OK... First Author's Comments... I know this is kind of a short chapter, but I still have a lot going through my not-so-work-well brain. But, I decided to write this chapter due to the fact that if I didn't, I would've forgotten about the brilliant idea that I had for it. Hope you enjoy it!

Oh... And... Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda. There, happy now?

Chapter 17: Sage of Fire

The party was over, and a week had passed. Zantauri had yet to make any major moves, and I was starting to ease back into a peaceful life… With one exception… I had made frequent trips to the still-frozen Death Mountain Crater to see my friend, and Sworn Brother, Darunia. He still stood there, frozen in a block of unmeltable ice… All I was able to do whenever I went there was talk to him, and hope he could hear me…

"I'm a Knight now…" I told the iced Goron. "All because of what happened here… I promise, Brother, I'll get you out of there as soon as I can…"

I stood up, ready to leave. I had visited Darunia each day since my Knighting Ceremony. The Gorons were in complete dissarray. It broke my heart to see such good friends suffering so much. The large statue in the middle of the city had been destroyed, due to Hot Rodder Goron rolling too fast and tripping over the edge of his platform. It had exploded violently, killing the unfortunate Goron, and the hot springs had to be closed down due to the fact that the water was frozen. I never knew that Darunia's absence could be so… unnerving.

Then… It happened… I had an epiphany… When I tried using the Fire Arrow on the ice that encased the crater, nothing had happened… Then, I remembered… Zantauri had said that the ice was from his realm… And that meant that it was infused with Twilight… Then I remembered what Rauru said about the Twilight… It's essentially a mixture of Light and Darkness… If fire couldn't melt ice from the Twilight Realm, what would happen if it was introduced to pure light?

I decided I would test out my theory the next day. I would bring Zelda with me just for the occasion, because I had given her something I had obtained in Termina, due to the fact that I knew she could use it better than I ever could. I knew that the item would be of use, so Zelda's presence was manditory.

…

Early in the morning, I ran towards Zelda's chambers, trying my hardest to keep from screaming her name. I finally made it to the door, and noticed that I couldn't stop myself…

SLAM!

I had run face-first into the door of Zelda's bedroom. The noise woke a few visiting nobles, as well as a very groggy Princess.

"What's going on?!" she called. "I'm trying to sleep!"

I opened the door as softly as I could… "Sorry… I wasn't trying to wake you up that way…" I stated.

Zelda turned her head to look at me. "Why would you try to wake me up in the first place?" she asked.

"Because…" I began, anxious to tell her my idea. "I think I know a way we can free Darunia and the Death Mountain Crater, and it directly involves you and your bow."

Zelda shot straight up. She was wide awake. "What? How?"

"Come with me later, and you'll find out. But you have to bring your bow and the arrows I gave you."

The Princess of Destiny merely nodded. "All right… First, I need to get ready, though."

"Of course, Princess." I said, slowly backing out of her room.

…

Twenty minutes later, the door behind me opened. Zelda emerged in the dress she had fashioned out of the Goron Tunic, her bow in hand, with a large quiver strapped to her back.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"As I'll ever be." Zelda replied. We soon made our way towards the stables, where Epona and the other horses slept.

"To Death Mountain!" I exclaimed, as I climbed on Epona, who reared up in excitement. Zelda looked at me on the horse…

"Why don't we just warp there?" she asked. "You remember the song, right?"

I looked at her, distracted. Epona was still reared up, and I had lost my train of thought… I soon regained it, though, as I fell off of the saddle and onto the cold stone floor.

"That works, too…" I said, stupidly… I looked at the Princess with adoring eyes. "I swear, you seem to be the only thing keeping me from riding off to certain doom…"

Zelda smiled. "Well, just because you're courageous doesn't mean you're smart!" she retorted. We both laughed. It was true, too. In the future we had been Triforce Bearers, and she was the wisest person in all of Hyrule. I, however, was a brave idiot. Smart enough to solve puzzles, but lacking in the way of common sense.

I then took out my Sapphire Ocaraina and started playing. Zelda wrapped her arms around me so as not to be left behind, and the Bolero of Fire rang through the air… We were swiftly taken away in a bright flash of red light.

…

Arriving in the Death Mountain Crater, Zelda started swiftly toward the frozen form of Darunia.

"What do I do?" she asked, readying her bow.

"Shoot one of the arrows I gave you at the ice!" I instructed. Zelda responded by nocking an arrow from her quiver, and taking aim with her finely-crafted bow. Upon releasing it, a blinding flash encompassed the area. She had fired the Arrow of Light at the Twilit ice, causing it to shatter in the same manner as the strange black creatures had beforehand. Darunia fell onto the floor of the crater, breathing heavily. The crater immediately started to heat up, and we knew that we had to get out of there, because a sudden release after so much forced inactivity wasn't good for an active volcano like Death Mountain.

Zelda and I took Darunia onto our shoulders and hobbled towards the entrance into Darunia's room, hoping to the Goddesses that the magma didn't rise too quickly…

Luckily, it didn't rise as quickly as we thought. We were able to make it into Darunia's chamber moments before the magma had made it to our location. Hurriedly, we ran into the large Goron's room and I pushed the statue back into it's hole as a sudden burst of heat came from the other side. We had made it…