Author's Note: Sorry for those of you who don't like action. It's still a Zelda story, therefor there must be some fight scenes. Just a heads-up, I won't be updating for a few days because I have an event with the band that lasts until Sunday. Marching band takes up waaay to much time.
All of Castle Town gasped as she gracefully strode towards them, appearing from under the arched entrance of the castle and into the city. Behind her sheer veil, the Princess' eyes only saw him, waiting at the alter in gold and pearl armor.
Handmaidens followed close behind, delicately holding the smooth ivory trail of her dress. Her sapphire irises fell to the bouquet of vibrant flowers in her white-laced hands. The flowers had been picked out especially to accent the rose design that traced her veil and the skirt of her dress. Each of the roses were woven out golden fleece and dulled with the white frost of a December morning.
Above her, roses of the same color hung from the columns and roofs of the city, the died petals glistening under the morning sun.
The Princess caught her breath, realizing that she was only a few steps from her betrothed. She gave him a shy, but hopeful smile under the glimmer lace of her veil. His lips curved into a smile as well, though the warmth didn't spread to his glacial eyes.
She stopped, inches away from the royal priest and faced her soon-to-be husband. The smooth ivory and gold of his armor shone, the vivid colors blending like milk and honey. Even his hair glowed brighter, as if the strands were fabricated from the gentle rays of the Hylian sun.
The Princess only half listened to the priest as she waited for her cue. After an eternity of anticipation and longing, the priest asked if she would take him as her husband and king.
Her lips tingled as the two words passed through them: "I do." Her heart stuttered as the priest addressed the same question to the man beside her. A second of hesitation before the two words fell from his lips as well, and the Princess' heart pounded stronger than ever before.
With a smile, the priest proudly proclaimed the words she had dreamed of for thousands of nights.
"I now pronounce you, husband and wife, King and Queen..."
Her fingers tightened around the bouquet. "you may now kiss the bride.."
The immense roar of the crowd fell on deaf ears as her veil was pulled back. She closed her eyes, locking the moment forever in her memory. The audience grew louder, but all she felt was the warmth of his lips. They lingered for several seconds as the wedding bells crashed overhead. She wished he never would have stepped back, releasing her from his hold.
Slowly, her eyelids parted and his face came into view. The exuberant smile on her face was not reflected on his. The smile faltered when their eyes met. They did not look like blue irises, but like circles of ice, frozen, distant, unfeeling.
"It felt so real," she thought, struggling against tears as he took her hand and led her down the isle. She didn't even hear the cheers of her subjects as she passed by, or see their beaming faces; all she could see was his empty eyes, staring back at her with despair.
Link frowned at Zelda's pale face, contorted by a dream that he could not wake her from. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, brushing his thumb against her palm.
"I'll be back, Zelda." He whispered, throwing his sword and sheath over his shoulder. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss on her hair.
Link glared at the mountain looming before him. Even with his thick cloak and hood, the wind bit at his skin like the ghost of a ferocious animal. White specks blurred his vision as the storm raged around him, wrapping Link in a blanket of ice.
"This way, Link!" Ashei's voice barely reached over the howl of the wind, even though she was standing right next to him. Numbly, he followed her lead over the frozen lake, only placing his feet where she had. Behind them, the stranded royal escort called warnings as they were led back by a Castle Town rescue team, but Link and Ashei ignored them.
"Link?" Ashei called over her shoulder to him.
"Yeah?" He choked as his mouth was filled with snowflakes.
"How do those dimwits travel all the way up the mountain to get the soup?" She jutted her gloved thumb towards the disappearing Soup Crew. Link chuckled and shielded himself so that snow wouldn't fill his mouth once he began to talk.
"I really liked Yeto's soup last time I was here. It's really good when you're sick," Link explained. "So I made a deal with him and King Ralis,"
"The fish dude?" Ashei interrupted. Link sighed.
"Yes, the fish dude. Also known as the Zora King." Ashei shrugged, ignoring his eye roll. "Yeto leaves a few barrels of his soup in Ralis' palace, and my team picks it up there. So they don't have to actually scale the mountain." Link carefully watched each of Ashei's steps and followed in suit.
"Then why-" the howling of the wind cut off Ashei's voice.
"What?" Link shouted.
"THEN WHY WERE THE IDIOTS HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?" She screamed back. Link jolted back at the strength of her voice, almost slipping on the ice. He growled as she laughed.
"Yeto didn't bring it down, probably cause of the storm, and they went to get it." Link sighed in relief when his foot crunched against thick snow. Finally, solid ground.
"Well that's stupid." Ashei snorted.
"At least they're dedicated." Link sighed wearily, brushing the snowflakes from his hair.
"Whatever," Ashei linked her arm into his. "Stay close to me or you'll get lost in a second."
Studying the scene surrounding him, all Link saw was pure white, like an unpainted canvas. That is, until two red dots appeared, glowing like burning coals against the snow. Link frowned, squinting as the dots approached at rapid speed.
"Ashei..." he mumbled into her ear. Link reached back, pulling his sword from its sheath. He grinned at the glittering metal. It wasn't the Master Sword, but it was something.
Another set of beady eyes materialized out of the snow, and Link faintly heard the distinct Shing of Ashei's sword being drawn. Within seconds, the eyes were upon them, the faint outline of a wolf's body darting closer. Only a few feet between them, the White Wolfos leaped, surging through the air. Unfortunately for the beast, the two soldiers were ready.
Link's blade sliced through the Wolfos' body with ease, making the beast disintegrate on the spot. The second Woflos didn't fare much better; it burst into black smoke shortly after being impaled on Ashei's sword. The two had little chance to celebrate, as another set followed immediately after.
Back to back, the King and the Soldier cut through the snow beasts one by one as they trudged through the snow. Their ragged breaths were lost in the screaming of the wind and the howls of the White snow beasts that surrounded them.
"Ashei..." Link panted as he ducked below a Wolfos, impaling it as the beast flew over his head. "I can't...see where..we're going." He heard Ashei grunt as she knocked a Wolfos out of the air, stabbing it before it reached the ground.
"45 steps...before we reach...the first.." the rest of her sentence was cut off by the wind, shrieking like a banshee. Link only nodded, returning his attention to the five Wolfos before him. He counted each footfall as he sliced his way through the snow.
"1, 2," raising his shield, Link felt the Wolfos smack against it and crumple to the snow. He quickly passed his sword through its stomach, turning the white beast into dust. "7, 8, 9..." another ghostly wolf fell to his sword. "17, 18..."
"Link, duck!" Ashei's voice rang in his ear. The King dropped to the snow as her sword split the air over his head, zipping through two Wolfos at the same time.
"Thanks, Ashei." he called to her, rising from his crouched position.
"A little rusty, are we?" She mocked, continuing to wage her battle against the snow wolves.
Link narrowly dodged the snapping teeth of a Wolfos, reached out and snatched the creature up by the scruff of its neck. His sword sunk into its body, disappearing into white fur. The body exploded, dousing the King in ash, but freeing his sword.
"I've still got it." he grinned, despite the battle swirling around him. "29, 30, 31, 32.."
The bodies of White Wolfos continued to drop and vanish into black smoke as the two trudged up the mountain side, counting step by step. "35...38...42..."
Both were out of breath, but enjoyed the adrenaline of the fight. The painful ache of the cold vanished, replaced by the excitement, the thrill of battle.
"43, 44, 45, 4-" Link's back smacked against the cold surface of a boulder. He gasped, stumbling in surprise. Reaching out a cautious hand, Link felt the bite of icy stone against his fingers.
"Ashei, is this-"
"The first boulder," she pressed her back against it, tilting her head sideways to speak to him. "Pay attention!" her eyes flicked behind him. Instinctively, Link ducked, and a Wolfos sailed overhead, smashing into the boulder with a thud. It disintegrated without another movement.
"It's all uphill now," Ashei yelled to him. "You ready, Your Highness?"
"Yes, ma'm." He smirked at her scowl. "How many steps this time?"
"123. You think you can handle that, Mr. Hero King?"
Link rolled his shoulders. "You're lucky I'm too cold to think of a good comeback." He smiled at her hearty laugh, readying his sword for another attack.
Handmaidens scurried around their Queen, muttering worriedly and applying cool towels to her forehead. Zelda lay still, her facing ashen white.
"She's heating up!"
"Get more towels!"
The Queen did not stir, even as the shrill voices of her attendants shrieked for assistance. The silk sheets around her were drenched in sweat and dripped water from the sobbing towels that rested on Zelda face and neck.
Dr. Borville shooed the maidens away, inspecting his patient with a fearful eye. "Your Highness.." he thought, shaking his head and clenching his fists against the railing of her bed.
"Bring her more soup!" he shouted to the cluster of servants behind him. Five of them scurried off at once, all hurrying to do the same job. Dr. Borville turned to the remaining servants, his glasses hanging low on his nose.
"Where is the King?" he snapped, unintentionally making his small audience wince.
"He's going to retrieve more soup, sir." A courageous maid stepped forward, wringing her hands. "The kitchen is almost out."
Dr. Borville seethed silently, brushing his small wisp of smoky hair back. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as the Queen's breathing became ragged, almost panicked. Her shaky hands reached out desperately, and her whole body began to tremble. The doctor knelt beside her, not caring that his glasses fell in in haste, and grabbed her hands.
"Stay with us, Your Highness," he pleaded, forcing his voice to stay calm, despite the panic raging inside of him, as well as around the Queen's staff. "He'll be back soon," Dr. Borville quickly glanced at the empty spot on the Queen's bed. "Be strong for him," the doctor exchanged the towel on her forehead for a fresher one. "He needs you, Zelda." he stopped bothering with formalities, believing that saying only her name would bring comfort to the Queen.
Dr. Borville rapidly shouted orders at the staff as Zelda's body collapsed into stillness once again.
Link squinted against the whipping blurry of snow around him, listening to Ashei give him directions.
"Keep your back pressed against the mountain..." she yelled. He could only vaguely see the outline of her body, even though she was no more than a foot in front of him. "Take a wrong step, and you'll fall off the edge!"
Link looked at his feet, only seeing a smudge of his brown boot against the sugary snow. "Where is the edge?" he shouted back to her.
"This path is only a..." she paused as a powerful gust of wind pushed the two back a few steps. "Is only a few feet wide. So watch yourself."
Link nodded numbly, feeling his tight lips crack against the sharpness of the icy wind. A little drop of blood fell from his lip, crystallizing before it hit the ground. It landed in the snow, glowing like a ruby against the white powder. Link smiled, thinking of how Zelda's ruby lips glowed against her pale skin. Suddenly, the wind didn't seem as cold.
"Almost there!" Ashei whooped in his ear. Link tore his eyes from the blood crystal, realizing that he had stopped moving. He lifted his left foot, ignoring the fact that each step felt like he was weighed down with the density of the snow, pushed back by the ferocity of the wind. "Wait for me, Zelda." He pleaded silently, finally stepping off the mountain path and into the clearing, where more White Wolfos waited.
"This is the farthest I've gone. You know how to get to Yeto's, yeah?" Astrid asked. Link nodded.
"Past the three trees, right against the wall there's a sinkhole." he gestured ahead, not even seeing where his finger pointed because of the thick blanket of snow. "Just get me there, and I'll do the rest."
Ashei bobbed her head under the hooded coat she wore and began trudging into the clearing. There were less White Wolfos, and they were easily taken out by Link and Ashei. With a single swipe of her sword, or a stab of his, the ghostly snow beasts fell upon each other, blasting into nothing. Still, they were a hindrance to the Hylians, and the short distance across the clearing took an eternity, or what seemed like it to the weary fighters.
Finally, reaching the stone side of the mountain, Link fell to his knees and began digging. Ashei stood in front of him, fending off Wolfos and sheltering the King from the raging winds.
"Found it yet?" She asked as she brought her sword down on a snow beast, momentarily turning the snow black with ash.
"Give me a second." Link muttered, tossing snow over his shoulders by the handful. "This was so much easier as a wolf," he thought grudgingly. Behind him, he heard an increased number of growls, though he wasn't sure if it was from the Wolfos or simply the wind. He didn't take the time to look.
His hands shoveled through the powdery snow, scooping it up and heaving the handfuls behind him or off to the side. After a few more handfuls and only more snow to fill his hands as a reward, Link moved to another spot.
"Hey, Link?" Ashei stumbled back, the heel of her boot pressing against his.
"What?" the King asked, still digging.
"Hurry up," the sound of steel cutting through fur and flesh filled the air. "We've got more company than expected."
Link paused, giving himself only a second to glance over his shoulder, where he saw Ashei holding off more Wolfos than he had time to count. He slid to another spot and dug even faster.
Link's hands grew numb from the cold, but he continued to shovel out the snow. The growling of the White Wolfos grew almost as loud as the roaring wind. Ashei grunted, and a yelp followed.
"I've almost got it, Ashei." Link encouraged her, though he really had no idea how close he was. The girl didn't respond, her focus being drawn by the bombardment of White Wolfos.
"Please tell me this is the right place," Link mentally pleaded, plunging his shivering hand into the snow once more. He winced as his fingers cracked upon ice. The Hero King barely got the chance to acknowledge the pain as the rest of his arm fell through the snow.
"Ashei!" He yelled, grabbing at her cloak with his free arm. "I got it!"
She paid him no attention, her deadly caramel eyes locked on the Wolfos surrounding her. Link wrapped his hand around the soft material of her cloak and jumped through the sinkhole, pulling the soldier with him.
His face was too numb to feel pain as he smashed against the icy floor of the tunnel, Ashei falling on top of him. The girl thrashed, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Ashei!" he growled, his face pressed uncomfortably against the ice.
She rolled off of him, kneeing the unlucky King in the back as she went.
"Sorry, Link." She laughed as he rolled around, a pained grimace evident on his face. "Rough landing."
He only groaned in response.
"Get up," Ashei rolled her eyes. "We don't have all day." She extended her hand to him. He accepted the gesture after giving the soldier a glare colder than the ice around them.
The two quickly scaled the levels and ladders of the ice tunnel, occasionally having to cut down an ice keese or two. Though they were a bother, the weak bats were a nice break from the White Wolfos. Ashei's biggest concern, however, was the tall steps that she had to pull herself over. By the time they reached the end, Link was on the edge of stabbing her if she complained about the steps one more time, or how they made Link look "even shorter than he already is." In fact, he had almost stabbed her the first time she brought of the latter statement. Fortunately for Link, one look at the door quieted Ashei immediately.
The rough slab of stone bore the imprints of two giant hands-the hands of a Yeti. The prints were just as fresh as the last time Link laid eyes of them, roughly two years before.
"You sure about this, Hero?" Ashei asked, her voice slightly hoarse from screaming over the wind.
"He's really not as bad as you think, Ashei." Link pressed his own hands against the imprints of the Yeti's. "Yeto isn't bad, once you get to know him."
"My father used to scare me by claiming that the Yeti would eat me if I misbehaved." She stared at the door, hesitation showing through her almond eyes.
"You don't have to come with me," Link tilted his head to watch Ashei over his shoulder. "You can wait here."
The King chuckled quietly as Ashei's hesitant expression transformed into an irritated glare.
"Don't patronize me, Your Highness." She spat, shoving Link out of the way and sliding the door open herself. Link raised his hands defensively, his not-so-sincere apology answered with a snort from the female soldier.
The other side of the mountain was windy, but the storm wasn't nearly as severe as it had been on the other side. The break came as a great relief to Link and Ashei, considering they were already exhausted from the grueling trek up the mountain side. Link grinned as the withered tree came in sight, ice caps hanging frozen on its limbs.
"Ashei," his smile grew playful as he bashed his shoulder against the tree, making a few ice caps fall. He picked one up and handed it to his courageous companion. "Care for a race?"
Zelda's eyelids fluttered, then opened slowly. Her lips turned into a confused frown as her servants and the Castle Town doctor came into sight, all beaming down at her.
"Finally," the doctor sighed, slumping slightly. "You've been out for quite a while, Your Highness." The handmaidens all nodded, mumbling their agreement. "We've been worried."
Zelda smiled at them weakly, attempting to apologize, but the words never left her lips. Leisurely, her eyelids started to lower, and the Queen fell in and out of sleep as the doctor fought for her attention.
"Stay with us, my Queen." he pleaded. The Queen's entire staff leaned in uncomfortably close to her, all speaking too quickly for Zelda to understand. Her head spun, and darkness crept in from the corner of her eye, slowly absorbing the light. Just before the darkness consumed her, Zelda's nose picked up a familiar scent-creamy, smooth...
Her eyes shot open as the steaming bowl of soup was lifted to her nose by a servant.
"Would you like some Pumpkin Soup, Queen Zelda?"
Zelda nodded, a lazy smile on her lips. The smile never fell as she spooned the warm orange liquid into her mouth.
"Pumpkin.." Zelda mused, bringing another spoonful to her lips. "Ordon Pumpkins.." She swirled her spoon around in the bowl. "Link's from Ordon.." she thought, her smile growing brighter.
For the first time since she received the bowl, Zelda looked up from the soup. Her eyes scanned the crowd, and she frowned when his face didn't show.
"Where..." her voice cracked, but she pushed past it. The room grew silent as they waited for her to continue. "where's Link?"
The servants all looked away, some staring at the floor or at each other.
"He's away right now," Dr. Borville spoke up. "His Highness will be back soon, I'm sure." the doctor smiled at her encouragingly. Zelda frowned, her appetite lost.
"I'm tired." she muttered, placing the bowl on her bedside table. She let her eyes slide closed, ignoring the protests of her doctor and handmaidens. Her world delved into darkness.