Worlds Apart
By Miss Lydia

Chapter 13

"No kidding? A Gerudo attacked you?" Gordon asked.

"Yeah, under orders of Ganondorf's," Lydia replied in a huff.

Link gave Epona a crack with the whip and her speed increased. Flying on either side of the running horse were the sorcerers. Lydia looked ahead to see the entrance to Zora's River. She crossed her arms across her chest and curled her lip into a snarl.

"I hope we see my new best friend again soon," she said. "I miss her already."

"I have no doubt," Link shouted up to her, "that we will see her again. After all, her orders were to get the Triforce of Courage."

Gordon's eyes widened. "Ganondorf knows you have it?"

Link nodded sternly. "That's why this Gerudo's all over me – she has to get it from me now."

"The big G probably still thinks Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom," Lydia called, "so I don't think Gordon's in danger yet."

"Who is she?" Gordon asked.

"Oh, she's some chick named Naberu."

"Nabooru," Link corrected.

"Nabooru," Lydia repeated. "She says she's the leader of the Gerudo race. The second in command to the 'great Ganondorf'."

Gordon heaved an aggravated sigh. "I guess she'll be following us all over Hyrule now," he said.

"Without a doubt."

Link stopped Epona at the shore of Zora's River. Lydia and Gordon flew across, while Link got off the horse and jumped over after getting a running start.

"You show off," Lydia muttered playfully. "You just had to jump the river, didn't you?"

"Come on," Link instructed, rolling his eyes. "Let's get moving."

As they traveled down Zora's River, Lydia landed and walked beside Link.

"So," she asked, "why are we going to the fountain again?"

"It's as good a place as any to start looking for signs of the Zoras," Link replied.

Lydia suddenly stopped and shaped her hands into a T. "Whoa, whoa, time out!" she shouted. "We're not going into that Ice Cavern again, are we?"

Gordon shrugged. "Considering that we have nothing to go on…we may as well."

The sorceress scoffed. "Remember what happened last time we went in there? We almost got run over by an angry swarm of Ice Keese."

Link rubbed his hands together. "It's a risk we need to take."

"You two are crazy."

"Crazy is your middle name," Gordon said.

Link waved Gordon on. "Let's go," he said to him. Gordon followed him up the river.

"Wait, are you leaving her behind?" he whispered.

Link chuckled quietly. "Don't worry," he whispered with a smirk, "her pride alone will make her follow."

Lydia stood where they had left her, with her hands on her hips. Finally, she shook her head and ran after them.

"Whatever," she said as she caught up.

"Ah, so you're coming after all?" Link asked, looking over his shoulder.

"You two need me. Without my superior power you'll just get yourselves into trouble."

Gordon laughed. "Maybe so."

Link nudged Gordon's arm. "See? Told you."

Once they reached the fountain, Lydia immediately announced the obvious facts.

"Well, it's still frozen, it's still dismal, and it's still too damn cold here."

Link stared at the entrance to the Ice Cavern. "Well," he said, "as I recall, we didn't get into the cavern too far before being attacked by those Ice Keese. I'll bet that if we can avoid them, we can find something we can use."

"Is there something you're looking for?" Lydia asked.

"Hmm....not really anything specific, no. But at this point, we don't even have a clue to go on."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Gordon said. "We don't even know where to go to start fixing this place up. And I just wish we could find even one Zora."

Suddenly, a voice rang out behind them. "You!"

The trio whipped around to face the entrance to Zora's Domain. Standing behind them was a full-grown female Zora. Of all the Zoras, she was the most elegant and attractive they had seen yet. She fluttered her fins and glued her eyes on Link.

"Well, kid," Lydia said, "your wish has been granted.  There's your one Zora."

The Zora smiled and stepped forward. "Oh, my...is that you...Link?"

Link suddenly went white as snow in the face. He had just recognized her.

"Oh my dear Link, my fiancé!"

Lydia's jaw dropped down to her knees. "Fiancé!?" she repeated loudly.

Link cleared his throat and stepped back nervously. "Uh...what are you talking about? ...Um...I'm not Link...I have no idea who Link is... I swear you've got the wrong guy."

The Zora held her arms out. "Oh my dear fiancé, you cannot fool me!"

Link suddenly turned on his heel and ran away. The Zora gave chase with her arms outstretched. "Don't you recognize me, my sweet Link? I'm your fiancé, Ruto, Princess of the Zoras!" Link, still yelling and carrying on, turned sharply and ran out onto the iced over fountain. The agile Zora didn't miss the turn and stayed on his tail, shouting requests for a hug and kiss.

Back on the shore, the sorcerers stared after them. They watched Link run all over the fountain, trying to escape the Zora's outstretched arms.

"Now..." Lydia said quietly, "I have truly seen everything."

Gordon nodded, completely speechless.

"Still," Lydia said as she watched the Zora make a dive for Link, "this is kind of funny. I need to have some fun with this now."

"You just can't help yourself, can you?"

"Can I ever? Ray Wing!"

Lydia took off toward Link. She had to change directions several times to keep up with him, but eventually ended up flying alongside him as he ran like a maniac.

"So, Lover Boy," she called to him, crossing her arms. "What's this fiancé business?"

"Not now, okay?" Link called up to her. "I'm trying to save myself here!"

Lydia waved at him. "All right, fine. It was nice knowing you." She slowed down her flight and dropped back until she was flying alongside the lovesick Zora.

"Let me tell you," she said to the Zora slyly, "you picked a good one. You need to run faster than that! Can't let a great guy like Link get away, now can you?"

The Zora squealed with delight and ran even faster. Link glared over his shoulder. "Thanks a lot, Litter Box!" he shouted at her.

Lydia waved after him and smiled. "You're welcome a lot!" She turned and flew back to the shore and landed next to her brother. She looked on as Ruto tackled Link onto the ice. She laughed as Link tried to squirm and wriggle away, but Ruto's hold was too tight.

"Well," Lydia said, "looks like the all mighty and brave Hero of Time is a little bit afraid of girls."

"Or commitment," Gordon added.

"Nah, girls, 'cause he's sure committed to avoiding that particular girl."

"...That was really lame."

***

Everyone was on the shore now. Gordon was staring at the young Zora girl, Lydia's face was displaying mixed emotions, Link was beet red in the face, and his fiancé was at his side, hugging him tightly, keeping his arms pinned down.

"So," Lydia asked. "Who are you again?"

The Zora stood on her toes and rubbed her cheek against Link's. Link leaned away in a futile effort to escape.

"I am Ruto, Princess of the Zoras," she said. "And I am dear Link's fiancé."

Lydia tried to disguise her laugh as a cough as Ruto asked, "Who are you two?"

Gordon pushed Lydia aside so she could compose herself and replied, "We're friends of Link. I'm Gordon, and she's Lydia. We're sorcerers from Earth."

Ruto was so shocked at the young boy's statement that she actually let go of Link. The Hylian immediately began edging away from her.

"Sorcerers?" she asked as she jumped after Link and grabbed hold of him again. "You strangers can use magic?"

"The best of the best," Lydia said.

Ruto stared in awe. "Then..." she said quietly, "you can help my sweet fiancé with his quest!"

"That's why we're here."

"Then...it is my honor to invite you two visitors to our wedding!" Ruto squeezed her fiancé as hard as she could, causing him to go slightly cross-eyed.

Lydia shook her head in pity for Link.

"Ruto," Gordon said, "there's something more important that needs to be discussed."

"Oh?" Ruto asked.

"Where are the other Zoras?"

Ruto's face darkened and fell, and she let go of Link again. She looked at the ground and pointed toward the frozen fountain.

Lydia followed her finger. "I don't see anything over there...  Just ice."

Link walked past Ruto and the sorcerers, and out to the fountain. He stopped partway across the ice and stared down. Suddenly, he dropped down to one knee and pressed his hand against the ice.

"By Nayru!" he shouted, and then turned to Lydia and Gordon. "You two need to see this."

The sorcerers broke into a run and stopped beside Link. Lydia dropped down beside him and peered into the ice.

"My God..." she said quietly.

Down near the bottom of the fountain, frozen in the ice, were all of the Zoras. They were suspended in the frozen water, in panicked positions.

"That damn Ganondorf has really done it this time," Gordon muttered.

Link stood and called to Ruto. "What happened?"

Ruto turned and started to walk toward the ice, but suddenly stopped, cowering by the shore. She turned around and ran away several feet, covering her face with her hands.

Lydia raised an eyebrow. "I don't think she wants to see them. She won't come out here."

The trio stood and joined Ruto back on the shore. The Zora princess looked about two seconds off of crying.

"What happened?" Link asked again.

"I.... missed you..." Ruto stammered, "since you had been gone so long. I left Zora's Domain to look for you. While I was gone, Ganondorf came and did this to the other Zoras. I'm the only Zora left to walk Hyrule's grounds."

"That was probably just after Link pulled the Master Sword..." Gordon said, mostly to himself.

Lydia's face fell in concern. She suddenly felt sorry for Link's betrothed.

"You're the only Zora left alive?" Gordon asked timidly.

Ruto looked up at him. "It seems so, but I believe there is a chance that the others may still be alive."

"Maybe I can melt them out with a good fireball,"

Lydia shook her head. "No."

Everyone looked at her in questioning.

"First of all," Lydia continued, "if this is Ganondorf's work, that ice was created by magic, and won't be melted by normal means.  We all know how his magic works by now. Secondly, you'd probably kill the Zoras in the process."

"Hmm, I see," Gordon breathed quietly.

Link watched as Ruto began to tremble with despair. He set his hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry. If there's a way to save them, we'll do it. We need to find the Water Sage and defeat the evil here."

Ruto suddenly brightened. "The Water Temple!" she said. "That's your destination – the source of this frigid winter magic is in Lake Hylia. There's something in the Ice Cavern that will help you. And I will get something else that will help you, and meet you there. Oh, Link, my dear fiancé, do you promise to save Zora's Domain?"

Link smiled and said, "I promise I'll do everything I can."

Ruto squealed with delight and, with her energy renewed, wrapped her arms around Link's neck. "And in return, I promise I'll be a wonderful wife to you!"

Link's face fell and he leaned away from the Zora.

Lydia chuckled. Poor guy. Look at him. He knows he's doomed.

Ruto let go and turned toward the domain. As she ran off, she turned and shouted "I'll meet you at the Water Temple. Take care, love!" With that, she disappeared back into Zora's Domain.

Gordon watched her go, wondering how Link got fixed up with someone like her. The sorcerer turned to face Link, who was standing next to the Lydia. His head was down on her shoulder and his arms were hanging limp. Lydia was patting him on the back sympathetically.

"There, there," she coaxed.

Link lifted his head and stared at the sky. "Why me?"

Lydia knelt down to the ground and picked up a stick. She stood and held it toward Link's face like a microphone. "'Why me' indeed," she said. "You sure are the ladies' man, aren't you? I'm sure all our viewers out there are dying to know just how you got hooked up with a girlfriend like the Zora Princess. Would you care to enlighten us?" She eagerly leaned the stick closer.

Gordon stepped between them and snatched the stick away. "Okay," he said, waving the stick at his sister, "you don't have to be so forward about it."

"Oh, I can be even more forward. Watch this." Lydia planted herself right in front of Link and stared him in the eye. "Since WHEN do you have a fiancé? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Link moved back. "She tricked me into it when we were kids," he said. "Before you two came to Hyrule. I had no idea what she had done until after it was over. I tried to avoid her, and after coming out of the Sacred Realm, I figured she had forgotten about me. It had been, after all, seven years since she'd seen hide or hair of me."

Lydia laughed. "Figured you were off the hook, huh?"

"Yeah. But she seems to be more persistent than I thought."

"Well, I never would've let myself fall into such a trap."

Link scoffed at her. "Well, excuse me."

"Never underestimate a lovesick girl," Gordon said.

Lydia looked at the ground and shuffled her feet, sighing loudly. She walked past the boys, toward the Ice Cavern.

"What's the matter?" Link called after her.

The sorceress turned her big green eyes toward him again.  "…Well, I…  No, it's nothing.  Come on, we're wasting time.  Ray Wing!"  The dust on the ground scattered as she took off toward the Ice Cavern.

Back by the shore, Gordon raised an eyebrow and looked at Link.  "I wonder what's up with her?"

Link's heart began to pound as he remembered the events of that morning.

"Just promise me…  Promise me that you'll always be there to protect me."

She's upset, Link thought.  …About what Ruto said, isn't she?  Lyd…why are you like this all of a sudden?

***

Once the boys touched down in the cavern, Lydia was nowhere in sight, but they could hear her angrily casting spells up ahead.

"Fireball! Flare Arrow! Fehlzareid!"

They caught up just as she finished firing magic in all directions. She wiped her forehead and turned around smiling.

"Ah... That felt great," she said cheerfully.

Link tilted his head. "Was there actually something in here, or were you just firing spells for the hell of it?"

"You did seem kinda mad a few minutes ago," Gordon added.

Lydia looked appalled. "Why would I be mad?" She turned her gaze to Link. "Yes, there was something in this room. Tons of monsters, in fact. It was like they were standing guard." She began to count with her fingers. "There were Ice Keese, Stalfos, Deku Babas, Deku Scrubs... Well, anyway, I bravely fought them off."

Link crossed his arms. "Hmm..... It seems Ganondorf doesn't want us going any farther."

"They were really out in force," Lydia continued. "Let's just say it's a good thing I have my full power back, since you guys took your sweet time catching up."

Ignoring her completely, Gordon stepped up to Link, who appeared to also be ignoring her. "Something bothers me, though," Gordon said.

"What's that?" Link asked.

"Ganondorf may be a power hound, but he's not stupid. Why does he keep sending the weak critters after us?"

Lydia stopped her ranting and thought that one over. "That's a good question. You'd think he would do better."

"He is doing better," Link said suddenly.

"…Come again?"

"Remember that Gerudo that almost killed you this morning?"

Lydia shrunk back a little. "Yeah. She had some serious skills, indeed."

"In her own way, she's more dangerous than all those monsters put together."

"Well, if she's smart, she didn't follow us in a place as cold as this," Lydia commented with a snarl. "Being in here in the first place is pretty dumb. I don't even know why we're in here."

"Ruto said there's something in here that would be useful," Gordon said.

"The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can leave." With that, she continued forward through the room, ungracefully slipping on the ice as she walked. The boys shrugged their shoulders and followed.

When they slid their way into the middle of the room, a loud wolf's howl weaved through the room. The group stopped and huddled close together. Link instinctively drew the Master Sword from the sheath.

A large form materialized from the ground in the center of the floor. It threw its head back and howled.

"A White Wolfos," Link said quietly.

Lydia squeezed his shoulder. "That is easily the biggest wolf I've ever seen! Link, it's taller than you!"

"It looks dangerous," Gordon muttered.

Link laughed. "Nah, you'd be surprised," he said. "Watch this."

He strayed away from the sorcerers as the Wolfos began to circle him. Link held his shield up defensively as they circled each other. The Wolfos ran up to Link and held its arm up to attack. As it brought its huge claws down, Link took a few steps back. The claws whizzed right by the shield. The Wolfos swung so hard that the momentum of the attack ended up turning the entire creature around, leaving its back exposed. Link jumped up and brought the Master Sword down. The Wolfos disappeared into the ground with a pitifully mournful howl.

"See?" Link asked, sheathing his sword. "They're not as dangerous as they look."

Lydia giggled quietly. "Guess not."

Gordon smiled. "Okay then, shall we press on?"

Lydia began to slip forward, but suddenly stiffened. In the most graceful motion she'd ever accomplished, she leaped forward and pushed Link's head to the side, and then fired past his ear. "Fire-ball!"

The fireball spell exploded just behind Link. His quick reflexes carried him away, dragging Lydia with him by the back of her shirt. When he stopped and looked back, a group of about fifteen smoldering Ice Keese fell to the floor and disappeared.

Lydia pried Link's fingers off her shirt and said, "That was close."

"What happened?" Gordon asked. "I didn't even see them!"

"They can't normally sneak up on me like that…" Link mentioned, beginning to sound worried.

The sorceress shook her head. "They didn't drop down from the ceiling like they usually do. They just...well...appeared. Right behind you. Another second and you'd have been a block of ice. You should thank me."

Link smiled. "Okay. Thank you...for giving me a kink in my neck." He reached up and rubbed his neck sharply.

Lydia only shrugged her shoulders. "Close enough."

Gordon rubbed his chin. "You say they just appeared?"

Lydia's face hardened. "Out of thin air. There was nothing, and then suddenly, they were there."

"How strange," Link said. "Seems Ganondorf is trying a few new tricks."

"Let's watch each other's backs and keep moving."

The group hadn't walked ten feet when a second group of Ice Keese appeared from thin air, along with several White Wolfos. A few fireballs disposed of them, but Lydia was getting very uneasy.

"I don't like this," she said quietly. "I don't like this at all."

"Monsters don't just appear like that," Gordon added.

Link suddenly jabbed his sword behind him without turning around, piercing the torso of a Stalfos that appeared behind him. It fell back and disappeared.

"Let's get outta this room," Link said urgently, pulling on Gordon's sleeve.

The adventurers slipped their way across the ice, fighting off the monsters that kept appearing. "Fireball!" "Digger Volt!" "Blade Haut!" They finally stopped on the snow inside the doorway to catch their breath. Gordon couldn't help but notice that the room they were just in had gone still.

".... No more monsters?" he wondered.

"They're not appearing anymore," Lydia added.

Link wrinkled his eyebrows, the lifted one of his legs. He reached out past the snow and touched the room's icy floor with his toe. Instantly, an Ice Keese appeared a few feet away. He quickly sliced it with his sword and brought his leg back onto the snow.

"Hmm...," Lydia murmured quietly. "Levitation."

Lydia moved out into the room, floating about six inches off the ground. She moved all about the icy room. Nothing appeared. She carefully dropped herself down to the ground near the center of the room. As soon as her feet touched the ice, a Wolfos jumped out of the ground.

"Geez!  Flare Arrow!" The Wolfos howled and disappeared. "…Levitation!"

As soon as she was off the ground, the room stilled again. She floated over to a far edge of the room and dropped down onto the ice. Another Wolfos appeared with a howl. She killed it and, with a quick word of magic, zipped back over to the safety of the snow, where the boys were waiting.

"Ganondorf's got the damn floor rigged!" she cursed.

"It's like a land mine," Gordon said. "A motion or pressure trap. He rigged the ice in this room."

"He's never done anything like that before," Link commented. "He really is learning some new tricks."

Lydia scoffed. "What's he's doing is finding new ways to piss me off."

They continued down the hallway to the next room, where the Ice Cavern dead-ended. The room was empty. It was an enormous room with a high ceiling, about as large as the first room in the Fire Temple, and the floor was coated with ice. And nobody wanted to touch it.

"Do you think this ice is rigged, too?" Gordon asked openly, eyeing the ice in front of them.

"There's only one way to find out, I guess," Lydia said. She jumped up in the air and landed on the ice a few feet in the room. Her feet flew out from beneath her as she landed and she sailed to the floor. The boys jumped into fighting positions, waiting for something to appear. But nothing did.

Lydia carefully stood and rubbed her sore backside. She turned around toward the boys and smiled slightly, placing her hands on her hips. "The floor doesn't seem too rigged, does it?"

Suddenly, the entire cavern began to shake violently. Link's reflexes kicked in and his sword was out of the sheath instantly. Lydia got the most pathetic look on her face, and her arms dangled weakly at her sides.

"Why me...?"

Still bearing the pathetic look, she gazed over her shoulder, back into the room. Hunks of ice as large as men fell from the ceiling and walls, clattering to the floor. Within moments, the shaking stopped and the room was still once more.

Gordon cautiously stepped into the room. "That's.... that's it?"

Link followed him, and then pointed past Lydia, toward the far wall. "Don't be so sure. Look."

The chunks of ice that had fallen from the ceiling started to move. Lydia moved quickly and jumped behind Link as the ice chunks crawled closer to each other, massing into one form in the center of the room. The block of ice grew to an incredible size and began to change shape. It became long and thin, and grew two arms and a mouth full of teeth. Within seconds, the three adventurers were standing in the doorway of the room, facing a full grown, angry Ice Dragon.

"Oh, joy," Lydia muttered blankly. "Another dragon."

The dragon reared its head and roared loudly, shaking snow and ice off the walls. The trio backed even farther through the doorway.

"Okay, Gordon," Lydia said. "Simple trivia question. What would an ice dragon be weak against?"

Everyone dropped to the ground as the dragon swung its huge tail past them, knocking the doorway to pieces.

"Fire spells!" Gordon called back, running back toward the room. "Flare Lance!" A thick column of fire blasted out of the doorway and slammed into the dragon's arm, knocking it clean off. The ice arm flew across the room and hit the back wall, where is shattered into thousands of little pieces. The dragon flailed around in agony, roaring over and over.

"All right!" Lydia shouted, then turned to Link. "Do you have any fire weapons?"

Before he could answer, everyone's attention was suddenly pulled back to the dragon. More ice was forming where its arm had just been destroyed. The ice grew and took shape into a new arm. The dragon flexed its new claws around, and then turned back to the tasty-looking snacks on the ground.

"Not good..." Gordon muttered, backing out of the room again.

Link pulled out his bow and an arrow. He fitted the arrow into the bowstring, and as he pulled back, the tip of the arrow was suddenly coated in fire. Link let the Fire Arrow go, and it struck the ice dragon, melting away part of its head. The dragon again backed off in pain.

"That'll only give us time to get away!" Link shouted. "He'll just regenerate that part of his head."

Lydia began to mutter strange words to herself. Gordon recognized them as magic, but couldn't tell what spell it was.

"Flare Seal," she said quietly after several long moments.

"What was that?" Link whispered to Gordon.

Gordon shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno."

Lydia suddenly opened her eyes and shouted defiantly. "Volvagia had an advantage that this dragon does not have!"

"What advantage is that?" Gordon asked.

"This time, the Sorceress of Hyrule has her full powers back! Gordon, take Link and get OUT. I'm going to cast the strongest fire spell I know. This dragon'll be hit so hard that he won't have time to regenerate!"

Gordon's eyes widened. "The...the Burst Flare??" he stammered. "Are you nuts? You want to cast the Burst Flare in here!?"

"It has to be done, and I'm the only one who can do it! You're too young still!"

"That's not the point! There's too little space in here!"

Link shouted, "Won't you be caught in it, too?"

Behind them, the dragon growled loudly. The huge chunk that was missing off its head was beginning to regenerate.

"I'll be fine!" Lydia shouted angrily. "Trust me! Now scram! The dragon's about to attack again!"

Gordon gritted his teeth, then grabbed Link's arm. "Ray Wing!"

Lydia waited until they disappeared around the corner, then turned to face the dragon again. She stood with as much bravery as she could muster. The dragon blinked its newly formed eye and hissed at the sorceress. Ice smoke trailed from the dragon's huge nostrils as it prepared to bring its massive tail down on its next meal. Lydia moved her hands around in strange gestures.

"Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright. Let thy power gather in my hand and become an inferno!"

The dragon roared loudly and began to swing its tail down.

"Burst Flare!!"

***

"She's crazy!" Link shouted as he and Gordon broke out into the sunlight. "This is just like when she casted the Dragon Slave seven years ago!"

"She has plenty of power to cast the spell," Gordon said, "but it's the strongest fire magic a normal human can cast. Casting it in a place as cramped as the Ice Cavern is absolutely insane!"

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

"The spell will definitely kill the dragon. Its power to regenerate itself won't be able to keep up with a spell that strong. I just hope Lydia has enough common sense to throw a defense barrier up or something."

Just then, the dragon's roar rang out from the cavern, and it was drowned out by a huge explosion. Thick black smoke and fire poured out of the cavern's opening. Gordon flew away even farther to escape the extreme heat.

When the fire burned itself out, smoke continued to pour out of the cavern. Link stared into the charred cavern blankly and shook his head hopelessly. "There's no way she's okay after that."

"I sure hope you're wrong..." Gordon said quietly as he flew back into the smoke.

All the ice and snow in the Ice Cavern had melted from the fire that had blasted through all the hallways. It wasn't even cold in there anymore. Gordon and Link flew through the room with the rigged floor and through the hallways until the reached the large room again. There was no sign of the dragon. All that was left were several large water patches on the floor.

Lydia was sprawled on her back in the far corner of the room.

Dammit, Link cursed to himself. Why do I always have to be right?

The boys knelt down on the dry ground on both sides of the sorceress. Link reached out and shook her gently. She moaned quietly and lifted her hand into the air, forming a Victory V with her fingers.

"...I'm okay..." she whispered.

Link and Gordon each heaved a sigh of relief.

"You idiot," Link muttered as he helped Lydia up, "would you quit doing stuff like that? Do you want to worry me to death?"

Lydia patted the Hylian on the shoulder. "...Sorry," she said truthfully. "I killed the dragon, didn't I?"

"That you did," Gordon noted. "And you seem to have considerably warmed up the Ice Cavern, too."

Link held a lock of Lydia's hair in his fingers and looked at it closely. "You just blasted enough fire through here to roast every piece of meat in creation and your hair's not even singed."

Gordon looked at his sister curiously. "Even with a defense barrier, you should've taken some damage."

Lydia smirked at him. "Did you notice what I did before I casted the Burst Flare?"

"Hmm... that's right," Link said. "You cast another spell first."

"The Flare Seal," Gordon said. "I haven't heard of that one."

Lydia smiled proudly. "A high-level anti-fire spell. I cast it on myself. Even in the middle of the Burst Flare explosion, the fire didn't touch me. The shockwave blew me down, that's all." She then poked Link in the stomach. "See? I'm not as crazy as I may seem to be."

"I wouldn't say that," he muttered.

"Oh, shut up."

"Make me!"

"Make me make you!"

Link poked Lydia in the ribs and ran away, laughing like a child. Lydia chased after him, firing small spells at his feet.

Gordon shook his head solemnly. "And as I watch, the maturity level in this room drops below the scale," he muttered sarcastically. He casually glanced toward the back of the room and saw something new. There was a hole in the wall where a large wall of ice had once been. The sorcerer walked over to it and looked in. It was a small crevice, and in the back was a large treasure chest.

Gordon turned back into the room to signal Link, but laughed at what he saw. Lydia had hold of one of Link's ankles and was dragging him across the scattered patches of water that were left on the floor. Link was laughing and squirming all over the place, trying to get away. "I'll teach you to call me crazy!" Gordon heard Lydia yelling as she continued dragging Link around the room. Gordon laughed again and ran to the rescue.

***

"Ruto said that what we'd find in there would be useful," Lydia said sternly. "I see nothing useful about those things."

Lydia glanced out over the frozen fountain, then up at the sky, and back at Link again, who had the Iron Boots cradled in his arms.

True, this was not what the adventurers had expected to find in that treasure chest in the cavern, but Link was working to find some use for them.

"Well, uh," he stammered, "maybe they'll have some use later on..."

"I hope so," Lydia replied sharply. "I did not go through all that dragon crap in there for no reason."

"Link's probably right," Gordon said. "Yeah, those boots seem useless now, but I'm sure there'll be a use for them later."

"The only thing I could see," Link said, "would be to use them as weights. But I'm no fish."

"Humph," Lydia grunted. "Maybe your dear fiancé could enlighten us."

Link closed his eyes tightly and shuddered.

Gordon shook his head. "Ruto said to meet her at the lake. Let's get moving."

As they walked, Lydia noticed the pitiful look on Link's face. She dropped back a bit and walked beside him.

"I'm sure you can work something out with Ruto," she said in a peaceful tone. "Maybe you won't have to marry her after all."

Link only shrugged. "We'll see."

"You'll just have to get yourself out of it. Besides, it's your fault to let yourself get tricked into that engagement in the first place."

"Well, excuse me."