Even after dancing, and after dinner, and after packing up, and after heading out, it continued to rain. With hoods up and about our heads, we departed from the village and headed off, heading on ever towards Rito Village.

We did not travel far that night. About as soon as dusk blanketed the land, we found a relatively dry spot to set up camp. Into a dense forest we went and beneath the canopy of a large cluster of trees we ducked. Link, ever valiant, offered to go round up some Korok leaves and some branches so we could put together a shelter. With my back pressed close to the trunk of a tree, only just staying out of the rain's path, I started to work.

My fingers worked without needing to be instructed, weaving a pattern sturdy and strong as though the act itself was as easy as breathing. And by now, surely it was starting to. Muscle memory was certainly kicking in as I watched the show before me, my hands occupied but my mind elsewhere.

In this cooler air, it seemed that now that the sun had set, all the animals had turned in. Though the leaves rustled with the wind's adjusting, the forest was rather noiseless. And though I was hard at work, Link was hard at play.

That was the show I mentioned.

Fireflies came out to dance with him, playful and teasing, and from watching, I began to make sense of their patterns and silent song. Their melodies were silent, as they were, and their dances were chaotically choreographed. Some blinked more rapidly than others, and others were content to drift about in the wind and get picked up by little swirls of air.

Link was leaping from puddle to puddle, muddying his boots and soiling his pants, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Perhaps I was still far too accustomed to more sheltered, more clean living - while he played, I just couldn't help but think of how much work it would take to clean those clothes of his.

Ah, well. That was a problem for another time, evidently. He was far too engrossed in playing and dancing to pay attention to anything else, and I did not have it in me to tell him to stop. Why would I, really? He was having so much fun, it would be cruel to pull him from it now, not that I thought he would listen even if I did say it.

His joy was infectious, though perhaps it was too weak a word; he seemed utterly at peace here, and perfectly content, and effortlessly blissful. He was all things wonderful in one youthful package, with bright peals of laughter bubbling up in his belly and alighting butterflies in my own. His colors looked ethereal here - the blue of his tunic, matched by the blue of his earrings and that of his eyes - were standing out proudly and brilliantly in this environment.

The rain dulled the air and made it bleaker. Clouds were weighed down by rain and settled against the ground, and I could see well into the forest around us, but not too far before everything dulled and blurred into a mess of muddy color. But Link, with his blond hair and the beautiful blues of his ensemble, was beautiful here.

He was... Er. Ahem.

Alright, fine. I'll admit it. He was beautiful here.

I looked down at my work just as I finished thinking that thought, and I tried to distract myself before my heart could realize what I had said.

And of course, that was when Link remembered that I was there.

"(Y/n)," he called excitedly, dashing over quickly. When I raised the woven mat up before me I heard Link chuckle, and I heard his rapid footsteps slow, trying not to splash me. When I was sure he was stopped, I lowered the mat, and found myself looking right up into his gently smiling face. Now that he was met by my gaze, his smile grew and he crouched down just before me, if only so he could lean closer. "Come dance with me!"

"I would," I began cajolingly, "but I only just dried off from the rain."

"So? It'll only take another... hour or however long it's been to dry off again."

"Link," I said, and he could tell already that he was going to lose, and yet his smile grew all the same. "If we dance too much, it won't be special anymore."

"Sure it will," he pressed, his smile dropping down into a frown and right away, I regretted saying what I did. "Anything's special with you, firefly."

You'd better stop saying things like that, I wanted to say, or I'll start to think you mean it as something more.

But as it stood... I did not say it aloud. I only scooted over, then patted the spot next to me. He hesitated for a beat, then sat down next to me. When he was comfortable next to me, I propped up one end of the shelter, and he took the other end and did the same. We were able to spread out a bit more this way, and we were more carefully guarded from the wind, but we stayed there next to each other all the same.

"I'm going to say something," I began rather unsurely, "and it's going to embarrass me, so I'm going to look the other way. Ok?"

"Hm? Ok," Link responded uncertainly. "Is something wrong?"

"If I'm being honest," I said, carefully looking away from Link and instead watching the light show before us as fireflies continued to play in the rain, "I think everything is special with you. Even sitting here... actually, maybe especially sitting here, because never in a hundred years would I have imagined I'd get to sit with the Hylian Champion."

"Never in a hundred years, huh? Me neither," Link said, the frown effectively lifted away from his face and replaced by a smile - I could hear it in his voice, and I rolled my eyes embarrassedly even as he nudged my shoulder with his own.

"A century is a long time," I mused quietly, looking out at the light show before me. Link's gaze joined my own, and he hummed contemplatively. "It's a long time to be alone."

"But I'm not alone now, at least," he said, and I could feel it when once more he chose to look at me instead of at the fireflies dancing together, dodging raindrops and weaving distinctly indistinct patterns of light into the air.

And for a while, we just sat there together, watching the show and enjoying each other's company.

My heart was so warm I was able to forget about the distinct chill settling into my bones but it was clear when at last we broke away from each other's side to set up our bedrolls that I remembered with stunning clarity that winter was approaching rapidly - or rather, we were approaching the winter rapidly.

We were growing dangerously close to the snowfields.

—

It surprised me, it did, just how much it rained here in Hyrule. Up wherever Hylia resided, her garden was well-kept and well-manicured, it had to be for how often she watered it, and for how often those rains drizzled down to the grateful soil of Hyrule.

Our destination was the Serenne stable.

Following word from recent travelers from the north, we diverted our course slightly. Though it would have been easier from where we were to cross the Manhala Bridge and head west, and then north, there were rumors of strong monsters up north by the snowfields, monsters that were scaring travelers, merchants, and residents from the area alike.

Figuring we were the ones best suited to take care of it, we headed north. Diverting away from the Manhala Bridge, we crossed the Gleeok Bridge then rode around Mount Daphnes. Back onto the road we got, and along the Regencia River we traveled, further and further north. At the next crossroad we went west, crossing the Regencia at Carok.

Beneath the Breach of Demise we passed, and we went further north still.

The dirt became firmer beneath us, the land rockier, the air drier and thinner.

We'd made good progress over the last week or so - but now we were halted, at a standstill because here, in an unassuming field by an unassuming pond, as we were filling our canteens, Link had stumbled into yet another memory.

And I was left to wait and he relived through whatever horrors he was forced to see.

—

Hyrule had incredibly diverse ecosystems and lifeforms - that was obvious to anyone with eyes, and even to those that did not. From large predatory birds to small songbirds, from trees older than some of the mountains and new growth poking up through the snow, from the rushing rivers and tallest mountains... There was a lot to see, a lot to hear, a lot to experience.

And Zelda, it seemed, knew about it all.

Crouched in the grasses of Hyrule, beneath its warming sun and swayed slightly by its breezes, he never expected to be so closely inspecting a bed of flowers, but here they were. And to think, he was doing it alongside the princess, of all people!

"There's one," Zelda exclaimed, pointing her slate towards one flower in particular. "Oh! And another!"

To him, they just looked like flowers. But she knew genus and species and type and... all the other classifications.

"The flowers we have in Hyrule aren't just beautiful," Zelda told him. "They're also quite useful as ingredients for a variety of things."

Yes, he knew that much. Part of his training was learning to use the land. In pairs, squires would head off into the wilds and were tasked to live off the land, and only the land. They were to see if they were fit to work for their food and weaponry and face the natural threats that came with it because in wartime, they would have much less to work with and it was important for knights to be able to take care of themselves if separated from their groups.

So, he already knew the basics, if nothing else.

Link was suddenly alert as the princess gasped, but it was reverent, and a cherishing sort of look shone in her gaze.

"This one here," she said, referring to one with five perfectly spaced petals, ones that started bold blue but turned to white at the edges, "is called the silent princess. It's a rare, endangered species." She crawled towards it, and he watched curiously as he did. "Despite our efforts, we can't get them to grow domestically yet."

Link crawled too, stopping at her side to get a closer look at the flower. He could hear Zelda's smile on her face as she spoke about it.

"The princess can only thrive out here in the wild," she told him. "All that we can hope is that the species will be strong enough to prosper, on its own." She sat back on her heels, looking awfully distressed for a moment - only to gasp again!

He was tempted to reach for his sword, but when she clambered towards something, he figured she just saw something else of interest. Unless there was a tiny monster hidden in the grass?

"Is that what I think it is? Look at this!"

Suddenly, she was facing him, something cupped between her hands. She sidled up to him, looking incredibly overjoyed. "I don't believe it, but I actually caught one! This delicacy is known to have very, very potent effects under the proper circumstances. Ta-da!"

She opened up her hands and...

Presented to him a frog.

Ah.

"Research from the castle shows ingesting one of these can actually augment certain abilities. We wouldn't be in a controlled environment out here, and with your level of physical fitness, you'd be a perfect candidate for the study! Go on! Taste it!"

He leaned away, further and further, as she drew it closer and closer, and her voice got faster and faster.

He didn't want to eat a live frog... but how could he say no to the princess?!

It had to be against protocol, but was this really coded in the knightly handbook? It couldn't be, could it? So how would he...

...!

—

"(Y/n)," I suddenly heard, and I was pulled from my thoughts. I knew I shouldn't lose focus while in the wild, but I couldn't help but get lost in my thoughts as I warmed up by the fire. I'd made us a small camp here by the pond, and now it seemed he found me, warmed by the fire and with my back to a tree.

"Link," I greeted almost hesitantly. I was expecting him to be distressed, upset, something, but... he looked really happy. Link was crouched down just before me, and he grinned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm really good, actually," he said.

"That was a good memory, then?"

"Really good," he said. "See, me and the princess, we were looking at flowers."

"And?"

"And that's it!"

"Oh," I said, then realized the simplicity was probably the very thing that was making him so happy and because for once this wasn't a distressing or downright depressing memory for him to receive, I smiled warmly. "Well, that's great! See, even during the calamity you were able to just relax!"

"Yeah," he agreed, twisting around and dropping down to sit next to me.

"So, what kind of flowers were you looking at? Do you remember that much?"

"The silent princess," he said. "I haven't seen any... are they still around?"

"Yes, actually," I said. "They're rare, but they're strong little flowers, not easily swayed by wind or weather. One popped up in my garden, once."

"Really?"

"Really," I assured him.

He hummed a little, then looked at me directly. "More importantly, what's your favorite flower?"

"My favorite...?"

"You've got one, don't you?

"Well, yes, but-"

"But nothing! I don't care how rare it is, firefly - I'll find some for you!"

My cheeks warmed at the sentiment and I shook my head rather incredulously. "You're strange, Link."

"So...?"

So, I answered him.

...And then I answered all manner of questions that one might ask a new friend, simple things like preferences on topics that did not matter too much. I didn't blame him, though. Our journey together had been a strange one, and admittedly... we'd seemed to skip right over the "new friends" stage of it all.

—

The road before us, behind us, and beneath us was rocky and rough. Our last stop had been the Serenne Stable, and that would be our last stable before pushing further into a region I really didn't want to be in. The grass on either side was thin and dull and dry, and the sky was gray, weighed down by clouds fit to open up with snow. A cold wind blew past, and it chilled me right to the bone.

It was by now mid-afternoon, I was sure of it; through the thick layering of clouds I could see a pale dot of light that could only be the sun, but it might as well have been the middle of the night for how barren the road was and how chilled the air. It looked like dawn, actually, for everything was damp and dreary.

As a whole, Hyrule did not suffer devastating winters. As a matter of fact, the regions did not face seasonal weather but it was actually regional. I'd heard of other places, far-off and lost to legend, where as time passed entire continents would flood with rainwater during certain months, suffer blistering heat in others, and then worry through the worst of winters. In our land, anyway, we did not have to worry about that.

Of course, Death Mountain and the Gerudo Desert were always blisteringly hot. Meanwhile, the snowfields (and most of Hebra) had everlasting winters. Akkala had perpetual autumn, but for the most part, most of Hyrule faced fair, wonderful weather - if just a bit rainy.

In the snowfields, snow fell year-round. It was always terribly cold, and there was always a fine layer of powder on the ground. There were parts of the year that suffered worse, where snow would pile up in huge drifts taller than houses, and though I didn't know it off the top of my head, I had a feeling I knew exactly what time we were heading into it.

Honestly, as we got closer and closer, I began to wonder why the fields were such a popular tourist attraction. Was it because people just wanted to experience snow? Sure, I could understand that. But I'd heard of people spending months there, and that I just could not wrap my head around.

I was miserable already, and we weren't even really there yet. The wind was nipping at me in a most unpleasant way, my eyes were dry from the bitter air, and there was a constant and irritating layer of goosebumps even beneath my many layers.

Link, of course, was enjoying himself, and in another life, perhaps he'd be just another enthusiastic tourist to this region.

Ugh.

He'd told me just this morning that he was excited to come to the snowfields, and that he hated extreme heat. This he found to be much more enjoyable. And he was about to get his wish soon - the snow-capped mountains were looming over us, and a flurry was imminent above our heads, I was sure of it.

The air had a strange smell here, like a manifestation of chill. But while Link was excited to throw up his hat and gloves and dive into a snowdrift, I wanted to cozy up by a fire and drink some hot tea.

I was mulling over the fact that I'd definitely be dragged headfirst into one of those drifts with Link, and that's about when Link and I found ourselves finding the very monster we'd come here to defeat, clearing the way for tourists to follow in our wake. We had no time to hide, and no place to do it either. Even if we had a spot, there was no hiding from it, because it had seen us before we had seen it.

And we found ourselves soon being stared down by a Lynel, one of Hyrule's most dangerous and threatening creatures.

It was standing just on the edge of the snowfields. The centaur-like creature, as ancient as it was deadly, did not pace, nor did it trot, nor did it move. It was staring, like a guard, and standing still, like a sentinel.

There would be no going around it. And there was no reason to - this was the very reason we had come this way.

Though, if I knew the monster was a Lynel... I might have hesitated to offer our help.

What I knew of this creature was very little, yet it told me all I needed to know. It had good instincts, better reflexes, and impressive strength.

We would have no choice. We would have to fight it.

"(Y/n)," Link said, slowing Epona to a stop, and I followed suit. And Sky, realizing what was before her, snorted uneasily and shifted on her feet. "You should maybe-"

"Don't finish that statement," I cut in. "Don't even think about it."

"Alright," he said, rolling his neck and, at the same moment, lowering his hand from the reins to the pommel of his sword, hanging off his hip rather uselessly for now - but surely going to get used momentarily. "We only have a moment or two to prepare," he told me. "This thing is strategizing just as we are."

"I assume it's incredibly smart, then," I mused, and his eyes narrowed towards the creature. It was impressive, really. He didn't take his eyes off the monster for even a single second, not even half a second, and not even to blink. "What exactly are we dealing with here, Link?"

"Something incredibly intelligent and incredibly strong," he said. "Capable of picking up on patterns, and capable of seeing your fear."

"I see," I spoke quietly. "What do you normally do?"

"Hide," he said, then loosed a single tense breath. "But since it's already spotted us, there's nothing to be done about it." As though picking up on the situation and adding its own cinematic feel, it began to snow. The flurry picked right up into a steady snowfall, and the wind carried it in tight swirls before carrying it off. I did what I could not to shiver, but Link noticed right away the way I tensed.

"If you run, it will give chase," he advised. "But if I stand between you, it will take care of me first."

"That's not as reassuring as you might think," I told him, glancing sidelong at him only briefly. I looked around, seeing a large boulder on the side of the road, one that likely rolled from one of those far-off mountains a long, long time ago. "Can it climb?"

"Not very well," Link told me. "It's got hooves."

"Good, then," I said. "Can't we climb up there and shoot it?"

"If we had enough arrows for it, sure," he said, knowing what I was referring to. "Even if we did, it would get desperate to reach us, or to get us down. And it's got ranged attacks of its own. Its aim is deadly, and it can breathe fire."

"It can... Oh, good," I said dryly. "Alright, here's what I got. I can start off providing cover fire, then join you. I assume it's good at close-combat fighting, but you've fought one before, haven't you?"

"I have," he said. "I might have gotten lucky, though. It got its foot caught underneath some rubble and couldn't move."

"Not being immune to environmental effects is good news for us," I assured him.

"It's a fine plan," Link said. "There's just one problem."

"What is it?"

"I don't want you anywhere near that damn thing," he hissed, as though the thought of it alone worried him so.

"I figure it'd have been inevitable that someday I would face one at your side," I said surely. "We might as well get the first time out of the way so I know what I'm dealing with."

"Sound reasoning, but I'm still worried," he said. "But there's nothing to be done about it now. Lynels always remember faces."

"Wonderful," I muttered. "But I feel ready, thanks to your training and our sparring. And there's no one I trust more than you to have my back if I get into trouble. So? Are we ready?"

Link drew his sword noiselessly. "I am now. Are you?"

"Yes," I answered, and rather honestly, at that.

"Let's get going, then."

And that we did. I grabbed my bow and directed Sky forward. She and Epona surged forward together, perfectly in pace and perfectly brave. The Lynel tensed, then braced itself with its weapon in hand. It pawed at the ground almost impatiently as we charged, and only when necessary did I break away; we veered off from the road to instead head to the side of the road towards that boulder I'd seen.

Link continued to charge just as I leapt from Sky's back. He unsheathed his Master Sword and his strongest shield just as I started to clamber up the boulder, my frigid fingers struggling to find purchase against the smooth rock.

Link ever so bravely faced the beast head-on and it fought him willingly and readily. Its weapon was huge, but as I readied my first shot, I watched Link parry a blow just at the right moment, sending the monster reeling back. Link did not have to be told to duck to do so; beneath his shield he hid his head, and I released a fire arrow which found its mark in the Lynel's neck.

Blood spewed from the wound, worsening once the Lynel reached up with its free hand and tore it from its own neck. By then, Link was behind it, slicing away at its hind legs.

"Smart boy," I praised without really meaning to. "Render it immobile... perfect!"

If the rapid change in temperature affected the Lynel in any way, it did not show it, nor did it show any proof that its wound hurt it at all, in any capacity. I wasn't so easily deterred, though. Link kept it well occupied and I shot off another fire arrow, one deliberately missing and landing in the snow a few feet from them. Link gladly used the brief updraft it provided and rode his paraglider upwards.

In one fluid moment, as he let go of the paraglider and drew his bow, I had already released a fire arrow and his own arrow of ice met my own in the chest of the Lynel. The contrasting temperatures resulted in a stunning explosion and the monster didn't have a chance to react before Link was there, worsening its wounds.

The monster leapt away as soon as it could, and its eyes found my own. In acute, stunning focus, I met its gaze, and I smiled. I don't know what took over me, but I smiled, and it took it as a challenge, understandably so.

"Go ahead," I breathed out, putting my bow away and instead drawing a sword. "Charge at me. Turn your back to Link. Perfect..."

—

When I caught the Lynel's weapon against my shield, Link leapt atop it, then leapt up to grab the Lynel's mane. When the monster reared back, Link used the momentum to swing around and land on its back. When I wedged the head of my spear into the garish wound in the center of the monster's chest, it roared out in pain.

By then, it was growing panicked. It was surely close to death, and though it had summoned up a second wind, now it was thinking less before acting more. It didn't know who to focus on, but I kept a close eye on its flailing limbs and more importantly, its flailing weapon.

I watched, almost in slow motion, as Link stab his sword deep into the monster's cranium. I continued to apply pressure against its chest and the monster stilled, but just for a moment. It reached for me and in one singular moment was able to grab me, weakly and quickly by the front of my tunic.

I bit back my shriek and instead kept my feet firmly planted against the ground. Link, however, could not look away. He gasped my name aloud, then with more strength than I'd thought he had in his entire body, twisted the sword in the Lynel's head and...

With a low, guttural groan, the monster fell to its knees first, then disappeared in a thick plume of murky smoke. Link dropped down to the snow on silent feet, and was standing just before me within that second.

"(Y/n)," he said, so worried and so panicked it physically hurt my heart to hear. And yet... and yet I smiled, because he was fussing over me so, and we were victorious, and he was now grasping my upper arms tightly, as though I might disappear from view.

"Link," I said, bending my arms at the elbow and reaching for the only part of him I could, which was his waist - my near-frozen fingers found the fabric of his tunic and closed them into fists, pooling the fabric within my palm. "You looked so cool just then!"

"You..."

Link was speechless, so it would seem. His mouth dropped open and he blinked once, and then twice, trying to make sense of what I'd said. Figuring that I was okay, and bargaining that it was what I wanted, he pulled me in quickly towards his chest for a relieved and incredibly tight hug. I hugged him back, secretly grateful for the show of affection and care.

"Are ridiculous," I ended for him. "Is that it? Was that what you were going to say?"

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, actually."

The words "you love it, really" threatened to slip past my lips, but I held my tongue. Whatever his reaction to it might be, I didn't want to leave his embrace right now. So, there we stayed, just for a little while longer.

...And then he remarked that yeah, he had looked cool, hadn't he?

And I had agreed, and he'd stressed that I had looked cool, too.

Honestly. As though I could even begin to compare to him.