Chapter 3

Freezing

The bandits left Ordon village with Link. There was a covered wagon outside Ordon.

"Strip him down to his under shirt and pants." The nasally one said. Link noted he was obviously the boss. The deep voiced man untied Link's wrists. He grabbed Link by the back of the tunic.

"Try and run off and you'll be punished, got it?" Link nodded. "Good." He pulled Link's hat off. One of the other guys who haven't spoken undid his belt. The deep voiced one grabbed the remaining glove and pulled it off. Silent guy #2 pulled Link's tunic over his head and fully off. Silent guy #1 did the same with the chainmail. The deep voiced man lifted link up off the ground so the two silent guys could get his shoes off. He was in nothing but his undershirt and his leggings. He already felt a bit cold. They shoved him into the back of the wagon. The deep voiced man sat at the front with the boss while the two silent men sat in the back. Link said nothing as the wagon started moving quickly. He just pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them tightly and resting his head on his knees. He tried to fight off the fear he felt.

"This may be the end. I don't know exactly what these men will do to me, but I bet it won't be pleasant. Hopefully nobody gets involved." It felt like hours until the wagon stopped.

"This is our stop." The two men got off from the front and went to the back. "Grab him." Silent guy #1 pulled Link up by the front of his shirt and pulled him up, then put him over his shoulder and got off the wagon. Silent guy #2 followed him. They were walking up to Zora's domain.

"You know, this is really stupid. Why do you need ransom money from the royal family? I doubt they'll pay it. I'm no longer needed." Link said.

"Oh, I beg to differ. I'm sure lovely princess Zelda will pay once she hears her little hero of Hyrule is being held for ransom." The Boss said.

"She won't I'm telling you. She cares more about her kingdom than me. She's using as much money as she can to rebuild it after Ganon's reign of terror."

"If you think we're going to let you go, forget about it. We're not taking any chances, sonny."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." They snuck into Zora's domain and went to the entrance to snow peak.

"I say we let the kid walk now." The silent man set Link down and pushed him forward. The two silent ones walked behind him while the Boss and the deep voiced guy walked ahead of them. Link couldn't stop shivering. He was so cold. His feet were burning from the freezing snow. They started walking up the mountain in the snow storm. "Gah, we can't see an inch away from our eyes."

"Where we even going, Boss?" The deep voiced guy asked.

"To a hideout that the two back there found. There were two freaky beasts there that they got rid of so it should be a good base of operation."

"Yeto and Yeta…? They killed them?!" Link thought. They were close friends of his. The group ended up back at the bottom of the mountain.

"You've got to be kidding me! You there, kid, how do you get up the mountain?"

"You need senses like a dog and I don't have that right now. There's icy snow beasts as you go up, though."

"You better remember the way kid. If you can't get us up the mountain, you'll be punished. Lead the way, now!" The boss yelled.

"I don't want to commit to his orders, but then again, if I can get out of this freezing snow, it may be worth it. I-I'll try." Link looked around and started walking. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the path he took. The group followed him. Before long, they made it up the mountain.

"Nice kid. I may not have you hurt too badly for now." The boss said.

"Hit that tree." Link said. One of the silent men hit the tree and an ice leaf fell down.

"What's this for?" The boss asked.

"Snow board down the mountain." Link said. "It's the quickest way." The boss looked at him suspiciously, but went with it. The boss got on it and started to slide down. Silent man #1 hit the tree again and another fell.

"Go down next." Deep voiced man ordered. Link hesitantly nodded and got on and started to slide down the mountain. He remembered all the tricks to get down the mountain safely. The boss already made it.

"That was exhilarating! Good idea, kid." Link nodded. He felt about ready to pass out. The silent men came down, then the deep voiced man. The deep voiced man grabbed Link by the back of his shirt and led him inside.

"Where should we put him?"

"Anywhere. We'll leave him there while we write the letter."

"Got it." The deep voiced guy walked over to a door with Link in hand. It led to a kitchen. They went through the other door and was surrounded by snow, there was a cell looking place. The man dragged Link over to it and broke one of the bars off. He threw Link in and then fixed the bar.

"I've got a question." Link started

"What?" The man asked.

"You're a tough looking guy. Why aren't you the boss? Why is it that scrawny nasally guy who has power over you?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you."

"It just doesn't seem right, though. You're big and tough. I'm more scared of you that your so-called boss."

"Is that so? Well, you're a smart kid to be afraid."

"Please stop calling me kid. My name's Link."

"I think I'm allowed to call you whatever I want giving the position you're in."

"I said you were scarier than your boss. Compared to Ganon though, you're a baby goat." The deep voiced man broke the bars and came inside. He stomped up to Link. The deep voiced man stabbed Link's arm with a knife he pulled from his pocket.

"You're not scared of me huh? Think I'm a joke?" He moved the blade around a bit. Link cringed as the blade moved. The man pulled the knife out of the wound. He went back over to the bars and slashed the knife down to get off some of the blood. "Who's the baby goat now?" He put the knife in his pocket and left the room, making sure to put the bars back in place. Link put a hand to his arm to stop it from bleeding. He couldn't stop shivering, it was so cold in there. He was sure he had hypothermia.

"I wish I was a wolf right now." He took a deep breath in and let it out. That seemed to help a bit. He looked at the wound on his arm. It looked pretty deep, it'd take weeks to heal. He pulled his knees close to keep warm. It was dead silent for who knows how long until the Boss came in with one of the silent men. He opened the bars and walked over.

"I hear you were being a snarky little brat earlier, kid." The boss said.

"What's it to you?" His voice sounded weak and tired.

"Seems you're in a bit of a grouchy mood."

"How would you feel if you were returning home after several months and end up getting kidnapped to be held for ransom?"

"Don't back sass me, kid. I can be your worst nightmare." He turned to the silent man. "Get a cup of water." The silent man nodded and left the room. Link started shivering again. His teeth were chattering. "You're scared now, aren't you?"

"N-No… It's freaking cold!" He tried shouting, but couldn't really. His throat hurt.

"Aw, poor you. If you're good, we may have you switch rooms." The silent man came back. The boss turned to him. "You know what to do." The man walked up to Link and pinched his nose and lifted his head up. He poured the water into his mouth. Link didn't have the strength to put up a struggle as the water went down his throat and went into his lungs. The silent man got up. Link started coughing, he felt like he was drowning. "Tell me, how do you feel?"

"H-Horrible." Link coughed a few more times.

"I hope that teaches you a lesson. Let's get him to another room. I can't really give the princess a dead body, now can I?" The silent man picked Link up and put him over his shoulder. He coughed from time to time as they walked to a new location. There were doors opening and closing. Even though the walk was only ten minutes, Link fell asleep. They got to the room that was Yeto and Yeta's room. He was warm enough to make sure he could get over the hypothermia that was developing. "Just toss him in. We'll bring him food later." The silent man tossed Link inside the room. The hit to the floor was enough to wake him up. The doors shut. Link got up and looked around.

"Yeto and Yeta's bedroom… I remember fight Blizzeta in here. That was scary. Time flies, huh? I just can't believe they're gone. They were good friends." He noticed the windows were fixed and it was warmer in here. Doesn't change the fact that he was cold. "There has to be a way out of here." He went over to the door. "I probably shouldn't. I could have hypothermia. I go out there, I probably wouldn't make it. I'll wait." He sat down against the wall, pulling his knees close. It was completely silent. Link wasn't bored though. At times like this, when he's alone, he gets lost in his own thoughts. He was currently thinking of how things would be right now if he hadn't been kidnapped.

He's probably would have been hugged by everyone and welcoming him back. Then he and all the other kids would probably be playing some crazy game until nightfall. He'd be able to sleep in his own house after so long. He and Epona would herd the goats the next morning and then he'd treat himself to a nice warm bowl of pumpkin soup and cooked fish. Then the annoying cat would steal his fish… He wouldn't care though because he'd just be happy to be home. "I wanna go home… Please let this be over." Tears started to pool in his eyes and down his cheeks. He at least was thankful everyone back home was ok.

Aww, Poor Link. He wants to go home so bad. I don't blame him. After that quest, he deserves to be home. For chapter 4, I plan on doing a flip flop kind of a thing where it goes from Raven to Link, then vice versa.

See ya,

Hero of Twili :D