The Snow Maiden

A Cold Morning

Dark Link was not in a pleasant mood when he woke up mostly naked (in his opinion), and with the original eating breakfast a good few feet away. Cold morning light lit up a shack he didn't remember. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember this blanket either. As far as he was concerned, he didn't own a blanket that smelt strongly of horse.

"What the-"

"Before you freak out, I just saved your life."

"Like hell you did!"

The original sighed. "Your welcome."

He went to grab his sword. Upon not finding it, he jumped to his feet.

"Where's my-"

Link threw over a scabbard. Dark Link caught it with a scowl.

"Happy Birthday."

He didn't even bother to grace that with a response. Grabbing his clothes, mail, and shield next to the fire, he threw them on, drew his sword, and swung. Link, still chewing on a biscuit, swiped his leg out before the blade could reach him and Dark Link found himself on the floor.

"Look, dummy, I really don't have time for this today, so if you could just-"

Dark Link swung again, cutting Link off to block him as he scrambled to his feet.

Link growled. "You have no honor, you know."

"And you have no guts! Why can't you just die already!" Another one of his attacks was blocked. "Even out here I can't get away from you!"

"Get away from me?" By now Link was also on his feet and fully meeting his blows, biscuit still in the other hand. "You're the one who keeps ambushing me! See if I ever save your life again."

"Save my life? Who said I needed saving!"

"You were freezing to death!"

"Oh, don't tell me you were the one who-" Too angry to give voice to his thoughts, he let out a flurry of swings which Link barely had the time to block.

The ancient floorboards beneath them creaked ominously.

Link's back hit the wall.

"Look, I really don't have time for this!" he protested. Snapping noises were popping above them.

Dark Link just yelled and full on body tackled him.

In that moment, the roof finally caved in. Old wood and what had to be four feet of snow smothered the both of them.

Bruised, freezing, and battered, the two somehow crawled their way out of the debris. Link had lost his biscuit in the avalanche and turned on his counterpart, who had yet to free his legs from the mess, with a fury.

"I save your life and this is how you thank me? Oh, I forgot, you're just an evil monster! How could I have forgotten that!"

Dark Link coughed out a mouthful of snow.

"I can't believe I made the mistake of thinking you were human enough to save! You, who were created by Ganondorf, King of Evil! You bastard! You asshole!"

"I think that's the first time I've heard you swear. You're still such a child." rasped Dark Link, looking about the snow for his sword.

"You don't know me at all!"

"I'm your dark half," Dark Link stopped long enough to meet his original's eye, "I know you better than anyone, don't kid yourself."

With a closed mouth scream, Link yanked out his shield from the debris and clumsily stomped away through the snow, leaving his shadow still half buried in wreckage. Dark Link watched him go.

"I know you better than anyone." he said.

He was shaking so bad he could hardly stand by the time he managed to get him, his sword, and his shield out. Despite how hot he had felt an hour ago attacking Link, he now felt oddly empty and number than ever before. He almost missed Link, because at least in that moment of purpose he had felt something. He wondered if that hate was better than this painful nothingness he had been trying to escape for the past year. What was there to feel when you weren't truly a person? When you had no soul?

With a snort, he sheathed his sword.

"I really am pathetic."

A chill wind brushed past his neck. Shivering a bit harder now, he took in his surroundings. Besides the blue sky, everything was a blinding smooth plain of white. The mountains and their foothills broke the flat white with occasional breaks of tree skeletons and rocks, but other than that, the empty was enthralling. He took it in and felt himself blending in.

And then, he saw her. Long hair wrapped about her arms, she was even more beautiful without the storm to cloak her. She was closer this time, watching a bit aways from the wreckage. In the daylight the glacier blue of her doe-like eyes stood out against the snow. He met her gaze.

"Ah,"

The moment his breath puffed into the air she turned and vanished. He blinked in the bright sunlight.

"Weird."

With nothing else to do, he started walking in the direction of his counterpart.