The Fate Of Hyrule

Chapter Six

The wind and snow whipped. Ice collected on their clothes. The end of the snow-covered trail seemed to not exist. Down to two health potions and trying to savor them, Zelda and Shylo were slowly running out of energy again. Desperately, they fought the forces of this strange nature, hoping and praying cover will come soon.

"Do you see anything?!" Shylo called to Zelda who was slightly ahead.

Zelda took a moment to respond, "No!" She shouted through the wind, her voice barely carrying as she squinted through the hazy air, "We have to be close though! It's been... So long!..."

As they trekked further, they grew more weary. Shylo finally caved and slumped against the mountain wall, sitting in the snow with his head hung. Zelda heard his schlomp and looked back, her brows furrowing upwards as she saw his dark silhouette against the white and grey scene. "Shylo..." She spoke to him as she neared, kneeling by his side, placing a gloved hand over his cheek.

His tired, golden eyes slowly turned to look at her. Even without the sun, a light reflected in his iris' that disturbed her sometimes. Despite her uneasy feelings, she was still confident he was a good man, "We must keep going."  She leaned a little closer so she wouldn't have to yell in his face, "Although I don't have much proof, I feel that we are close. Please Shylo, get up." She fumbled her cool fingers within the satchel, fishing out a vial of health-insurance, "Here." She brought it up to his face.

His eyes rolled back down to his lap, "Go on." He demanded of her, "There's only two vials of that elixir left, you need one for yourself, and when you face whatever is atop the mountain that's causing all this... Nonsense." He told her.

She didn't like when people were self-sacrificing when they really didn't need to be, and for as much as she knows him as, it was likely she'd have to meet him with just as much stubbornness, "Quit being selfish, I'm not going to let you die here all sad and pathetic-like. Since I'm queen, I can put whatever I want on your tombstone, and as queen, I order you to drink this and push through with me!" She paused as her gaze drifted momentarily, "Please." She added.

By the gods, what would she do without manners? Shylo's eyes gazed at the vial, then rotated to her. He let out a heavy, defeated sigh before gently taking the vial, "Fine. But you have to promise me that no matter what happens to me, you will reserve the other vial for yourself."

"Deal."

Pulling down his newly acquired scarf and popping the cork on the vial, he threw it back. Capping the vial, he handed it back to Zelda, who put it back in the bag. She stood and offered her hand down to him. As he took it, she countered her weight against his, pulling back with all her might and bracing her legs apart to help him stand. They continued on, in closer proximity to each other now, climbing the mountain trail. The further along they went, the harsher the weather became. They approached a vertical wall that used to be climbable via wooden beams, but now the wall was completely covered in a thick, smooth sheet of ice.

Shylo handed Zelda a couple daggers, raising a brow at her and gesturing his head towards the wall with an angled nod, an expression that told her, 'Life without risk isn't any fun.'  He stabbed his daggers into the ice and began climbing, having little to no support beneath him.

Zelda watched him, thinking only what she could, 'Shit...' She shook her head in disbelief she was really doing this, but she had no choice. It was either climb the wall or let people freeze to death. Following suit with him, she began to climb the wall as well.

Shylo drug himself over the top ledge, carefully turning around to give Zelda a hand, fighting the push of the wind. Sliding her body over the ledge, they stayed low, coughing as they approached the frozen entrance to Death Mountain Crater. Even with their heavy and warm clothes, they still shivered against the outdoors. They stood to the side of the cave entrance where the cold wind emitted from.