11

One Week Later . . .

Cold. Cold. Cold. That pervading thought wouldn't stop infesting Zelda's mind. She didn't complain about it, knowing exactly what she was getting into, coming to Hebra. It wasn't easy and there were no horses this time around. Hino and Brigdo decided to stay behind this time and watch the castle. Nekk was still nearby though, and she was following Link's trail closely. There was some climbing, but not a multitude of it. But- "Link."

He saw it. Up ahead were some tough monsters. He got out his sword and moved ahead. She gave it a minute as he took care of three moblins. This deep into the snow and cold, hardly anyone would be bothered by monsters. This was a good place for them to go. After he took care of them, he took care of an ice keese too.

Ice keese. It was getting late. Zelda could see her breath in the air as she watched Link signal her to come up again. "Maybe we should go back to the stable." No, the nearest stable was too far. Link was sure he knew the answer to her riddle now. She caught up with him and watched out for any ice keese or any other monsters lurking in the deep cold.

Then she saw it in the distance. A small home. No lights. It was easy to miss but they were headed straight for it.

"How about a game of snowling?" The man said with a smile, glad to see him. "One catch though. It costs twenty rupees to play." He looked toward Zelda. "Oh, you brought a friend? They can play too! It just costs them twenty rupees too. I am firm on the price."

Zelda examined the man. Link was doing that too. He held his finger up to her with a slight smile, like he was about to show her something. He gave the man twenty rupees. The man disappeared for a little while and came back.

Link bowled a strike, and the man gave him . . . 300 rupees? She couldn't believe it. He paid another twenty rupees and made a spare with two turns. He still got 100 rupees. Link was quite skilled. He bowled them all over except one and got fifty rupees.

Why one time, he bowled almost nothing and the man felt sorry for him and gave him fifty rupees just for trying? She was getting the hint quite quick. "Sir?"

"Pondo!" He said cheerily to her. "I am Pondo. I run the snowling game. What do you think? Are you happy with the snowertainment? It's all a snowball of a time. Would you like to try?"

"No." She approached him closer. "How do you fund your snowling?"

"Why?" he asked curiously. "Who are you to ask that of me?"

"Princess Zelda of Hyrule," she answered.

"Oh? Ohh!"

Yep, he had found it. A trove hiding in the snow. He knew where the royal fortune had been. There was so much of it hiding, he only took what he could carry or when he ran out of money.

Link was right. This man in the middle of nowhere survived comfortably because of the neverending wealth. He didn't gush it around, having only a small log house to call home. He took only what he needed, except when someone came to play. Then he gave them either fifty rupees, a 100 rupee, or a 300 rupee. He only charged to keep the game interesting, knowing no one would want to play a free game.

Pondo led them to the spot. "Down there," he gestured. "I suppose it now makes sense where it all came from." He moved downward. "The diamonds are on top to make it look like snow. Get down past them and you'll see all the rupee colors."

The royal fortune! Zelda carefully went down with Link. It practically filled a snow cavern. She carefully moved the white diamonds that were camouflaged in the snow, to see all of the colors. "With this, Hyrule can really repair itself, Link!" She shouted excitedly. "I can even pay salaries, just like I've wanted too." She bent down. "I can get the front of the castle fixed, really get moving on repairing and restoring the lost areas of Hyrule. I can even pay to get miners to search for luminous stone for Zora's Domain."

She couldn't help herself as she stole a quick hug from Link. "It's all thanks to you, Link! I would have never found Pondo way out here in Hebra."

They both smiled at each other. It was the best find ever.

Pondo didn't seem to mind losing the fortune, he thought it was s'no'w problem. He probably had some stashed away somewhere, and it didn't take much to support a person like him. He invited Link and her to stay in the cabin and rest for the night. Zelda normally wouldn't accept the offer, but Link seemed certain it was okay. If Link believed it was okay, she would do that. Besides, it was bitter cold out there. She enjoyed Hyrule's moderate temperatures. Gerudo's heat was almost like a second home to her too, making the heavier heat of Goron City even more tolerable than the harsh cold of Hebra.

The next morning they made it through the cold some more, but Link called to her. He wanted something? He moved over toward a lit up blue shrine and gestured for her to come over. Oh. "We've been over this, Link. I'm sure it's a great convenience for you to teleport with the sheikah slate, but only the Chosen Hero is allowed to be transported." Still, he wanted to try. He had wanted to try before, but she had refused. The Chosen Hero completed the shrines. They weren't destined to transport anyone else. Yet, he was being bold, and it was cold outside. It would be quicker to just agree to try so they could hurry and get going on their way. Staying in one spot made the cold worse. "Fine, okay. Try it."

She didn't expect anything. She really hadn't. The prophecy was for the Knight, not the Princess. Yet, when the blue surrounded her and she closed her eyes.

She had opened them and been at a completely different shrine. Just a short distance away, she could see the castle. The cold was melting away from her body as she felt the warmth of Center Hyrule on her skin.

Oh, Link was smirking and he had every right to. He was right. "I guess I should have tried it sooner. Stubborn me." Yes, he won that round and with deserved pride.

They walked across the fields. They didn't take all of the money, just enough that they could fit on their person. Mostly taking diamonds to get the most they could for now. They would return back and forth to take more as they needed it. Bringing or hiring someone to bring it all to the castle held more risk. The castle was still not secure. Security would be coming soon though.

Progress would be coming.

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