Winter was, without a doubt, the absolute worst time of the year. Gone was the warmth of the sun and days spent riding around the countryside, comfortably wandering the verdant woods. The trees were barren, the color gone from their branches. White powder coated everything, almost like sand after a windstorm except it was cold, malleable, and easy to sink into.
Already, Ruuya had lost a boot almost half a dozen times from accidentally stepping out of it, and it always had to be dug up and emptied of snow. The feeling of damp leather wrapped around her foot was quickly growing from a minor nuisance to a vexing, uncomfortable reminder of the season.
It was almost enough to keep her mind off of the looming form of the infamous Hyrule Castle in the distance, dark against the grey clouds heavy with snow. The monolithic structure had been visible ever since crossing the lake, and had steadily loomed larger as the hours passed. Knowing that she was in the same country as the ruler of nightmarish and relentless soldiers had put on her edge once. In time, that anxiety had faded, at least slightly. Not knowing whether the king was a kind person or despot frustrated her.
The only things keeping her from bolting back to Windfall Village was a sense of duty and the knowledge that no one would be able to tell she was a Gerudo under all the layers of clothing. Buried beneath a thick fur coat, a warm cloak of wool, and the azure scarf Alysse had knitted and given as a gift for the Autumn Equinox, she thought she looked more like a moving mound of cloth than a person. Only her auburn eyes peeked out from underneath the bright blue scarf wrapped around her head, and that was not enough to discern her heritage.
Hopefully. But who would expect to find a Gerudo this far east in the winter anyways? Even those foolish merchants wouldn't venture into Hyrule this time of year, right? They would be snuggled up in their little town warmed by the desert sun. Sure, it might snow at night sometimes in the Great Desert, but it was nothing like this damned mess.
Ruuya halted, slamming the butt of her spear into the snow before her. Something about her trek felt off. It was quiet, perhaps a little too quiet. Where was Nan?
She whirled around then spotted her charge. Nan laid flat on the ground, staring up at the heavens. Ruuya sighed, and backtracked, watching as the girl moved her arms up and down. With every wave, the snow was nudged out of the way, leaving short arcs by her sides. Nan laughed. Ruuya stared, dumbfounded.
"I'm making a snow fairy!" she said, grinning from ear to ear.
Ruuya grunted in dismay at the girl's actions. Who in their right mind would want to lay down in snow? It'll get into everything, and then you'd have snow in your boots, your coat, and your gloves. She shivered at those thoughts.
"My friend Joel showed me how! Snow's so cool!"
Literally. Ruuya huffed, her lips twitching upwards despite herself. Nan always knew how to make her smile, even if she didn't mean to.
"Get up, Nan," she said. "You'll have time to play later, I promise." The young girl groaned dramatically, all but leaping to her feet.
"Not you, too, Ruu!"
Ruuya raised her eyebrows, but then remembered the girl couldn't see it beneath the thick scarf. "What do you mean, kid?"
"I mean Lord Vaati is a sour grape." Ruuya snickered at that. Nan grinned. "He keeps complaining about the cold and doesn't like the other kids messing around outside his shop. My friend, Lily, tried peeking into one of his windows to see what he was up to, but he shut the curtains and slammed the shutters close."
"Well, it is rude to spy, Nan," Ruuya said. She resisted laughing at the irony of a former thief admonishing such a thing.
"Yeah, but, he's weird." She gave a Ruuya a hard look. "Guess we need to move, huh?"
"Yes," she said, glancing up at the grey clouds overhead. They started to trudge through the snow, their path taking them uphill through the sparse woodland. "Unless you like getting stuck outside in a snowstorm."
"Nah, not usually," the girl replied. Nan bounced ahead of Ruuya, managing to walk backwards despite all the snow. Ruuya didn't know how the kid could keep her balance, but Nan did so effortlessly. Naturally even. It left Ruuya bewildered. Calatians certainly were a very strange folk.
"Not usually?" she echoed.
"Well, there was this one time when me, Joel, and Lily went ice chu hunting and-"
"Maybe I don't want to know," Ruuya said, suddenly awashed with worry. Gods, this kid was going to make her hair go grey before she turned thirty. "I'll have a stroke if I do."
"Awww... Fine. So where we goin', Ruu?" she asked, arms behind her head, almost humming her words. "You said you had something to do, but you never said what or even why we're out here. It's cold."
No kidding, Miss Obvious. She held her tongue, however, and instead said, "It's a surprise."
"A sweet surprise?"
"Nan…" Ruuya trailed off, her tone turning stern. It seemed the girl still had the nose of a goat and could sniff out sweets anywhere.
"I know you have rainy day cookies," Nan said. "Can I have one?" She reached for Ruuya's bag.
"No, Nan." She pulled it out of reach, hugging it closer to her body as though she were protecting some precious treasure. Considering who was trying to steal her cookies, it might as well have been.
"Come on! Please? It'll be our little secret." She hopped onto a large rock and off again, sinking into the white fluff.
"No," Ruuya said. "Alysse will know because you won't be tired."
"You don't know that."
"I do."
"Please? Just one?" She puckered, donning the same look that Jamila did when she was trying to get an extra sugar cube.
Ruuya rolled her eyes at the girl's antics. They wouldn't work, even if Nan was her favorite kid in the village. "You won't stop at just one, Nan," she replied. "You know that."
Nan waited a moment, then spoke again, "...One-half?"
"No. One-half becomes two one-halves, and two one-halves becomes my entire bag. Besides, these aren't for eating."
Nan tilted her head. "Then what are they for?"
Ruuya said nothing. She trudged carefully through the snow, and up an incline, remaining quiet. Underneath the thick layer of freshly fallen snow lay a thin layer of ice, making it somewhat slippery, but going slowly and stabbing the point of her spear into the ground before her made a difference between sliding back down the slope and making progress. It wasn't her weapon of choice, but she was grateful for having gone back to retrieve it from the meadow, eerie stone wizzrobes or no. Nan seemed to have far less problems than she did, despite that this was also the girl's first winter. It didn't snow in this part of the Dark World, apparently.
At the top of the hill was a short statue of stone, covered in moss and snow. Ruuya dropped her bag before it, and withdrew a couple small bags of food from the sack. Gingerly, she placed these in front of the statue.
"It's an offering," Ruuya admitted, feeling heat rise to her cheeks in a flush of embarrassment. "It's tradition to give one for good weather. This isn't the desert, but I..." She bit her lower lip, and her eyes flitted to the heavens. "I hope it's still acceptable."
Nan peeked over her shoulder, observing as Ruuya settled before the old statue and emptied the bags of food onto the small basin before it. Out tumbled grey cookies and apples. "An offering? Who are you gonna give it to? Maa always says that the gods are half-deaf."
Or dead or nonexistent. Alysse said that the existence of powerful things does not necessarily make them gods or caring beings, Ruuya thought. I'm not sure I can blame her, considering how her life turned out.
Nan, however, didn't know that her grandmother believed such things. Despite the older woman's own beliefs, though, she had encouraged Ruuya to head out and offer prayers, having noticed Ruuya's growing anxiety about the weather. Alysse might not have believed herself, but she never faulted belief in others, even encouraging them to seek it. To Ruuya, that was perhaps one of the strangest things in these white lands, but it was a puzzle for another time.
Ruuya took a deep breath, and released it. She had thought about it hard, about the spirits and gods and which ones to call upon in this region. The past months had proven how little she actually knew about the goings on of the outside world, and no one in Windfall had the knowledge she needed. So the solution boiled down to a very simple answer.
"Din," Ruuya said, closing her eyes in thought. "I'm giving this to Din."
The young girl nodded, remaining silent.
Ruuya didn't know the correct customs associated with the mossy statue, so she knelt down, closing her eyes. Nan followed suite, copying her position. When the sounds of rustling cloth had stopped, Ruuya spoke in her native language. "O Din, Goddess of Fire and cultivator of the earth, please hear my words. These past nights have brought upon us a bitter cold. Visitors to our village have become stuck, and I worry about what might happen if it is to continue…"
She opened her eyes, took out a hatchet, and struck a large stick she had picked up on the way. The dry end crackled as it was lit on fire.
"I do not know if this is normal in these lands, but I think it not. All I know is that my neighbors are running low on wood and coal. They do not yet starve, however, that may change. The fields in the other world are healthy, yet monsters have already taken from them and burned a few that are further from the old village. If those monsters grow any bolder… I don't want to think about it. Goddess of Flame, Goddess of Power, please, protect our fields, and melt the snow. Protect Windfall from the cold. And may our future be blessed."
Ruuya doused the offering in sacred oil, as per desert tradition. Eyes half-closed in reverence, she lit the offering on fire, watching in cold but pensive silence as it burned, turning to ash. Afterwards, she regained her feet, back aching from kneeling for so long, pant legs wet thanks to the half melted snow. Nan still knelt there prostrate. She did not rush to get up and move about as Ruuya expected. It was puzzling, and Ruuya found herself staring.
Softly, the kid cooed. Ruuya frowned, then prodded Nan's boot with the blunt end of her spear. Nan muttered something about ten more minutes.
Ruuya rolled her eyes. "Nan!" she said sharply.
"Oh…guess it's time to get up," the girl mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Are we done? Did the goddess talk back?"
Ruuya blinked, then snorted. "No," she said, putting her gloved hands on her hips. "Of course not. She's a god, not a person."
"So," said Nan, standing up. A yawn escaped her lips. She didn't even bother to hide it behind a hand or arms. Oh by the gods, this girl had no reverence for the sacred. If Din had noticed their plea, Nan's attitude might have very well provoked the quick-tempered goddess to anger, keeping the cold here even longer because of Nan's impiousness. Instead of receiving help, she'd withdraw, making the weather even worse because a silly girl didn't respect the gods. The next time Ruuya did something like this, she would go alone, or take Alyssewith her. This had been a bad idea. "You can't have a conversation if only one person talks, Ruuya," the girl said, brushing snow off of her. "Otherwise, it's a speech."
Ruuya grunted. She guessed Nan had a point, in a rather Nan sort of way. "What if the other person's mute?" she asked, putting her things back into the sack.
"Gods are mute?" Nan asked back, raising her eyebrows in concern. Briefly, she looked up at the heavens, then down at the statue, then back at her. "Did someone cut out their tongue?"
"That's not what I said!" Ruuya said, teeth chittering. Damn. Were her pant legs starting to freeze? They were starting to grow stiff.
Nan just shrugged, taking Ruuya's pack, loosening its drawstrings, and digging through it. What, did she think she had more cookies? "Well," Nan said, then grinned. She pulled out a bottle filled to the brim with a light orange potion and uncorked it. Ruuya blinked. She didn't remember packing that – oh. Of course a Spicy Elixir would be in there, Nan always overpacked. "Seems she's either mute, deaf, or something like that."
Oh dear gods, Ruuya thought, bringing a hand to cover her face. The ground suddenly seemed a little darker. A harsh wind blew past, biting at the tips of her right ear. She tugged her headscarf down in response.
"But if them clouds are any indication," Nan said, gesturing at the darkening heavens above them. The sun was now completely hidden behind the clouds. "We'd better be heading back."
Nan took a drink, then tossed Ruuya the bottle. The potion inside, which was made to bite off the worst of the cold and damp, had two servings. She took hers. It would hopefully last long enough for them to get back before nightfall. It was possible as long as the weather didn't get too bad, or they didn't get lost on the way home.
Ruuya wanted to slap her face again. Not for the first time, she was grateful that Mount Daphnes had some semblance of landmarks leading to it. The extra supplies Nan had packed didn't hurt to have either.
"Let's go," she said. They retreated from the statue, heading back towards the distant village.
/-/
Trudging through the quickly deepening snow, Ruuya squinted through the thick blanket of snowflakes as they fell from the heavens. The storm had come fast. Already their footprints from earlier were covered over with fresh white powder. With one hand holding the compass, and the other gripping her spear, she couldn't even risk glancing at the map. Ruuya looked beside her. Nan was still there, lantern in hand. It was slower to match the child's pace, but she couldn't heartlessly leave the girl behind. She had made a promise, and would keep her word. Ruuya was a Gerudo, after all.
Ruuya looked back down at the compass. The red arrow was facing right-ish, and the village was off to the west. But they trailed along the beach for a while at one point, so…
They were lost. Very lost. Dear gods.
"Rec-cognize anything?" she asked. Nan looked around at the trees and hilly ground.
"Nope," Nan replied, popping the "p". "Do you th-think Lake Hylia is nearby?"
Ruuya looked back down at the compass. No harm, she supposed. "Let's find out-t," she decided, and lined herself up with where the red arrow was pointing. The trees faded away, and the ground rose higher.
"There!" shouted Nan. She pointed off into the distance. "Do you see it? Lights!" Ruuya turned and squinted. After a moment she saw it: small, bright yellow lights piercing through the curtain of snow. There were five, maybe six, divided into two lines. "There it is!" Nan cheered. "We're not that f-far off, come on, come on!" Ruuya took one look at the compass – they were northwest of the Great Bridge – and followed after Nan.
"Slow down!" she said, digging her spear into the ground to keep herself from slipping and sliding down the hill. She caught up, thankful that Nan had come to a halt. At least the girl was good at listening.
"Did you know," Nan started, chatting as they stumbled through the snow, "that there's supposed to be a dragon in the lake? A real live dragon! And it's supposed to sp-spit fireballs or something at passersby, because it likes being left alone, like a cat. Why would a dragon be like a cat, Ruu? They don't have fur, just scales! But they do have c-claws. And fangs. And-"
A screech. Not one of a ferocious animal or someone in pain, but a high-pitched sort of squeal that only one thing made. Ruuya whirled around to where the noise came from, spear ready. The keese – sparkling in a sphere of bright blue light – met its fate. Ruuya stabbed it right through the eye with her spear. With a final shriek, the keese fell and the bright blue shine faded until it was dull and dead in the snow. Ruuya sighed, then took out her hatchet and hacked off the wings, stuffing them into her bag. Vaati would probably want them for something.
More screeches sounded forth, echoing through the icy woodland. Ruuya looked back and gasped, staring at the awful sight behind her. An entire colony of ice keese flew through the trees, glittering beautifully in the night. Nan grabbed her arm, tugged, and pulled her onward, breaking the spell. Together they plodded through the thick blanket of snow, soon leaving the forest behind. That, however, only made them easier to spot. Ruuya didn't have to look back to know that the colony was circling above them, readying to strike. She could hear them. The awful flapping of wings, the dreadful screeches. If they couldn't run fast enough...
She felt a chill on the back of her neck. Her stupid scarf had come loose again. With a jerk, Ruuya forced Nan to dive to the ground with her, the air above their heads filling with wings and fangs shortly after. Nan and her got to their feet as the keese circled above them.
"We can't outrun 'em!" shouted Nan. The bats screeched, diving through mist and snow.
"Qua-duck!" She reached out and grabbed the girl by the hand, leaping over a log and rolling down a steep incline. They tumbled downhill until they slammed head first into a pile of dry bones and frozen briars. They laid there for several moments, tongues still, breaths shallow. Quiet.
Quiet as the night around them.
Ruuya took a deep breath, held it, and listened. No flapping wings. No ungodly screeches. Nothing but a rabbit scurrying through the cold night somewhere in the distance. She breathed again in relief. Ruuya sent a prayer of thanks to the Goddess of Sand and scrambled to her feet, sharp thorns stabbing and scratching her skin. But thorns and scratches were far better than being turned into an ice sculpture. Vaati would be impressed she remembered that term.
"Ruuya?" Nan asked, voice unnaturally soft.
She lifted a finger to her lips. One never knew what else might lurk in the dark on a cold night like this.
"But…" Her eyes widened, slightly.
"Nan," she whispered. "If there's a flock of keese, they're usually a sentry for something worse…"
A shadow blocked out the wane moonlight. An eerie, high-pitched laugh cut through the air. Looking up, all Ruuya could see was a light blue robe and dreadful eyes that seemed to pierce her soul.
"Poe?" Ruuya quietly asked Nan. A second later the creature disappeared, little rings of light trailing in its wake.
"Wizzrobe," Nan replied. Ruuya's brain stuttered. That wasn't what a wizzrobe acted like! That wasn't even what wizzrobes looked like! The girl jumped to her feet, grabbed Ruuya by the arm, and ran. "C'mon!"
A moment later the monster reappeared and lifted its staff to the sky, summoning chunks of ice from the heavens.
Dear gods, dear gods, dear gods! Ruuya thought, barely avoiding the spell as they fled further into the wilderness. I hate this blasted season!
The chunks smashed into the ground, bursting into shards and clumps. Most of the fragments missed them, but the ones that didn't struck with the force of a hammer. The air was colder, something that shouldn't have been possible, making breathing even harder. The chill seemed to pass through the layers of clothing like they weren't even there, biting her skin and making her shiver.
The wizzrobe made a tinkling sound behind them.
"What do we do?" called Nan. She coughed, wheezing. Ruuya cursed in her head. They were lost, alone, without magic or weapons to take out this sort of foe. Nobody knew where they were, and the snowstorm was growing worse.
Dear gods, we're going to die out here, aren't we? She thought, tears of fear stinging her eyes. Veil, Alysse, I'm so, so sorry.
They continued to flee, the chill, hail, and wicked laughter chasing after them. Ruuya wasn't sure how long they ran, but soon found she could no longer feel her toes or fingers. Before long she lost sight of Nan, though she was certain the girl had just been at her side a moment ago. Her foot glided against half-hidden stone, setting her off balance.
Stone? That doesn't make-
Nan screamed, but her voice quickly faded as Ruuya fell forward into shadow. Then everything was pain and cold, too cold. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move. She was faintly aware of the lantern's light fading away before she tumbled and crashed into something solid down below. It quickly gave way, and she fell further, landing on a small dais. It was surrounded by a host of unlit torches, though two spheres of eerie auburn lamps on either side of an ancient door gave light to the place.
She had fallen down a pit and landed in some ruins. Again. Ruuya rolled over on her back and let out a sigh of relief, staring up at the earthen ceiling. It didn't seem like she'd been followed, but where was Nan? The girl hadn't fallen in here with her, it seemed.
Well, she thought, at least there's no wizzrobe. But. Nan's up there with it, alone and defenseless.
Ruuya swallowed in fear. Nan could be dead or dying and she couldn't get back up there and defend her charge. She couldn't keep her safe. She couldn't do anything. Glancing around, she quickly realized there was no way out that she could see but the distant hole in the ceiling she had fallen through. She was helpless. Useless.
For now, however, that was the least of her worries. Ruuya took a deep breath. She didn't know where she was. She didn't have supplies. And her ankle ached something fierce, signaling it was either sprained or broken or both. She didn't even have the proper materials to warm-
Wait, Ruuya thought, working her half-frozen fingers to open her bag. She dug through it, fumbling through the items and taking them out when she couldn't distinguish what they were by touch. In short order, she found a pair of socks, a canteen, flint, lantern oil, a green potion, a second pair of gloves, and some cut pieces of wood. The tightness in her chest eased some. She could spark Din's Fire to light a simple fire and bite off this strange numbness and chill. Oh bless you Nan.
Hopefully, the girl herself had made it out alive. That was all she had now, Ruuya thought as she lit a flame. A smidgen of hope.
Kandragon: I just love a nice cliffhanger in the mornin', cya next time, dearies!
SmashyQ: I love how this is all coming together.