"Try knocking louder." Ashei suggested, leaning against the cold stone of the Snowpeak Ruins.
"If I knock any louder, I'm going to break my fingers," Link growled. Once again, he balled his hand into a fist and rapped on the door five times, waited, but still there was no answer.
"Maybe they're on vacation." Ashei grinned at her King's annoyance.
"Yeah," Link replied, his tired voice dripping with sarcasm, "a couple of Yetis taking a beach day at Lake Hylia. Honestly, Ashei, where could they possibly go?"
The girl in question shrugged her shoulders, idly checking her fingernails. "You're just giving me attitude cause I beat you in the sledding race."
"You cheated." Link retorted shortly, knocking again on the ice matted door.
"I won fair and square." Ashei grinned devilishly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I just play by a different set of rules, pretty boy."
Link's eyes narrowed into cold blue slits. "I was winning until you pushed me over."
"No," Ashei said slowly, patronizingly, like a teacher trying to explain logic to a kindergartener. "I kicked the sled out from under you." She grinned at his feathered jaw. "And you weren't winning. We were neck and neck." Ashei glanced down at her fingernails once again, ignoring his snorts of derision.
Link rapped on the door for the tenth time, still receiving no answer.
"I'm going in," he muttered, bracing his hands against the heavy door and pushing it open. The door gave away with a tremendous groan. He stepped in without hesitation, but Ashei peered through the doorway before entering, her alert eyes darting from corner to corner of the forgotten mansion.
"They won't be mad that we kind of broke into their house?" Ashei asked quietly, still searching for any movement in the still ruins. Link shrugged carelessly, eyes lazily floating over the stone walls.
"Yeto knows me. I've done a few favors for him in the past."
Ashei paused a second longer before hesitantly stepping into the stone mansion. "Whatever," she whispered, slightly wincing as her footsteps echoed throughout the empty halls, "But if he gets mad, I'm blaming you."
Link ignored her and started walking down the hall, his light footfalls muffled by the scarlet carpet. He nimbly slid over the icy patches as if he had done it a hundred times before and paused at the wooden doors at the other side of the hall. He turned, waiting for his female companion, watching her expectantly. His slightly raised eyebrows sent her a silent message. "What are you waiting for? Come on!"
Ashei followed after him, all the while studying the decaying wood and frosted stones of the foyer, the broken staircases that led to empty air. An unlit chandelier hung over her motionlessly as she passed under, heading towards Link and the towering oak doors. The golden accents on the wood were chipped and aged over time.
"Ready?" Link asked, not at all caring as his voice bounced off the walls and high ceiling.
"Yeah." Ashei replied quietly.
"You don't look ready." He teased, failing to hide his cutesy smile. Ashei snapped to attention at his jest, a frown settling on her chapped lips.
"I am ready," she growled, purposely matching his volume and listening to her own voice echo.
He cocked his head in a sympathetic, yet patronizing position, making Ashei's irritation increase.
"Just go!" She hissed, shoving him against the door as she uttered the last word. He chuckled under his breath, shouldering the door open.
His light hair was illuminated into a marigold color by a source that Ashei couldn't see, but she could feel its warmth wrap around her like a blanket. She stood on her toes to peek over Link's shoulder, and her coffee eyes settled on a fresh fire, dancing in response to the pile of lumber feeding it.
The wood burned low. The supply hadn't been restocked, as if the fire was made and then forgotten.
Ashei noticed a few velvet cushioned chairs had been knocked over and the paintings adorning the cream walls were tilted, hanging in disarray.
"It looks kind of...abandoned, yeah?" Ashei asked.
"Yeah," Link answered casually, "but it always looks like that. The Yetis aren't big on home maintenance." He walked closer to the fire, warming his hands before he cupped them over his mouth and shouted: "YETOOOO?"
"Link!" Ashei chided him, instinctively ducking and scanning the room, fearfully expecting an enraged Yeti to burst through the doors.
"YETAAAA?" He shouted again. He was only answered by the crackle of the fire and the growl of what they could only assume was the rage of the wind outside. The two were proved wrong when they passed through the right door and into the snowy opening of the mansion's center yard.
A second after he felt the chilled breeze ruffle through his hair, Link dropped to the snow, pulling Ashei with him as an ice spear flew overhead, disappearing into the room behind them. A shatter followed as the spear collided with the wall and broke into frosty particles.
Instantly, Link raised his shield and heard the sound of dozens of spears colliding with the thick metal. The force of the weapons pushed Link and Ashei back into the fireplace room, but not before they took in the hundreds of Chilfos warriors lining the yard and broken walls. Link connected the roar they heard to the two spheres of white fur bowling through the Chilfos on the towering walkways.
Link slammed the door behind them, and heard the thunk of spears sticking into the other side. Both sat breathlessly, staring at each other and listening to the fire pop and crackle.
"I think we found the Yetis." Link stated, thinking of the pale spheres fighting against the ice warriors. Ashei nodded numbly, her eyes wide.
Link flexed his fingers, adjusting his leather gloves. "Well, Ashei, if you want to get on Yeto's good side, this is a great opportunity." Ashei remained silent. "I'm gonna go help him out." Link continued, checking his array of weapons while speaking. "Are you with me?"
Ashei pondered her options. She glanced at the fire and the comfortable looking chair beside it, so warm, secure, inviting. Then her eyes turned to the door, where faint sounds of battle raged beyond it. Dangerous, cold, thrilling. Link was watching her expectantly, waiting for her answer while arranging his weapons belt. The female soldier grinned, adjusting her own gloves.
"Alright, Your Majesty," she smirked playfully. "Count me in."
"Any word from King Link?" Dr. Borville questioned a servant while placing a warm towel on Zelda's forehead.
"No, Sir." The servant answered quietly.
"And how is the kitchen staff faring?" the doctor briefly glanced at the multiple bowls of soup on the bedside table before turning his attention back to the pale face of the Queen.
"They have yet to imitate the soup perfectly. All species of fish from Lake Hylia and Ordon Lake have been tested in the soup, but as you can see," the servant also glanced at the bowls of imitation soup, "none of them have the same effect."
"What are we missing?" Dr. Borville slammed his fist on the table, shaking the bowls and causing the orange contents to spill out. The servant silently stared at his shoes, unable to answer the question on all of their minds.
Doctor Borville slumped, dropping his fist to his side and slowly prying his fingers apart. He waved off the servant. "Bring me updates," he said through a tired, deluded voice. "If there are any."
The servant nodded, bowed, and left without a word.
"Ready," Ashei shouted over the clang of spears smacking against her shield. "Aim," the girl dropped to her knees, pressing them against the cold stone of the cannon tower. "Fire!"
A cannon whirred over her head, plunging into the band of Chilfos before her, shattering them into pieces. She used the shield to cover her and Link's heads as ice chips rained down on them.
"Nice aim." she said to him, peering over the rim of the shield to see that all the ice men had fallen to the cannon ball.
"Thanks," Link reloaded the cannon. "Let's get those guys now." He nodded his head towards a group of Chilfos on a stone platform raised above the snow coated yard.
Ashei crouched beside him, holding the shield in front of them to block the Chilfos' spears as Link turned the cannon. She protected him from enemy fire while he loaded in a bomb. "Ready." he told her.
Ashei raised the shield above their heads so that Link could see the Chilfos. "Aim." she commanded.
"Got it." Link confirmed, ducking under the protection of the shield. Spears clanged against the metal and shattered.
"Fire!" Ashei called. Once again, she fell to her knees, holding the shield out in front of them as the cannon blasted through the Chilfos, sending shards of ice in every direction. When the debris cleared, Link fired upon another group while Ashei guarded him from their spears. With this highly efficient pattern, the two cleared the top floor of Chilfos with cannon blasts, while Yeto bowled through the lanky warriors on the ground floor.
"See any more, Ashei?" Link asked, his own eyes scanning the stone platforms and runways.
"Not on this floor," she shook her head, making snowflakes fall from her ebony ponytails. "But the Yeti could use some help."
Link peered over the cannon, grimly watching Yeto smash through rank after rank of Chilfos, his pale fur blending into the snowy background.
"If we use the cannon, we could hit Yeto," Link said. Ashei nodded. Even her sharp eyes could barely discern the Yeti from the snow.
"Maybe we could fight the old fashioned way." Ashei grinned, handing Link the shield and unsheathing her sword.
Link took the shield in one hand, and his deadly sharp blade in the other.
"Sounds good to me." he answered. He stepped to the edge of the of the platform. "Three," he stated. Ashei stepped up beside him, eyes staring down into the battle field. "Two," she counted.
"One!"
Together, they leaped off the edge, falling into the midst of the fight.
Link landed on a Chilfos, plunging his sword through the creature's ice skull. Ashei hit the snow and rolled, instantly leaping to her feet and swinging her sword like a baseball bat, shattering a Chilfos in one smooth movement.
"You join now, uh?" Yeto unfurled from his ball and shone his frightening smile down on Link.
"Yeah," Link smiled back before performing a backslice on a Chilfos. The ice man staggered back, and Yeto finished him off with a solid punch that sent it flying into a wall. Yeto laughed, destroying several other enemies with a single swing of his giant fist.
"The storm bring in many bad ice people." the Yeti explained. "Never so many before, uh."
"Woah," Ashei muttered, stepping back as Yeto's hand collided with the Chilfos in front of her. She ducked as the Yeti's hand swung over her head, knocking out more ice warriors all the way. "Careful, Big Guy." she called to him. The Yeti paused, frowning at the girl with a curious expression.
"Yeto," Link shouted to him, "this is Ashei." He gestured to the female fighter while lopping the head off a Chilfos. "Ashei, this is Yeto."
"Hi," she said offhandedly. Ashei dodged a spear and thrust her sword into the chest of a Chilfos.
"This girl I like," Yeto nodded, his loud voice easily rising upon the clatter of the fight. "Ashay fight good, uh."
"Ashei," she corrected.
Yeto let out a hearty, rumbling laugh. He stomped his feet, unknowingly crushing several enemies in the process.
"You friend Link, uh?"
"Yeah, sure." Ashei fought her way towards Link, whispering to him when she got close enough. "Does he always talk like this?"
"Yeah, uh." Link grinned at his own cleverness. "Get used to it, uh."
Ashei rolled her eyes. Her sword clanged against the spear of a Chilfos as they battled. She met each of its blows, and sneaked a few in while its guard was down.
"I thought there was two Yet-" Ashei was interrupted as a white sphere, decorated with light salmon, lime, and turquoise diamonds, fell from above, crushing the Chilfos Ashei was battling. Two chocolate eyes appeared from the fur, followed by a gentle nose and mouth.
"You friend, uh?"she asked. "Cute little human."
Ashei bristled at being called "cute" and "little," but pushed her annoyance aside and nodded. She was already in one fight, and she didn't need to start another.
"Yeta," Link slid into view. "This is Ashei. She's a friend."
"Link, uh!" Yeta cried, waddling over to him. She bumped into a Chilfos, knocking it over and stepping over its body. Ashei couldn't help but laugh at the scene.
"You no visit us," she whined. Ashei deftly stepped out of the way as Yeta crushed Link in a hug. His figure disappeared into her fur, and his muffled shouts were the only sign that he still existed.
"Yeta," Ashei warned, her sword intercepting a spear as it headed for the female Yeti's back. "maybe we should save the hugs and hellos for later, yeah?"
"Uh." Yeta nodded, releasing Link from her hold. Link tumbled into the snow, gasping for air. He rolled out of the way as a spear landed right where his head was. His cerulean eyes were wide, though Ashei wasn't sure if it was from the close call or the bone crushing hug he had just received.
"Link hug later, uh." Yeta bobbed her head before crunching into a ball and plowing through the Chilfos, speeding towards her husband.
Link flipped to his feet and laughed. "Gotta love Yeta." he cleared the surrounding enemies with a wide spin attack. Ashei caught a Chilfos' spear midflight and hurled it back to its source, where the icy weapon plunged through the midsection of its owner. She finished the job with an ending blow.
"You have weird friends, Link." she told the Hero King after crushing the enemy between them. He laughed. "Ashei, you're one of them."
Link pounded a Chilfos with his shield and leaped over its staggering body, bringing his sword down on the ice warrior's head before landing. Ashei whistled. "Nice Helm Splitter, Your Highness. We only have.." she counted, "..ten left!" Ashei cheered.
Yeto smashed another two with his fists.
"Eight left!" she corrected. And so the countdown continued.
Dr. Borville sat at his desk, his fingernails digging into the side of his head. Dozens of papers lay scattered on the surface of his workspace, all listing ingredients and medicines. Some were circled, others violently crossed out.
"Healing spring water from Kakariko, red potion, fairy essence, I've almost got it." he tapped on his desk excitedly.
"Sir!"
The doctor leaped from his desk, startled by the sudden appearance of a member of the castle staff.
"What?" he snapped, infuriated that someone interrupted him when he was right on the edge of stabilizing the Queen's cure.
"Her Highness' heartbeat is dropping rapidly. The imitation soup has failed; she has not responded to anything we have given her."
Dr. Borville clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly, his teeth grinding down to the stub.
"Where is the King?" he struggled to keep himself from yelling.
"No word yet, sir."
Dr. Borville slung his coat over his shoulder, having no choice but to leave the riddle unanswered.
"I'm coming," he sighed, pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. He cast one last glance at the papers scattered on his desk. "I'm not done with you yet." The doctor warned them, turning on his heel and following the servant to his Queen's bedside.
Twenty minutes later, four figures huddled around a bubbling cauldron of soup. The smell of pumpkin wafted through the air, reminding Link of his days in Ordon, lazing around, herding goats, and weeding the pumpkin patch.
"You taste now, uh." Yeto pounded on the edge of the cauldron with his fist. "Almost ready. Taste!"
Link pulled an empty bottle from his weapon pouch and scooped some orange liquid into the cup. Lifting it to his lips, he smiled as the steam warmed his face and the sweet aroma filled his nose. He took a long sip before handing the bottle to Ashei.
"Try some." he fit the bottle in her hand. Ashei obeyed, and a smile filled her face when she lowered the bottle.
"This is really good, Yeto." She nodded to the Yeti and gave Link his bottle back. "No wonder Zelda needs it."
"Who Zelda?" Yeto asked.
"Uh, the Queen of Hyrule.." Ashei answered. "She's really sick, and your soup is helping her a lot."
"Yeto soup help me when I sick." Yeta swayed from side to side, smiling at her husband. "His soup help Queen too."
Link nodded. "No one makes Pumpkin soup like you do, Yeto."
"You come here to get soup for Queen?" Yeto asked, slowly stirring the orange soup. "You care much for Queen?"
Link shifted his feet, suddenly finding the contents of the cauldron very interesting. "Yeah, I do."
"She is good Queen? Nice Queen?" Yeta's soft voice asked. Link nodded, still watching the wooden spoon turn the soup into hazy orange swirls.
"She's a great Queen," Link said, his voice quieter than Yeta's. "and she's nice too."
Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw Yeta waddle to Ashei and lean into her ear. The Yeti tried to whisper, but Link's sharp ears picked up every word.
"Link love Queen lady, uh?"
Link felt his stomach churn at the word. Love. He frowned, lost in thought. Sure, Zelda had made him feel..different. And he did do anything he could to make her laugh, or even smile. And there were many nights where he had laid awake, his mind wrapped in thoughts of her twinkling eyes, but did he love her? He faintly heard Ashei giggle.
"Wait," his thoughts stopped. " Did Ashei just...giggle?" Never before had Link, or anyone for that matter, heard Ashei giggle. Maybe laugh, or chuckle deviously, but giggle? No way.
Link's head snapped up, but his attention came a little too late. Ashei was already whispering in Yeta's ear, and with a feeling of dread, Link watched as the female Yeti's eyes widened. Before he could stop her, Yeta's once quiet voice shouted, echoing around the whole kitchen.
"LINK'S WIFE IS QUEEN LADY?"
Link groaned, knowing that a tsunami of poorly-structured questions was about to pour onto him. Suddenly, a feeling of weightlessness fell on him as Link was picked up in Yeto's massive arms and shaken. His world became a blur and Yeto's thundering voice pounded against Link's skull.
"LINK HAVE WIFE? LINK KING? LINK HAVE CHILDREN?"
Link was bombarded with questions that matched the volume of an avalanche, but was unable to answer any of them due to the extreme shaking. He felt his whole body turn to jelly.
"Yeto, let Link speak, uh!" Yeta said firmly. Immediately, the shaking stopped and Link felt solid earth beneath his feet. Unfortunately, his head continued to spin and his jelly legs couldn't keep Link from falling. To his relief, Ashei caught him before he hit the ground. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Ashei talking to the yetis, and the occasional, "Uh," or violent shout from Yeto. When Link's head finally cleared, he stood up on his own.
"You no tell us you are King now, uh!" Yeta playfully shouldered Link. He pretended that it didn't hurt.
"What we wait for?" Yeto thundered, pouring the cauldron of soup into two massive barrels and taking one under each arm. "You know recipe now, uh?" he paused only a second to ask Link the question.
"Yeah." Link answered, recalling all the ingredients and instructions that Yeto had given him.
"I wrote them down, in case you forgot." Ashei whispered to him.
"Thanks, Ash." he muttered.
"We go now, uh?" Yeto barged past them, not bothering to open the door, but breaking through it instead. Seconds later, he rushed back through the gaping hole where the door used to be and set down one of the jugs, then grabbed Link and Ashei with a swipe of his hand and set them on his shoulder. "You hold on, uh. We go fast."
He tucked the second barrel back under his arm again and sped off. Link and Ashei hung on for dear life as the Yeti sprinted, and didn't stop until they reached the Zora Domain.