The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link

Chapter 10: Down the Mountain

"Midna..." Zelda held her hands up to her heart, turning her gaze up to the princess.

"It's the least I can do to repay you. You know, for giving me your heart to let me live."

Memories of Zelda's sacrifice to Midna flooded back to her. A few weeks prior, Midna was pushed to the brink of death by Zant after being exposed to pure light from the light spirit--Twilit creatures cannot stand being in the light. It essentially melts them away into nothing, as light does to shadows, like a pill dissolving in water. Zelda put her soul into Midna's, combined their hearts, to restore Midna's body and give her the ability to survive in the light. Zelda then slept within Midna's subconcious, until Link defeated Ganondorf (while he was possessing Zelda's body) and Zelda's body and mind were fully restored.

Zelda smiled. "Thank you very much, Midna. I assure you, I will put your gift to good use."

Her grin faded into a frown. "I require armor. We must travel to Snowpeak immediately."

"Gotcha." Midna took Zelda's hand, and the two whooshed up into the air and through the portal overhead.

~~~

The pair arrived at the top of the snowy mountain, looking over the white slopes before them.

"This... this is not a mansion." Zelda looked up at Midna.

Midna laughed. "No, it's not. The mansion is father down the mountain."

Zelda looked confused. Midna took a few steps over to the tree next to them, reached up, and pulled down two frozen leaves, dropping them in front of Zelda.

"What are these?" Zelda asked.

"Snowboards--kind of. They're the quickest way to get down the mountain. Here, lemme show you." Midna jumped onto one of the 'snowboards' and kicked the snow beside her, sending her sliding down the mountain. She crouched, pushed off the ground, and jumped over a small trench.

Oh, goddesses, how am I supposed to do this? Zelda took a careful step on the leaf before her. The leaf slipped under her foot and Zelda fell face-first into the cold snow.

Ugh. After getting up and brushing the snow off of herself, Zelda tried again. Four attempts later, she was able to stand up on the board without falling off, and Midna had long since disappeared behind a dip in the slope, so there was no asking for her help now. Zelda was on her own.

Trying to mimic what Midna did while doing her best to keep her balance, Zelda started with a slow speed. She crouched, hoping that her stance would help to keep her from eating snow again, and when she got to the gap in the snow, she straightened her legs and sailed smoothly over the trench, landing softly on the ground ahead. She returned to her crouching position and could feel the anxiety leaving the pit of her stomach as she picked up speed, feeling the wind hit her face and her hair whipping behind her. She reached her hand down and let her fingertips brush against the top of snow, and for the first time in a long time, she felt a true sense of excitement. Zelda had rarely gotten to feel this before, spending most of her time sitting inside of the boring castle.

The slope of the mountain had a few twists and turns, as well as a couple more bottomless trenches and the occasional murder of ice keese along the way. Zelda dodged these obstacles before her with ease. She was a natural, this much was obvious.

After a few minutes of skating down the mountain, Zelda turned a corner and she could see the mansion ahead of her, with Midna waiting, a hand on her hip, facing the lone building. Midna turned her head and watched Zelda's snowboard hit dry ground. It shattered beneath her and she fell to her knees, then looked up at the princess. The two broke into large grins in unison, and Midna held out her hand, helping the queen to her feet.

"So," Midna said, still holding onto Zelda's hand. "How was it?"

Zelda laughed. "Wonderful."