Link had just finished strapping up his coat as he darted up the stairway to King Dorephan's throne room, his feet clattering rapidly atop the sleek grounds of Zora's Domain in accompaniment with his heated breaths. He received an immediate nod from the Zora guards stationed there, signaling his ability to simply rush forward, sliding into the throne room to stop near Mipha's side.

"Wha- What- Has- She-" Link breathed in spurts while clutching his knees.

Mipha smiled, "She hasn't begun her presentation yet."

"Good," Link nodded, raising his body to look around, "Then we can still- Presentation?"

At that moment, a spotlight flew on across the room, directing a brilliant light toward a massive partition sitting behind a collection of open boxes, adorned with tinsel, green branches of evergreen trees, and a few smatterings of pine cones. Link's jaw fell open at the sight before him, moreso perplexed by the amount of equipment that seemed to have popped out from the nether.

A coarsely played trumpet burst awake from out of nowhere, though Link immediately inferred that Zelda had played it from behind the partition. A crude, triumphant series of notes blared before a loud *CLANG* echoed throughout the throne room, probably from Zelda having simply dropped the trumpet after it had met its use, and a quick series of scuffling noises arose before Zelda appeared, nearly tripping over the massive red and white suit she exited in.

"Ladies and gentle- Lord Dorephan!" she corrected, "Allow me to present you with a presentation! A holiday proposition of immense magnitude, at that! One that all of Zorana- nay, all of Hyrule! will not cease to speak of for millenia!"

Link groaned with a sarcastic quip, "You can't say the claims don't match the production value…"

"Ahem!" Zelda loudly cleared her throat while giving Link a rude stare before continuing, "I call it-!"

She quickly hurried behind one of the boxes and plastered a large cardboard screen onto the partition before hopping away and thrusting her arms forward in introduction, "Zorana Yuletide!"

Upon the cardboard display sat a harshly drawn painting of the Domain, complete with space trees and magnificent orbs of colorful lights hanging from what appeared to be the wind itself, given the lack of attention to their supports.

King Dorephan happily threw his head back with a laugh, "Zorana Yuletide, eh?! Sounds fascinating!"

"Oh, it is!" Zelda declared, falling head-first into a nearby box before popping back out with a Santa cap adorning her head, "It's the time of year in Hyrule Kingdom where jolly old Santa Claus arrives and leaves the merry children of Hyrule with presents underneath trees they keep indoors and decorate with ornaments!"

Dorephan's eyes suddenly went narrow, "So he's a thief in the night?"

"No, no!" Zelda sputtered, her first moment of uncertainty during this presentation, "He- He only sneaks indoors to leave presents!"

"So he's a mage with some power of invisibility," Dorephan went on critiquing.

Zelda's lips twisted with distress, "I mean- No, I- Okay, if you want to get technical, he was a fisherman that loved offering gifts to children, and since his shrine was established down near the Whistling Hill, the cult of Saint Nicholas has proclaimed such things that we sort of revere out of tradition now- it's just all in good fun, there's no real man, just-"

"Wasn't Saint Nicholas the leader of that Akkalan cult whose remains were interred and then stolen and moved?" Dorephan wondered aloud.

Zelda's eyes went blank while Link crossed his arms, cradling an elbow while thoughtlessly thumbing his chin with a quiet quip, "Now this is getting interesting."

"Look," Zelda sighed, "It's just a fun, holiday tradition that I'd like to share with our Zora neighbors in the spirit of goodwill. Maybe this will improve your people's idea of mine, and vice versa, should you decide you'd like to return the offer, which I will, of course, accept."

Link leaned closer toward Mipha, "The king will never allow such a flagrant use of resources."

Dorephan's fierce eyes suddenly widened in time with a great big smile, "Oh, princess, certainly you must know how much I love celebrations!"

A hand slammed against Link's face.

Her eyes lighting up, Zelda nearly squealed, "Really?!"

"I would quite like to acquaint myself with your customs, certainly! After all you've done, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you, child princess," acknowledged Dorephan, his voice warm and boisterous, "Our youngest are so tender and unknowing of much of your people and your ways, including the best of the kindness Hylians are capable of offering. I would quite like them to understand Hylians, lest they grow to not know what a Hylian even looks like!"

Smiling with a warm cadence herself, Zelda's voice arose, "Well, I assure you that I share much the same concerns for my people. Hopefully this can be the start of a wonderful tradition."

"Of course!" Dorephan simply acknowledged himself, leaning back in his throne, "You have my blessing to do with my Domain as you see fit to bring this jolly tide to our shores."

Bowing low, Zelda thanked the mighty king before skittering happily toward Mipha and Link, her hands clasped in a delightful pose, "Well?! Are you as excited as I am?!"

Mipha returned her grin, "I'm quite elated to see what you've got in store!"

The Hylian princess's eyes wryly curled narrow as she glared at Link with a knowing smirk, "Weeeell, Mister Tight Socks?"

He merely shrugged, bringing his cupped hands up to his mouth to breath heat against them, "Do what you feel you must. I'm just advising caution."

His eyes scanned the mountainous curtain that wrapped nearly into a circle surrounding them, "Something doesn't feel right about this chill. It feels too early."

Zelda frowned, now that his concerns were brought to articulation, "It'll be fine. Look, we'll set up a mercury vein and compare this temperature to my almanac if that gets you more into the holiday spirit, alright?"

"All I'm asking," Link shrugged with conclusion.

With a happy sigh, Zelda returned to Mipha, "Alright, we've got so much to prepare for! And by the path of the sun, I do believe Santa is nearby…"

"Wait," Mipha inquired simply, "I thought you said that was a legend of some sort?"

A festively devious smile once more crossed Zelda's lips, "Oh, he'll be legendary alright…"

"HA HA HA!" Daruk screamed rather angrily in an uncertain pantomime behind the large beard that had been strung against his face to top his Claus-like regalia.

One of the nearby Zora children gasped in terror before darting away into a group of concerned-looking adults, leaving Zelda appearing concerned at the sight. She held her hands atop her hips as she critiqued the Goron Champion, eyes running up and down his body before she approached him.

"Okay, so, it's 'ho ho ho', for one."

"Ah! I see! Allow me a moment's reprieve," Daruk nodded with a cough, clearing his throat, "Ahem. HO HO HOOOO!"

The cluster of nearby Zora stepped back in wary confusion.

"Okay, but you've got to be jolly about it! You know, like a warm, jovial air, right?" Zelda explained, perplexed by how difficult it sounded to describe to somebody wholly unknowing of the process, "You need to be welcoming. Who was it… You know, how Boldon would like you to be in the presence of strangers."

Like a struggling actor receiving direction, Daruk shut his eyes as he nodded, stroking his newly hairy chin, "Hmm, yes… Let me put myself in Boldon's shoes for a moment."

Zelda bit her lip.

Suddenly, Daruk's eyes flew open, a massive smile stretched across his face, his footsteps strode closer to the group of fiercely apprehensive Zora, their stances widening as they prepared for flight as Daruk readied himself. Zelda cringed in wary expectation as Daruk spoke-

"Ah, ho ho ho! A Hylian Yuletide greeting to you and yours!" he warmly declared, arms wide in welcoming as the Zora eyed him suspiciously, "We come in peace!"

Zelda's mouth fell open at such an oddly out-of-place statement, though it seemed to be working! Her elation built as the group of Zora began to chuckle and play along in their own warm and welcoming way, even as Daruk continued amateurishly fumbling his lines; his air remained warm and merry enough. Like a mother watching her child succeed, Zelda's head fell to her shoulder as she crossed her arms as if to hug herself, smiling as Daruk returned to her with a triumphant air.

"I do believe it worked!" he declared with mighty conviction.

Zelda smiled, "Oh, Daruk, you did wonderfully-"

"A couple of them said they'd consider visiting Death Mountain! Oh, Boldon will be thrilled to hear it!" Daruk smiled perhaps brighter than Zelda had ever seen him.

Still, she focused herself as she massaged her lips, deep in thought, "Okay, well, we still have a few things to work on, but in the meantime, I need to round up a group of helpful Zora to assist in getting this place in tip-top festive shape. Let's see…"

Link carefully put into place the sizeable temperature vein atop the island just beyond the Great Zora Bridge, having meticulously assembled and put together the supplies thanks in large part to Mipha's goading. Given their status as cold-blooded creatures, Link discovered, they'd had little reason to be concerned with the temperature at large; they were highly adaptable outside of the raging temps atop Death Mountain- a fact Link knew, and which continued to nag at his mind as he explored the topic further.

The vein was simply a tube of glass with mercury inside, which expanded and contracted based on the temperature; using Zelda's almanac, Mipha had carefully marked the tube at various lengths to denote the rough temperature based on the mercury's movement up and down the tube. Now, they simply needed a place free from the furious winds to better approximate the temperature minus wind chill.

Link stood up as the mercury began to fluctuate, sighing to himself as he buried his hands into his thick coat pockets, "Alright, how long should this take?"

He lowered his face into his scarf, eying Mipha like a turtle peeking from its shell, while she flipped through the almanac, "Not too long… Is that a ten, or one hundred?"

She lifted the booklet for Link to examine.

"Ten."

"Oh, good, so it won't take a hundred minutes."

Link chuckled, "Quite an assumption for you to make before knowing."

"I believe it's called optimism," she fired back with a sardonic smirk.

"Optimism or not, I'm not sure I'll make it out here for half that amount," Link muttered while peering skyward.

Mipha smiled, "It's not often I see you this concerned. At least not openly."

"I mean, I'm still a knight," Link assured plainly, "Obviously, I'm in charge of the princess, so when she's choosing to be reckless, it weighs on my mind."

Grumbling further, he muttered, "Which, it weighs very often."

Mipa giggled.

"Then I have my own life to worry about. I'm a Champion, so that carries some responsibility. I have a life to live, myself; a life to share with you, so…"

He trailed off upon the sight of Mipha hiding a minute grin at his words.

Smiling in reply, he continued, "Things have just changed. Once, there was a time where I would have given my life were my king to demand it of me. Now there's more to live for than king and country."

"A sentimental knight," Mipha mused with a teasing tone, "Would that not be viewed as a weakness by some?"

Link shrugged, "To have something you love and to fight for? or is that your smarmy way of pointing out that I'm currently no better than a pillbug right now when it comes to defense?"

"It crossed my mind," Mipha allowed with a curling smile, gripping her trident tighter in her hand.

"I bet it did."

She watched him standing there shivering like a child out in the cold street, hands buried in his pockets to shield his skin from the harsh weather that nary affected Mipha's body. Watching her lover so helpless and dependent upon her were any danger to occur- while her heart panged at his mild distress, knowing he was fine, Mipha couldn't help but take a fierce pride in her promise: to protect the man she loved at any cost.

"You're turned on right now, aren't you?" Link wondered incredulously, a wry smirk hiding beneath his scarf.

Mipha piped up in a mild panic, "What?!"

"You're digging the situation we're in. I bet if a giant moblin crept up on us, you'd be a puddle," Link teased.

"I-" Mipha replied, readying her answer with a swift cock of her head, "Is there any particular reason for you to be complaining?"

Link laughed, "I'm not complaining. It's just the farthest thing from my mind right now. All I'm thinking of is getting this vein taken care of and huddling by a fire back in your quarters."

He shook his head, "My survival instincts are going off like a tempestuous goat. It's not like-"

Noticing Mipha's blank face, as though lost in thought, Link spoke up, "What?"

"Does it not…interest you as it does me?"

Link's eyes fell in thought, pondering her meaning, "Does it- You mean you being my defender?"

She nodded, rather embarrassed, as though such convention was shameful.

Link chuckled, "Well, let's recap: you saved me from a drowning death as a child. You kept my from another drowning death during that Niq situation, and you prevented me from being skewered by a evil slime monster possessing an evil man from our past. I can't say those were ever situations I'd look back on with anything but terror."

Grinning, he shrugged, "But generally, no, I haven't an issue with you being my protector for a change. Folly upon me were I ever to think you weren't up to the task. It's one of the things that first grabbed hold of my attention, in fact."

"Really?" Mipha quietly wondered, almost in an uncertain whisper.

"It says a lot about your drive, loyalty, a bunch of different things," reasoned Link simply enough, "And if we're on the topic of what excites one or the other, you being a ferocious battle princess is one of those things."

Her reply of a knowing smirk caused Link's face to flush crimson, forcing him to bury it further into his scarf, "Boy, did it get warmer all of a sudden…"

"Were I smart enough to orchestrate such a plot," Mipha teased with a quippy air.

"You wish," Link challenged, a boyish tone lining his voice.

Mipha couldn't believe she could have ever loved another so much.

"Another few minutes," Link noted aloud as he bent low to examine the mercury vein, "So how does Yuletide compare to your traditions? Who sneaks into your homes to deliver boxes wrapped with paper?"

Mipha tilted her head, "It's nothing really like that. Whatever celebration we do have, it's mostly to feast on trout once they begin migrating westward. We collect them in droves, careful not to damage the species beyond repair, and dump them atop the Domain, the chilled ground keeping them preserved for a couple months while they're all consumed. It's not odd to find a pile of fish just huddled up around here. It's a chance for those of us into the culinary arts to have their way with them, as well; there are tournaments, cook-offs, however you say."

"I do believe you'd rather a different, more regal fish, to meet your lips?"

Link turned away, hiding his blush once again, causing a melodious giggle from behind him.

"You really need to quit doing that," he warned, scanning the immediate area surrounding them.

Mipha retorted with an insistent voice, "It's keeping you warm, isn't it?"

"I mean-" offered Link with a defeated tone, "Yes, but-"

Normally he'd better retort, but their time together since their Champions' journey had grown scarce, and these sorts of verbal altercations were generally presumptive of impending moments of intimate attention; the likes of which Link understood couldn't possibly take place out here.

Perhaps this was merely another layer to this Zora princess's game: dominating enemies in Link's place, asserting her prowess over his very biology. Link's brow fell defeated at the thought, though not due to any shame; merely he knew he would have to return the blows currently being laid upon him at a later time.

"Well," Link started as he crouched down once again to examine the mercury vein, "Perhaps you won't have any more chances to keep- Wow."

Mipha's eyes focused intently on Link, catching the dour timbre of his voice with immediate worry.

"Check the almanac. Try to find the coldest temperature on this day in previous years," Link frowned while returning to his feet.

He examined the sky, as though attempting to decipher the gray sky blanketing the environment. He thought he could see snow beginning to form before melting en route to the soil below; certainly weather out of place in Hyrule Kingdom this early in the season.

"I think-" Mipha muttered aloud, trying to decipher the Hylian script therein, "Is that right?"

She handed the small booklet to Link who ran his eyes along where she had left off, a frown forming along his lips, "Yes. We're twenty degrees lower than the next lowest on this day."

"And every day has felt colder than the last since you've both arrived…" Mipha absently reminded.

Bundling his hands within his coat, Link motioned for Mipha to tag along back toward the Domain, the Hylian shaking his head in disbelief, "It might be time for our local scholar to clue us in."