Chapter 10

   

    The heat of the crater rose in waves, making Zelda break out in a sweat. She sat on the perch, smiling to herself.

    Link thinks I'm pretty...

    She could not get over this. Oh, how she ached to tell him who she really was. She longed to kiss him....She couldn't think in this heat. Leaping onto the bridge, she then flipped onto the scorched ground near the entrance to Goron City. Panting, she stumbled into the city, falling against a cold stone wall. She savoured the coolness of the wall, releif to her hot, sweaty skin. Oh, she was tired. Judging from the sky she had seen above the crater, it was 00:00 or later. Zelda looked around the room, and found a rug in the doorway. Sighing, she sank into the depths of the plush carpet, and fell asleep.

***

    *BOOM* Zelda awoke with a start. Startled, she looked around, and saw Link's green figure in the morning light streaming from the gates of Death Mountain Trail. He had stopped the little Goron, and was now trying to talk to him.

    He did it! He awakened the forest Sage!!!! She thought.

    Zelda shook herself. He musn't see her yet. She qickly dashed into the crater, and flipped back onto her perch. Looking to Goron City, she saw Link come into the boiling crater. He looked up at her with those gorgeous blue eyes, and called,

    "Hullo Sheik!" He smiled. Zelda noticed he had a new tunic on.

    "Hello Link." She leapt down. "There is one thing that stays constant over Time..a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time...The passion of Friendship will blossom into a righteous power, and through that power, you will know the way to go...This song is dedicated to the power of the heart....."She pulled out her lute. How the heck did he become so cute?!? "The Bolero of Fire."  She strummed the strings, weaving the notes into a melody sounding of power. Linkpulled his ocarina out, accompaning her tune. Zelda loved this song dearly. It was over too soon, though, and her heart ached to say;

    "Until we meet again, Link...Goodbye." She pulled a Deku nut out, and threw it to the ground. She re-appeared up on a rise that had lava simmering in the center. She heard Link saying;

    "Let's go save the Gorons, Navi." He ran into a shallow cave, and dissapeared down the ladder leading to the Temple. Zelda leaped from the high rise onto the earth below, narrowly missing another lava pool. She looked back to Goron City, and then ran that way. Flying up the dark steps, she followed the strains of the forest tune to find the Lost Woods exit. She ran into the dark tunnel, and found herself in the woods again. Zelda searched for some source of water, her throat parched. She went another dark passage to the left, and suddenly came across what she was looking for. It was a pool of some sort. Zelda ran up to it, and threw her face into the water, and glugged.  She had not had anything to drink the day before. But, suddenly, she noticed a door or something down at the bottom of the pool. She dove into the pool, and swam towards the opening. She squeezed through it, and resurfaed in...Zora's River.

    "Oh well...I was going to come here anyway." She said to herself. She climbed out of the water to see that snow was falling. She shivered, and quickly dove through the large waterfall covering Zora's Domain.

    "BRRRR!" She chattered through clenched teeth. She walked stiffly up the stone steps, and greeted King Zora, though he probably couldn't hear her.

    "Hello, King Zora." She said, and climbed onto his throne. She then ran into the small tunnel behind it, to see that the ice had turned into water here.

    "Great...now I'm going to have to swim across Zora's Fountain." She muttered to herself. She stepped into the ankle-deep water, and ran into the fountain. To her releif, the fountain was somewhat frozen. Large icebergs floated in the water, capped with snow. She climbed onto a stone platform, wondering what it had once been used for, and gingerly stepped onto another. Hah. Easy. She stood, strategizing how to get across the other iceburgs that twirled like a child's spinning top in the water. Suddenly, a pain shot through her side, and she fell into the water, along with a huge rock. Zelda saw the octorok go back under the water, as not to be seen, and the cold water made her gasp. She stiffly hauled herself back onto the iceburg, and took a blind leap off of it, hoping to land on the next. Luckily, she did. She hauled her numb body to the next, and so on, until she found herself at the entrance to an icy cave.

    "T-the iccce cav-v-verns." She whispered to herself. She stepped inside the dark cave,wishing she was back in the volcano crater. Impa had told her the best place to meet Link, and so, she had her destination in mind. She suddenly arrived in a room filled with ice figures, but in the corner, she saw a hollow in the wall. Knowing that was a shortcut to where she wanted to be, she leapt up into the hollow, and dove into the cold water. In it, she saw a thin layer of Ice blocking her way, and she heaved all her weight into it. Luckily, she shattered it on the first blow. Zelda then swam towards the surface again. A white wolfos howled at her as she rose to the surface, and she quickly pulled herself out of the water, and leapt onto a shelf of ice that hung over a door, out of the wolfo's reach. Zelda suddenly noticed that it was much warmer in this room, even though it looked cold. Zelda looked around, studying the room. The ceiling seemed to stretch up forever, and the whole room sparkled like a diamond. The ice on Zelda's clothes was melting, and she hunkered down to wait for Link.

***

    She heard the door beneath open, and Link and his faerie raced in, to be met by that darn wolfos. Link killed it with ease, and a large wooden chest materialized before him. Link shoved it open, and grunted as he pulled out a new pair of boots, capped with iron. Zelda murmured;

    "Good. You got them,Link." She leapt down.

    "Sheik!!!" Link was obviously startled. Zelda continued;

    "If you came here to meet the Zoras, you wasted your time. This is all that's left..Time passes, people move. Like a river's flow, it never ends. A childish mind shall turn to noble ambition. Young love becomes deep affection. The clear water's surface reflects growth. Use the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself." Zelda picked up her lute, and plucked out a cool, liquid tune. It sounded fantastic when Link joined in too.

    "Link, good luck." Zelda said.

    "Sheik, wait. I've got to tell you something." Link said. Zelda quickly threw a Deku nut to the earth. *POOF* She dissapeared and found herself facing the dark tunnel leading into Zora's Domain. Zelda was really tired, and decided to go home to Impa for awhile.

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