly basis. But to see such an exquisite display of power shifted her perspective on those tiny frosted diamonds. She smiled *Kind of like Mr. Barton,* she thought throwing back her head and opening her mouth.
"What in Din's name are you doing?" Zubora asked as he hammered a stake into the ground.
"Catching snowflakes," Cremia answered with a light laugh. "I used to do it when I was younger, as soon as the ranch got its first snow, I would run outside with nothing but my nightgown (if it was nighttime) and try to catch the first snowflakes in my mouth. My mother used to tell me that the first flakes were magical and that if I could catch them, then I'd be magical too!" Cremia gushed over the memory looking off into the dizzying stretch that followed the canyon.
"Sounds like your mother had a loose screw," Zubora chuckled intending the trivial comment to be a joke.
Cremia suddenly froze putting her head back down and mumbling a small, "Yeah," before gathering rocks together to shield the pile of firewood gathered in Gabora's arms.
Zubora got the hint. Mother was a touchy subject. "Now my own mother," he continued trying to amend for his other hurtful remark, "She had problems. Every time it snowed she'd tell us to turn off the heat and huddle together. She said it was the only way we could 'bond' as a family because we'd have to share our own body warmth. Can you believe that?" He chuckled.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Cremia asked him suddenly while fiddling with the sticks now burrowed in the rock dome.
"Yeah, a few," Zubora answered absently laying the tarp for the tent. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just curious, is that a crime?" Cremia retorted. "Do you still talk to any of them?" she asked pressing him for information about his family. He obviously was uncomfortable with the subject, but inquisitiveness got the better of her.
"What's with this sudden interest in my family?" Zubora shot back heatedly. "Just a few hours ago you accused me of being a jerk, now I'm some poor deprived son who's in need of a sibling relationship?"
"I never said that-" Cremia started before being stopped once again by Zubora.
"Listen, I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything. Let's start over, okay? I feel like we've had a rocky start." He held out his hand in a mock gesture. "I'm Zubora."
Cremia stood stunned for a few moments as his words raced across her mind, once, twice, a million times over before she timidly took his hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you," she said.
***
"Are you sure all the dodongos have left?" Cremia asked holding a bowl of steaming soup. A cheery fire crackled before her, but she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders to ward off a sudden chill.
"Well _I_ haven't seen any," Zubora answered slurping his soup from his bowl.
"Urg gho ur urgh urgo ugr," Gabora added.
Cremia giggled. "What did he say?" she asked.
"He said he saw one before, but it was miles away from here," translated Zubora.
Cremia watched Gabora as he struggled with the small bowl, which could be compared to a pebble in his hand. Trying to pour the liquid into his mouth, more of the soup landed in his lap than actually going down his throat. Cremia laughed again. His behavior was closely related to that of a child.
"Are there others," she asked, "Like him?"
Zubora looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Finishing a loud sip of soup before providing an answer, he finally replied, "Maybe. He's the only one I know of though."
"I know it's none of my business, but how did you two find each other? You have to be the most unlikely pair I've ever seen."
Again Zubora examined her critically. "I'll tell you what," he compromised, "I'll tell you how I ended up with him if you tell me what was in your wagon."
"I thought that would have been obvious by now," Cremia answered slightly suspicious over his curiosity of her wagon's contents. "I was going to market my Chateau Romani all across Termina. The milk was in my cart."
"I thought you could only get that stuff from the milk bar in Clock Town," Zubora noted. "Why are you selling it everywhere?"
Cremia shook her head. "No more questions until you answer mine."
"Okay, fine," Zubora replied. Leaning back, he set his polished bowl beside him and tucked his hands behind his head. "You might want to get comfortable," Zubora suggested, "It's a long story."
Cremia nodded and reclined against the wheel of the wagon. "I was kind of stubborn as a kid. When I turned sixteen I moved out because I felt like my folks were holding me back. At first it was great. I didn't have to listen to anybody and I didn't have to take crap from anyone. I rented out a little apartment and did whatever I wanted. I slept all day if I wanted to, and ate whatever I wanted. Basically, _I_ was in control-no one else.
"Then one day I woke up and realized that my food was spoiled, I wasn't all that tired, and that the rent on my apartment was due. 'Okay,' I'd say to myself, 'I'll get a job. Then I can spend the rupees on whatever I want.' So I applied for this job as a game dealer at that little treasure chest shop over in East clown Town. It paid for the rent and for my food, but I was bored out of mind. Because I worked during the nights (back then that was the only time it opened), I could go out, and there wasn't anything to do during the days. I guess you could say I was young and restless.
"I found a solution to that problem too: I'd go travel around; see what I could find. I quit the job and used the rest of my rupees to buy a horse-so I could get around. I started for the mountain; it always seemed liked it'd be cool to climb. When I was halfway there, I was ambushed by this mob of girls. They called themselves Pirates who were capturing men to be their slaves. I don't think they liked men all that much. Anyway, they tied me up, stole my horse and my rupees, and threw me into their wagon. And there was my buddy, Gabora. They'd captured him too."
He stopped his story there. Cremia gawked sitting up. "What happened?" she wanted to know, totally engrossed in the story by that point.
Zubora chuckled, "You haven't answered my other question, why should I answer yours?"
In a huff, Cremia crossed her arms and sat back against the wheel again. Her face became more mournful as she admitted, "My milk hasn't been selling all that well at the milk bar. I'm not blaming Mr. Barton and his new diner. People just aren't interested in buying magical milk. I was going try and convince people from all over the place to sell it and split the profit with me. I'd have been able to lower the price because it would have been so available thinking that people would want it if it were not so expensive. And if I open enough shops, I just might be able to get my sister and me out of our hole. The ranch is really suffering.we need that milk."
"See now, your story is much more interesting," Zubora said when her own tale was told.
"Oh yeah," she rebutted, "how's that?"
"It's still in the making."
Cremia pondered that for a moment then stated, "I've finished my answer, but I still have yet to hear the end of yours."
"Right," Zubora responded. "Where was I? Oh yeah, the 'Pirates' had tied me and Gabora up (actually, they _chained_ him) and threw us both into the back of their wagon. I had no idea where we were going, but I overheard one of them saying something about a fortress next to the Bay. I figured that Gabora and I didn't have much time to escape. During the night, while the guards slept thinking we were secure, we rolled off the wagon and ran into a brush. Gabora was able to free my ropes, but I couldn't free him. We bolted as fast as we could north and eventually ended up in the Mountain Village. It was springtime then so we didn't have to deal with the cold. We found an abandoned smith shop and, using the tools, I was able to release him. I found out he had a knack for blacksmithing and we opened a little business." He finished looking over at the sleeping giant huddled close to the fire. Cremia wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a faint stir of compassion glitter in his electric eyes. "He's just like a kid," he whispered affectionately.
Cremia smiled watching the sleeping Gabora as well. "Why did you stay?" she asked Zubora.
He looked at her as though in a trance. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean you said you were young and restless. Why did you decide to stay?" she pushed.
The piercing sound of a lone Wolfos howling corrupted the silence. Zubora snapped out of his trance scooting closer to the ground so that he could lie down. "I don't know. What else could I have done, leave him there? I don't know how, I just learned to talk to him. No one else could understand him-who else would know what he was talking about?"
He didn't say anything else, and Cremia let him be. She too lied down looking up at the brilliantly starry sky. Their warmth and calm quiet soothed her fears. Her thoughts wandered toward her sister-Romani. The sweet redhead was the last image she saw before falling into the oblivion of sleep.
***
Cremia woke to a stiff back. Her head throbbed hazily and her stomach swam. "Uhhn," she had put it simply when Zubora tried waking her.
"Come on." His voice was gruff and tense.
"Five more minutes," Cremia pleaded rolling over in her blanket.
"Get up," the command was harsh. "We're moving. _Now_."
Opening her eyes, she saw Gabora scrambling to load the wagon. She lazily sat up cracking her back and rubbing her eyes. "What's the hurry?" she asked watching as Gabora zoomed by with a hammer. She didn't get a response and looked over to where Zubora had been. He wasn't there. Peering behind the wagon, she saw him race to pull down the rope holding a large canvas over her head. *They probably just want to get an early start,* she thought and lethargically stood.
"Urgho grh ughr! UGH!" Gabora called out. He sounded panicked. Looking over at the lumbering giant, she saw him frantically waving at Zubora.
"What's going on, what's he saying?" she asked feeling slightly nervous.
Ignoring Cremia, Zubora replied, "I know buddy, I see him."
"See who?" Cremia demanded. Deciding to find out for herself, Cremia climbed to the top of the wagon. She surveyed the canyon seeing nothing interesting. A sudden flash of green caught her eye. "Oh Din," she whispered. "Is that a dodongo?" she asked watching as the massive emerald hulk slowly clambered toward their campsite. If she'd had any doubt about what it was before, all uncertainty left when the creature swerved to the right and spewed an inferno of fire. "I thought you said there weren't any here!" Cremia yelled at Zubora in alarm.
"I said that I hadn't seen any," Zubora countered not hesitating from his task. "Why don't you make some use of yourself and steer up that incline. At the top there should be an entrance, just wait for me and Gabora to meet up with you."
Slightly offended from his comment about her uselessness, she blew it off and climbed into the driver's seat. The horse was already hitched and ready to go. Giving the reigns a sharp slap, she eased the cart onto the narrow slant and wheeled it up to the top. "Uh oh," she mumbled. "Hey boys," she called over the edge. "We have a problem."
A solid wall of ice blocked the entrance to the mountain making it impassable. Seconds later, Zubora was at her side examining the problem. He muttered a curse. Looking over to check the dragon's progress, Cremia gasped. The creature, moving surprisingly fast, was now twice the distance closer than it had been when Cremia first saw it. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," Zubora said gathering his wits and taking control of the situation. "Gabora!" he called and the giant looked up. "Forget the rest; we have no time. Grab a pick and get up here!" Obeying his orders, Gabora grasped the proper tool lying next to his feet. Zubora climbed into the back of the wagon. "Pull us down a little so Gabora can work around us." It was a tricky process, convincing the horse to push back, but years on the ranch taught Cremia how to handle horses well. She had an appropriate amount of room for Gabora to work in no time. While she completed her task, Zubora rummaged through the back. Coming up to the front he handed her a crossbow. "Any good with this?" he asked and she numbly nodding becoming aware of the severity of the situation.
Gabora clambered up to the ice by this time and began a steady rhythmic chop. Zubora and Cremia climbed atop the wagon and waited. The creature had reached their campsite by this time and with a snaking forked tongue, it checked out the leftover scraps of wood and metal. Sucking in a breath, it arched its back and sprung spouting a river of fire to engulf the camp's remains. Cremia cringed as he felt the intensity of the blaze against her cheek. Exploring what was left of the camp, the dodongo followed the tracks of the wagon to the base of the slope. Zubora fired a warning arrow and Cremia followed suit. The shafts bounced harmlessly off the creature's protective armor. Zubora cursed. "Be careful," he warned Cremia, "We don't want to aggravate it otherwise we'll be torched."
Cremia nodded, her muscles quivered as she drew back the bow and waited rigidly. "Hey Gabora," Zubora called over his shoulder. "We're not getting any younger here."
The giant grunted a response and continued hacking into the ice. Cremia looked over her shoulder as well to check Gabora's progress. She groaned. Not even an inch had been taken off the thick surface. She turned back around and cringed as the dodongo started forward on the slope. Its footsteps were heavy and made a loud thud when impacting the ground. Zubora sent out another arrow hitting the dragon's left side. It swerved to the left and shot a stream of fire. "I thought you said not to aggravate it!" she shrilly protested.
"I'm trying to buy Gabora more time," Zubora responded hitting the same spot to the left.
Cremia did the same and the dodongo once again swerved to its left to shoot its flames. She turned back around to check Gabora's improvement. There wasn't any. "This isn't going to work!" she yelled standing up.
"You're right," Zubora commented. "It's not." He started climbing down from the wagon.
"What are you doing?" Cremia cried from atop the wagon.
"Providing a distraction," Zubora answered and grabbed a hammer from the back.
"What?!?" she screeched, "Don't go! You'll get yourself killed!"
Zubora didn't answer starting to work his way slowly down the incline.
Cremia screamed in frustration shooting arrows at the beast from all directions. It made a full circle and shot a line of fire down the hill. Cremia looked back over at Gabora who faithfully was still at work. He had no idea that his friend was about to die.
For the first time, a glint from overhead caught Cremia's eye. Looking up at it, she observed a wickedly spiked chunk of ice holding onto an overhang of the mountain. The base was halfway melted and almost half as thin as the rest of its body. Raising her bow, Cremia aimed and shot hitting her target dead-on. It quivered, but still held. "Move back Gabora," she called and shot again when the giant was safely away.
The icicle cracked and fell right on top of the ice blocking the road. Pieces of the ice debris started to roll down the hill. Spinning around, Cremia just saw one of the pieces hit Zubora in the back sending him sprawling to the ground. She cried out to him, but her voice was lost in the squeal of more pieces falling down the hill. Gabora scrambled into the wagon and took cover in the back of the wagon. Cremia dived in after him narrowly missing being clipped in the shoulder by a stray piece of ice. She distantly heard a roar above the moan of the avalanching ice.
It was over in a few moments, but the time seemed to drag out for an eternity to Cremia. She kept thinking about each piece rolling over Zubora's lifeless body. The sickening image wouldn't leave and she clutched her head-as if that would make it go away. When the avalanche waned to a trickle, Cremia sat up and crawled out of the wagon. Carefully avoiding any loose pieces of ice, Cremia struggled over the foreign terrain. "Zubora!" she called. Her eyes welled with tears. Behind her, Gabora crept out of the wagon. "Zubora!!"
Overhead the gray sky opened with a soft fluttering of crystal snowflakes. They kissed Cremia's cheeks sending freezing calluses of their love, but Cremia wiped them away in determination. "Ugh! Ugo!!" she heard Gabora's cries.
Turning she asked, "What is it?" Gabora was hunched over something in the ice. Inspecting further, Cremia found the mysterious object to be a hand stretching forth from the frozen ground. She gasped and instantly fell to her knees clawing at the pieces of ice and chunks of snow. Her fingers became numb as she dug away the cold layer. Gabora joined her frantic efforts scooping up much larger portions than Cremia. Before long, the two uncovered Zubora's head and Cremia leaned in close. His eyes were closed, but a very faint and a very distant breath could be heard. She almost cried in relief. Gabora stood and pulled Zubora's body from the rest of the debris. Carefully loading him into the back of the wagon, he and Cremia climbed into the front seats and observed the situation. *That arm is broken,* Cremia thought noticing the odd angle at which Zubora's left arm was bent.
"Do you think you can steer us to the Mountain Village?" she asked Gabora who nodded. "Good," Cremia commented looking down the slope to where a massive bulge covered with ice sent a lazy curl of smoke into the sky. "Let's get out of here."
***
The wagon bumped along the winding trail leading to the Mountain Village. Cremia was on her knees most of the trip sitting in the back and tending to Zubora as best as she knew. The broken arm had to be splinted. Finding two pieces of wood and a fresh blanket she set the arm with a nauseating crack and then wrapped torn strips from the blanket around the wood to hold the freshly mended arm. She used a leftover strip of blanket to fashion a sling. Zubora had remained unconscious through the entire ordeal, and Cremia was blissfully thankfully for this. Some men, she knew, couldn't handle pain, and his childish screaming would only worsen her mood.
She used a bit of water and straight alcohol to clean a gash on his brow. Ladling a bit of snow and folding it in a piece of cloth, she placed the ice on a nasty looking bruise on his shoulder to tone down the already deep violet.
Done as best as she could be, Cremia sat back and waited to see if her treatments would be any help. Moments later, Zubora's eyes cracked open and he grimaced. "Aww, does it hurt?" Cremia asked in a lilting seductive voice.
Zubora's eyes shot open at that statement. Giving her a quizzical stare he nodded slightly. "Here, let me help," Cremia said in that same voice. Reaching forward lovingly, she swiftly and sharply slapped his sore shoulder.
"Ouch!!" he cried trying to reach with his broken arm to cover the sore spot with his hand. Finding that his other arm hurt more than the bruised shoulder, he cried out again and cradled his broken arm in his good one. "What was that for?" he asked harshly glaring up at her.
"That was for being such a selfish jerk. Running out like that-really Zubora! I thought you had been killed!" she answered and her eyes reddened again as she recalled the gruesome image playing through her mind as the ice rolled down the hill. Turning to complete her earlier task of ripping another blanket into fresh strips for fresh bandaging, she was able to conceal a glassy sheen filling her eyes.
"I was just trying to save your butt," he answered.
"I'm quite capable of saving myself," Cremia retorted. "Let me see your arm," she demanded.
"No," Zubora answered clutching it to his chest. "You might try to put it out of the socket for getting buried under the ice!"
Cremia laughed and grabbed the arm ripping off the old bandaging and wrapping it with the new one. She worked in a thickened silence, knowing without seeing that Zubora's eyes were on her. "Despite the incredible stupidity of your decision," she announced upon completion of the binding , "I must admit, it was kind of brave."
***
"Ugoh, ug ugo ugho." Now that was definitely familiar. Craning her neck to get a better view, she nearly screamed when the metal helmet of the giant's head emerged merely inches from her face.
"So she is," the voice of the man at the milk bar joined the giant's. Backing up, the giant turned around while his friend swiveled in his seat to face Cremia. "Think you can handle steering for a few minutes while I check out our guest?" The giant grunted a response and the man turned his attention back to Cremia.
Still not sure if this was a hostage situation, Cremia tried to sit up but instantly regretted the action as her head started to swim. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man redundantly said.
"Who are you?" she croaked bringing a hand up to massage the throbbing base of her skull.
"I should be asking you the same," the stranger replied looking her over critically. "Me and Gabora here found you lying out in the middle of the road, care to explain?"
She hesitated wondering if it was safe enough to presume that the man was trustworthy. "I was on the road trying to make it to the next inn before sundown," she acknowledged. "I don't know where he came from, but this man jumped onto my cart and knocked me off."
"What was in the cart?" the man pressed.
Cremia didn't like being coerced into saying anything about her personal affairs. "Who's to say anything valuable was in the cart? All I known is that some theif jumped onto my back and stole what was mine." She crossed her arms self-consciously and met his eyes squarely, "Who are you?"
"My Farore, don't have a cucco," the man responded grumpily. "I was just asking. Like I've already said, that's Gabora and I'm Zubora," he pointed over at the concentrating giant.
"Got any rupees on you? Maybe we can drop you off at an inn or something," Zubora suggested.
*My rupees!* Cremia thought excitedly. Feeling down around the belt of her dress, her heart dropped when the bag was nowhere to be found. *The pouch could've broken off my belt loop.or.* Cremia swallowed hard, a lump rose in her throat. "Oh sweet Din," she cursed feeling her stomach begin to wretch.
"What is it?" Zubora asked.
"I _did_ have a bag of rupees," Cremia declared. She swallowed hard again. "The bag, the leather strip tied to my waist, it was all new. There's no way it could've simply slipped off."
"Oh man, did he touch you?" Zubora breathed and his face-hardened as he looked out of the wagon. Cremia followed his gaze and found to her horrid delight the beginning flurries of snowflakes floating gently to the ground.
Had the situation not just been magnified, Cremia might have enjoyed the scene. She didn't answer the grave man instead drawing her knees to her chest. "Hey listen," Zubora began. "I think you should ride with us, you know, just to be safe." Cremia didn't respond using a nod as her answer.
"Just until we reach the village at the mountain of course," he started before a growl from the giant named Gabora cut him off. "Wha-" the uttered syllable had no sooner left Zubora's throat before the wagon began to wobble and churn. "You big Deku Nut! Where are you going?" Leaping to his feet, Zubora sprang to the front wrestling the reigns from Gabora and screeching to a halt right before the cart collided with a lone tree.
"Urgh ugg urgo ugh," Gabora protested while Zubora waved an annoyed hand in his direction.
"Shaddup, I don't want to hear any of your excuses, I leave you to do a simple task for one minute and you nearly get us killed!" Zubora ranted in exasperation.
Feeling sorry for the downcast giant, Cremia intervened. "Why don't you leave him alone? I remember you from the milk bar; you were giving him a hard time there too! He didn't mean any harm."
"Why don't you stay out of this," Zubora shot back snappily. "You don't live with guy, you don't know what I put up with, he's not your problem, so why don't you just butt out?"
Cremia gaped clearly taken aback. Never before had a man spoken to her in such a manner. "Problem?" she exploded, "Is that what you think of him, your problem? You run a smithy right? I'm assuming it from the looks of your wagon. And I'm also _assuming_ that without the muscle on your _problem_, your business would not even exist!"
"I didn't have to-" Zubora started angrily and then cut off in a severe silence. Taking a breath to calm himself, Zubora began again, "Look, let's just drop it alright? We'll stop in a few hours and set up camp."
"Fine," Cremia resolved. Gabora had been unusually quiet the entire time. Looking over in his direction, she found his head turned towards her. He was watching her intently. She felt a bit awkward over the situation, but then shook off the feeling figuring that the poor soul had probably never had anyone stand up for him before. She would be relieved too after living with Zubora for however long he had. She gave the giant a small smile of reassurance before settling against the wall of the wagon and drifting off into sleep.
***
"Hey," a voice called.
"Huh?" sitting up groggily, Cremia rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up.
"Come on," the voice said again. "We're setting up camp here."
Nodding muddily she stood and walked the few steps needed to jump out of the back. Cremia gasped at the sight of two crystal blue sheer cliffs enclosing her on both sides. Her feet crunched solidly on the snow-packed ground and the gray overcast blanketed the soil with more tiny snowflakes. "Where are we?" she breathed.
Zubora regarded her for a moment in disbelief before saying, "We're at the Mountain Pass, entrance to the Mountain Village."
Behind her, Gabora finished unloading the last of the camping items. Cremia took the spare time to glance around again. Certainly she had encountered snow; the ranch received it on a yearly basis. But to see such an exquisite display of power shifted her perspective on those tiny frosted diamonds. She smiled *Kind of like Mr. Barton,* she thought throwing back her head and opening her mouth.
"What in Din's name are you doing?" Zubora asked as he hammered a stake into the ground.
"Catching snowflakes," Cremia answered with a light laugh. "I used to do it when I was younger, as soon as the ranch got its first snow, I would run outside with nothing but my nightgown (if it was nighttime) and try to catch the first snowflakes in my mouth. My mother used to tell me that the first flakes were magical and that if I could catch them, then I'd be magical too!" Cremia gushed over the memory looking off into the dizzying stretch that followed the canyon.
"Sounds like your mother had a loose screw," Zubora chuckled intending the trivial comment to be a joke.
Cremia suddenly froze putting her head back down and mumbling a small, "Yeah," before gathering rocks together to shield the pile of firewood gathered in Gabora's arms.
Zubora got the hint. Mother was a touchy subject. "Now my own mother," he continued trying to amend for his other hurtful remark, "She had problems. Every time it snowed she'd tell us to turn off the heat and huddle together. She said it was the only way we could 'bond' as a family because we'd have to share our own body warmth. Can you believe that?" He chuckled.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Cremia asked him suddenly while fiddling with the sticks now burrowed in the rock dome.
"Yeah, a few," Zubora answered absently laying the tarp for the tent. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just curious, is that a crime?" Cremia retorted. "Do you still talk to any of them?" she asked pressing him for information about his family. He obviously was uncomfortable with the subject, but inquisitiveness got the better of her.
"What's with this sudden interest in my family?" Zubora shot back heatedly. "Just a few hours ago you accused me of being a jerk, now I'm some poor deprived son who's in need of a sibling relationship?"
"I never said that-" Cremia started before being stopped once again by Zubora.
"Listen, I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything. Let's start over, okay? I feel like we've had a rocky start." He held out his hand in a mock gesture. "I'm Zubora."
Cremia stood stunned for a few moments as his words raced across her mind, once, twice, a million times over before she timidly took his hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you," she said.
***
"Are you sure all the dodongos have left?" Cremia asked holding a bowl of steaming soup. A cheery fire crackled before her, but she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders to ward off a sudden chill.
"Well _I_ haven't seen any," Zubora answered slurping his soup from his bowl.
"Urg gho ur urgh urgo ugr," Gabora added.
Cremia giggled. "What did he say?" she asked.
"He said he saw one before, but it was miles away from here," translated Zubora.
Cremia watched Gabora as he struggled with the small bowl, which could be compared to a pebble in his hand. Trying to pour the liquid into his mouth, more of the soup landed in his lap than actually going down his throat. Cremia laughed again. His behavior was closely related to that of a child.
"Are there others," she asked, "Like him?"
Zubora looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Finishing a loud sip of soup before providing an answer, he finally replied, "Maybe. He's the only one I know of though."
"I know it's none of my business, but how did you two find each other? You have to be the most unlikely pair I've ever seen."
Again Zubora examined her critically. "I'll tell you what," he compromised, "I'll tell you how I ended up with him if you tell me what was in your wagon."
"I thought that would have been obvious by now," Cremia answered slightly suspicious over his curiosity of her wagon's contents. "I was going to market my Chateau Romani all across Termina. The milk was in my cart."
"I thought you could only get that stuff from the milk bar in Clock Town," Zubora noted. "Why are you selling it everywhere?"
Cremia shook her head. "No more questions until you answer mine."
"Okay, fine," Zubora replied. Leaning back, he set his polished bowl beside him and tucked his hands behind his head. "You might want to get comfortable," Zubora suggested, "It's a long story."
Cremia nodded and reclined against the wheel of the wagon. "I was kind of stubborn as a kid. When I turned sixteen I moved out because I felt like my folks were holding me back. At first it was great. I didn't have to listen to anybody and I didn't have to take crap from anyone. I rented out a little apartment and did whatever I wanted. I slept all day if I wanted to, and ate whatever I wanted. Basically, _I_ was in control-no one else.
"Then one day I woke up and realized that my food was spoiled, I wasn't all that tired, and that the rent on my apartment was due. 'Okay,' I'd say to myself, 'I'll get a job. Then I can spend the rupees on whatever I want.' So I applied for this job as a game dealer at that little treasure chest shop over in East clown Town. It paid for the rent and for my food, but I was bored out of mind. Because I worked during the nights (back then that was the only time it opened), I could go out, and there wasn't anything to do during the days. I guess you could say I was young and restless.
"I found a solution to that problem too: I'd go travel around; see what I could find. I quit the job and used the rest of my rupees to buy a horse-so I could get around. I started for the mountain; it always seemed liked it'd be cool to climb. When I was halfway there, I was ambushed by this mob of girls. They called themselves Pirates who were capturing men to be their slaves. I don't think they liked men all that much. Anyway, they tied me up, stole my horse and my rupees, and threw me into their wagon. And there was my buddy, Gabora. They'd captured him too."
He stopped his story there. Cremia gawked sitting up. "What happened?" she wanted to know, totally engrossed in the story by that point.
Zubora chuckled, "You haven't answered my other question, why should I answer yours?"
In a huff, Cremia crossed her arms and sat back against the wheel again. Her face became more mournful as she admitted, "My milk hasn't been selling all that well at the milk bar. I'm not blaming Mr. Barton and his new diner. People just aren't interested in buying magical milk. I was going try and convince people from all over the place to sell it and split the profit with me. I'd have been able to lower the price because it would have been so available thinking that people would want it if it were not so expensive. And if I open enough shops, I just might be able to get my sister and me out of our hole. The ranch is really suffering.we need that milk."
"See now, your story is much more interesting," Zubora said when her own tale was told.
"Oh yeah," she rebutted, "how's that?"
"It's still in the making."
Cremia pondered that for a moment then stated, "I've finished my answer, but I still have yet to hear the end of yours."
"Right," Zubora responded. "Where was I? Oh yeah, the 'Pirates' had tied me and Gabora up (actually, they _chained_ him) and threw us both into the back of their wagon. I had no idea where we were going, but I overheard one of them saying something about a fortress next to the Bay. I figured that Gabora and I didn't have much time to escape. During the night, while the guards slept thinking we were secure, we rolled off the wagon and ran into a brush. Gabora was able to free my ropes, but I couldn't free him. We bolted as fast as we could north and eventually ended up in the Mountain Village. It was springtime then so we didn't have to deal with the cold. We found an abandoned smith shop and, using the tools, I was able to release him. I found out he had a knack for blacksmithing and we opened a little business." He finished looking over at the sleeping giant huddled close to the fire. Cremia wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a faint stir of compassion glitter in his electric eyes. "He's just like a kid," he whispered affectionately.
Cremia smiled watching the sleeping Gabora as well. "Why did you stay?" she asked Zubora.
He looked at her as though in a trance. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean you said you were young and restless. Why did you decide to stay?" she pushed.
The piercing sound of a lone Wolfos howling corrupted the silence. Zubora snapped out of his trance scooting closer to the ground so that he could lie down. "I don't know. What else could I have done, leave him there? I don't know how, I just learned to talk to him. No one else could understand him-who else would know what he was talking about?"
He didn't say anything else, and Cremia let him be. She too lied down looking up at the brilliantly starry sky. Their warmth and calm quiet soothed her fears. Her thoughts wandered toward her sister-Romani. The sweet redhead was the last image she saw before falling into the oblivion of sleep.
***
Cremia woke to a stiff back. Her head throbbed hazily and her stomach swam. "Uhhn," she had put it simply when Zubora tried waking her.
"Come on." His voice was gruff and tense.
"Five more minutes," Cremia pleaded rolling over in her blanket.
"Get up," the command was harsh. "We're moving. _Now_."
Opening her eyes, she saw Gabora scrambling to load the wagon. She lazily sat up cracking her back and rubbing her eyes. "What's the hurry?" she asked watching as Gabora zoomed by with a hammer. She didn't get a response and looked over to where Zubora had been. He wasn't there. Peering behind the wagon, she saw him race to pull down the rope holding a large canvas over her head. *They probably just want to get an early start,* she thought and lethargically stood.
"Urgho grh ughr! UGH!" Gabora called out. He sounded panicked. Looking over at the lumbering giant, she saw him frantically waving at Zubora.
"What's going on, what's he saying?" she asked feeling slightly nervous.
Ignoring Cremia, Zubora replied, "I know buddy, I see him."
"See who?" Cremia demanded. Deciding to find out for herself, Cremia climbed to the top of the wagon. She surveyed the canyon seeing nothing interesting. A sudden flash of green caught her eye. "Oh Din," she whispered. "Is that a dodongo?" she asked watching as the massive emerald hulk slowly clambered toward their campsite. If she'd had any doubt about what it was before, all uncertainty left when the creature swerved to the right and spewed an inferno of fire. "I thought you said there weren't any here!" Cremia yelled at Zubora in alarm.
"I said that I hadn't seen any," Zubora countered not hesitating from his task. "Why don't you make some use of yourself and steer up that incline. At the top there should be an entrance, just wait for me and Gabora to meet up with you."
Slightly offended from his comment about her uselessness, she blew it off and climbed into the driver's seat. The horse was already hitched and ready to go. Giving the reigns a sharp slap, she eased the cart onto the narrow slant and wheeled it up to the top. "Uh oh," she mumbled. "Hey boys," she called over the edge. "We have a problem."
A solid wall of ice blocked the entrance to the mountain making it impassable. Seconds later, Zubora was at her side examining the problem. He muttered a curse. Looking over to check the dragon's progress, Cremia gasped. The creature, moving surprisingly fast, was now twice the distance closer than it had been when Cremia first saw it. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," Zubora said gathering his wits and taking control of the situation. "Gabora!" he called and the giant looked up. "Forget the rest; we have no time. Grab a pick and get up here!" Obeying his orders, Gabora grasped the proper tool lying next to his feet. Zubora climbed into the back of the wagon. "Pull us down a little so Gabora can work around us." It was a tricky process, convincing the horse to push back, but years on the ranch taught Cremia how to handle horses well. She had an appropriate amount of room for Gabora to work in no time. While she completed her task, Zubora rummaged through the back. Coming up to the front he handed her a crossbow. "Any good with this?" he asked and she numbly nodding becoming aware of the severity of the situation.
Gabora clambered up to the ice by this time and began a steady rhythmic chop. Zubora and Cremia climbed atop the wagon and waited. The creature had reached their campsite by this time and with a snaking forked tongue, it checked out the leftover scraps of wood and metal. Sucking in a breath, it arched its back and sprung spouting a river of fire to engulf the camp's remains. Cremia cringed as he felt the intensity of the blaze against her cheek. Exploring what was left of the camp, the dodongo followed the tracks of the wagon to the base of the slope. Zubora fired a warning arrow and Cremia followed suit. The shafts bounced harmlessly off the creature's protective armor. Zubora cursed. "Be careful," he warned Cremia, "We don't want to aggravate it otherwise we'll be torched."
Cremia nodded, her muscles quivered as she drew back the bow and waited rigidly. "Hey Gabora," Zubora called over his shoulder. "We're not getting any younger here."
The giant grunted a response and continued hacking into the ice. Cremia looked over her shoulder as well to check Gabora's progress. She groaned. Not even an inch had been taken off the thick surface. She turned back around and cringed as the dodongo started forward on the slope. Its footsteps were heavy and made a loud thud when impacting the ground. Zubora sent out another arrow hitting the dragon's left side. It swerved to the left and shot a stream of fire. "I thought you said not to aggravate it!" she shrilly protested.
"I'm trying to buy Gabora more time," Zubora responded hitting the same spot to the left.
Cremia did the same and the dodongo once again swerved to its left to shoot its flames. She turned back around to check Gabora's improvement. There wasn't any. "This isn't going to work!" she yelled standing up.
"You're right," Zubora commented. "It's not." He started climbing down from the wagon.
"What are you doing?" Cremia cried from atop the wagon.
"Providing a distraction," Zubora answered and grabbed a hammer from the back.
"What?!?" she screeched, "Don't go! You'll get yourself killed!"
Zubora didn't answer starting to work his way slowly down the incline.
Cremia screamed in frustration shooting arrows at the beast from all directions. It made a full circle and shot a line of fire down the hill. Cremia looked back over at Gabora who faithfully was still at work. He had no idea that his friend was about to die.
For the first time, a glint from overhead caught Cremia's eye. Looking up at it, she observed a wickedly spiked chunk of ice holding onto an overhang of the mountain. The base was halfway melted and almost half as thin as the rest of its body. Raising her bow, Cremia aimed and shot hitting her target dead-on. It quivered, but still held. "Move back Gabora," she called and shot again when the giant was safely away.
The icicle cracked and fell right on top of the ice blocking the road. Pieces of the ice debris started to roll down the hill. Spinning around, Cremia just saw one of the pieces hit Zubora in the back sending him sprawling to the ground. She cried out to him, but her voice was lost in the squeal of more pieces falling down the hill. Gabora scrambled into the wagon and took cover in the back of the wagon. Cremia dived in after him narrowly missing being clipped in the shoulder by a stray piece of ice. She distantly heard a roar above the moan of the avalanching ice.
It was over in a few moments, but the time seemed to drag out for an eternity to Cremia. She kept thinking about each piece rolling over Zubora's lifeless body. The sickening image wouldn't leave and she clutched her head-as if that would make it go away. When the avalanche waned to a trickle, Cremia sat up and crawled out of the wagon. Carefully avoiding any loose pieces of ice, Cremia struggled over the foreign terrain. "Zubora!" she called. Her eyes welled with tears. Behind her, Gabora crept out of the wagon. "Zubora!!"
Overhead the gray sky opened with a soft fluttering of crystal snowflakes. They kissed Cremia's cheeks sending freezing calluses of their love, but Cremia wiped them away in determination. "Ugh! Ugo!!" she heard Gabora's cries.
Turning she asked, "What is it?" Gabora was hunched over something in the ice. Inspecting further, Cremia found the mysterious object to be a hand stretching forth from the frozen ground. She gasped and instantly fell to her knees clawing at the pieces of ice and chunks of snow. Her fingers became numb as she dug away the cold layer. Gabora joined her frantic efforts scooping up much larger portions than Cremia. Before long, the two uncovered Zubora's head and Cremia leaned in close. His eyes were closed, but a very faint and a very distant breath could be heard. She almost cried in relief. Gabora stood and pulled Zubora's body from the rest of the debris. Carefully loading him into the back of the wagon, he and Cremia climbed into the front seats and observed the situation. *That arm is broken,* Cremia thought noticing the odd angle at which Zubora's left arm was bent.
"Do you think you can steer us to the Mountain Village?" she asked Gabora who nodded. "Good," Cremia commented looking down the slope to where a massive bulge covered with ice sent a lazy curl of smoke into the sky. "Let's get out of here."
***
The wagon bumped along the winding trail leading to the Mountain Village. Cremia was on her knees most of the trip sitting in the back and tending to Zubora as best as she knew. The broken arm had to be splinted. Finding two pieces of wood and a fresh blanket she set the arm with a nauseating crack and then wrapped torn strips from the blanket around the wood to hold the freshly mended arm. She used a leftover strip of blanket to fashion a sling. Zubora had remained unconscious through the entire ordeal, and Cremia was blissfully thankfully for this. Some men, she knew, couldn't handle pain, and his childish screaming would only worsen her mood.
She used a bit of water and straight alcohol to clean a gash on his brow. Ladling a bit of snow and folding it in a piece of cloth, she placed the ice on a nasty looking bruise on his shoulder to tone down the already deep violet.
Done as best as she could be, Cremia sat back and waited to see if her treatments would be any help. Moments later, Zubora's eyes cracked open and he grimaced. "Aww, does it hurt?" Cremia asked in a lilting seductive voice.
Zubora's eyes shot open at that statement. Giving her a quizzical stare he nodded slightly. "Here, let me help," Cremia said in that same voice. Reaching forward lovingly, she swiftly and sharply slapped his sore shoulder.
"Ouch!!" he cried trying to reach with his broken arm to cover the sore spot with his hand. Finding that his other arm hurt more than the bruised shoulder, he cried out again and cradled his broken arm in his good one. "What was that for?" he asked harshly glaring up at her.
"That was for being such a selfish jerk. Running out like that-really Zubora! I thought you had been killed!" she answered and her eyes reddened again as she recalled the gruesome image playing through her mind as the ice rolled down the hill. Turning to complete her earlier task of ripping another blanket into fresh strips for fresh bandaging, she was able to conceal a glassy sheen filling her eyes.
"I was just trying to save your butt," he answered.
"I'm quite capable of saving myself," Cremia retorted. "Let me see your arm," she demanded.
"No," Zubora answered clutching it to his chest. "You might try to put it out of the socket for getting buried under the ice!"
Cremia laughed and grabbed the arm ripping off the old bandaging and wrapping it with the new one. She worked in a thickened silence, knowing without seeing that Zubora's eyes were on her. "Despite the incredible stupidity of your decision," she announced upon completion of the binding , "I must admit, it was kind of brave."
***