Legend Of Zelda A Flame's Theft Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Ice

Link was sure his back would be covered in grime by now. He had lost track of the time they had been sliding and Pippa was starting to get restless on his front. He stroked her with a hand down her back as the slide in the chest suddenly ended, dropping them on the damp stone floor.

Pippa let out a whine and sniffed the ground as Link rose to his feet, rubbing his backside and grimacing at the sight of his back. He did the washing and these stains were not going to come out easily.

The tunnel was small with a tiny blue light at the end of it; it sounded like it was humming. Pippa barked and dived towards it; trying to snap it up in her jaws but as soon as she was close to the little light, it vanished. Pippa barked when it reappeared behind her; but the light zoomed straight towards Link, hovering around his treasured bow. He took a worried step back as the little blue light flew up to his face, bathing the bridge of his nose in gentle blue light and touching either side of his nose with a pair of tiny blue hands that were surrounded by smoke. Link stared into the unblinking eyes of the creature with unease, eyes of snow white stared back, and the body of the creature was as hazy as the smoke that clouded around it.

Pippa snarled at his feet causing the creature to turn peach in colour, tiny fists falling to their sides, the peach slowly turned to sunset orange and the eyes changed from the pupiless white to an angry red.

“Leave this place.” it said, with a voice louder than he had anticipated it to have. Link fell over backwards as Pippa jumped into his arms trying to snap up the light. “I said, leave!” the creature bellowed, throwing its tiny arms into the air, sending sparks in all directions from its finger tips. Link cuddled Pippa as she growled at the creature who shouted.

“Flame!” a male voice shouted, footsteps echoed in the tunnel “Quit scaring the boy!”

The one named Flame growled out loud and flew down the tunnel which was shorter than they had expected. The creature turned blue once more and with the rattle of a lantern had vanished. Link braced himself for attack but an elderly man with a slight limp came into view, waving the blue lamp. His chin stuck out to show a few yellow teeth over his top lip and his tired, black eyes were perched just above a square nose and his head hung low on hunched shoulders.  He carried the lantern in a raised right hand and his other was clenched into a small fist. Not a single hair was on his head or on his shoulders as he half limped towards Link, offering his free hand to the shaking pile of boy.

“Why can’t I go out?” Flame roared; its voice respectfully male “The other’s do and they are fine!”

“You will be quiet, Flame!” the man grunted “It is alright, child. Flame is a good Poe Light. He will not harm you.”

Link nodded and took the man’s hand. Pippa growled at him till Link hissed through his teeth like a snake sharply. She settled down in his hands again.

“You have a brave Labrador. What is her name?” the man whispered stroking the pup behind the ears to calm her fiery temper, though the touch was not the same as her master’s hand.

Link mouthed her name. Pippa glanced up at him as if he had said it out loud, her hazel eyes giving him her full attention

“A mute? That’s a new one, Flame.” the man grumbled, looking into his lamp with an angry glare

“Don’t look at me!” shook the lamp, turning a nasty shade of red “It’s not my fault!”
Link lifted a hand up and opened his mouth slightly as he slipped Pippa onto his shoulder.

“It is not alright!” the man snapped flicking the lamp

“I didn’t do it! There isn’t a voice to give back!” the lamp roared back

“You have been mute your whole life?” the man asked giving him a funny look; Link swallowed hard and nodded a reply.

The man said nothing but kept giving him that look; an unsure smirk. Link felt his ear being licked by Pippa as she tried to end the awkward silence.

“My name is Dampé. Can I ask how you got here?” the man asked setting the lamp down to the grumpy remarks of the one inside as Link began to ‘chatter’, opening and shutting his mouth as quick as it would let him, his arms followed suit, acting out all that had happened. Dampé let out a nervous laugh that made the boy pause mid-action. “Sorry lad, but I don’t understand what you are going on about.”

Link let out a sigh in frustration and flapped his arms in motion with each other, keeping his elbows in and hands flat as if to demonstrate his point. Dampé just shook his head. Link let out a growl and buried his head in his hands

“Can you write?”

Link glanced up with a sharp turn of his head, his eyes beaming at the idea. Pippa nearly fell off his shoulder.

“Follow me; I know where there is a note pad and pencil.” Dampé spoke picking up the lantern and limping forward “You coming, child?”

Link glanced back for a second and tightened his quiver around his waist; pulling his grubby, tanned shirt down and let Pippa off his shoulder; she tucked her tail between her legs, her teeth bared in a growl. Link tapped his left hip as he passed her but the pup did not move an inch. Link turned his back on her and tapped his left hip a little harder, clicking his tongue as he did so; but Pippa refused to follow.

She hated Master when he was unhappy. But he could not smell the stench coming from the he-two-legged that was moving away from them, it was that of death; however this smell had a flowery scent compared to the one from earlier; no, it was the bright grey hot-beast-without-hot in the case that was frightening her. It smelt ill, but not sick.
The sick-she-two-legged in the den where Master and the smaller she-two-legged slept smelt similar but she was sick. The hot-beast-without-hot in the case was something to be feared, not talked to in two-legged language. She barked at Master not to follow, begging him to listen like he always did but he could not understand her; though he was remaining where he was; he was unsure of the danger, she could smell it on him.

“Your pup is frightened, child.” Dampé muttered halting his steps “Though I am nothing to fear and Flame is tame.”

Pippa growled a remark, showing her pearl white teeth. Link chewed his lip and picked up the pup, she struggled in his arms. Link nearly dropped her in a panic. She yapped at him, growling and snarling in a menacing way at him, then she turned on Dampé; bounding forward for the lamp he held. Her paws smashing the glass that shielded Flame from her teeth and claws

“Get her off me!” Flame shouted as Pippa jumped up as he flew out of her reach. She growled at him from below; sitting her backside down to wait for him to flutter down.

Link came over and put a hand on his heart, lowering his head slightly

“No need to apologise. Dogs can sense stuff we can’t. Flame must be annoying her somehow.” Dampé replied putting a hand on his head “I know you can’t speak, but you couldn’t have come here unless the water from the well had gone; Li-he made sure that it was full. Perhaps the rocks have fallen and blocked the dam.”

Link shrugged but shot him a questionable look.

He had managed to drag Pippa away from Flame, but all the time she never stopped growling. He could feel it in her throat as he carried her; her eyes always watching for the little haze that occupied the lamp. Dampé opened a large stone door at the end of a long corridor, one filled with flames of different colours, greens, pinks and blues were some of the colours that Link noticed while following the incredibly fast man around yet more twisted tunnels. It was a while before they got to a small pedestal with a large stone in the middle and a hole in front of it. Link could hear the drip-drip-drip of water on the floor, though he could not see a thing as Flame had gone in the huff with being chased around by Pippa; Link had sensed she was not playing, more fighting him off for some reason.


“He spent weeks down there; building all these tunnels and circuits so I could li-stay here in peace, but well, it appears the rocks have fallen.” Dampé conversed, but Link’s gaze was focused on a small blue object that was lighting up the room below; it was no bigger than one of his arrows. With haste the boy jumped down, leaving Pippa above chasing Flame around as he inspected the object.

It was an arrow. A normal wooden arrow with a blue tip.

The fletching of the arrow was feathered with two blue feathers unlike his red feathered ones and made of the strongest wood, so much so that the arrow would not snap over his raised knee. It was the point of the arrow that got all his attention though; the tip was light blue, the colour of ice but made of rock like most arrows; still he had never seen a blue rock before, the tip could be iron or gem of some kind, perhaps some rare fossil had gone into the making of the arrow. But then, he wondered, why was it here? There was no bow to shoot it from and target to shoot it to, Link’s eyes fell on his own bow. It would be useless to try such a pretty arrow down here, but where could he shoot it without losing it?

“Don’t forget your task, child!” Dampé called down “Li-he, he, left it there in case it was needed. You are a bowman yourself; surely you have seen an arrow like this?”
Link shook his head and slipped the arrow into his quiver and ran a hand along the slime covered walls, his ear following suit, much to his disgust. Then suddenly, the sound of rushing water, he felt water running down his fingers also; his feet made contact with something on the ground, his boots getting covered in the cobwebs that surrounded it. Flame flew in lighting the room suddenly, Link took a quick glance around; the room had a low ceiling, just touching his head and had puddles of water on the floor that were ankle deep; apart from a cobwebbed hammer at his feet and slimy stone walls, there was nothing else here.

Link huffed and puffed to lift the hammer, nearly falling over backwards with its weight and struck the wall where he could hear the running water. Water began to dribble onto his soaked feet as he raised the hammer again, striking the wall again but in a slightly different spot. The rocks began to crumble and water began to jet out through the dents he had made in the rock. More holes and cracks began to form and spit out water with enough power to take the clothes from his skin.

“Child, get out of there!” Dampé screamed offering a hand to the boy. He lifted him up with more strength that he had predicted. The room below echoed as rocks the size of boulders splashed into the room, flooding the place “Leave! Climb up the slide!”
Link grabbed Dampé’s hand but the man did not move. Link stared at him but he shook his head.

“I can’t leave this place. Water won’t harm me. But it will to you! Go!” Dampé shouted in his ears pushing him away slightly. Link looked a little disheartened and whistled for Pippa, who ran to her master’s feet upon command; the pair dashed away down the tunnel as the water came flooding out of the room “Good luck, child. May the Hero’s instinct run through you.” Dampé whispered fading away with Flame as water crashed in.



“Link? Where are you?” the girl shouted cupping her hands around her mouth as light began to flood through the tunnels from the well again.

“Are you sure he’s in here? It isn’t like him to explore.” a man with red hair spoke, his stomach hanging over his belt.

“He’s in here, listen.” the girl said, upon hearing Pippa barking in the distance. Suddenly a strong wind began to blow through the tunnels, strong enough the shift the loose bricks to the far side of the well. Rumbling began; the entire well and tunnel shaking. Then suddenly it stopped with an explosion of blue light.

Link nearly fainted. While dodging the tsunami that was on his heels, he had had the sudden idea to use the blue arrow at the gaining wave.

And it had frozen solid.

He had no idea what had just happened. And by the look of it, neither did Pippa as she pawed the ice block unsurely. Link heard a crack and water began to trickle from it.

Without another moment of haste, he picked up Pippa in one hand and began to run spotting the light from the well on his path he sped up, just as the water caught his heels. He brought Pippa close to his chest and held his breath as the water rose up through the well, climbing the ancient walls to the people surrounding it. Including his red-haired friend who had just climbed out of the well at the wind’s restart.

Link flew through the sky on the water jet that pushed him upward and landed on his stomach on the roof of a red tiled house nearby, with a groan his pained body began to roll down the roof and landed with a thump on the grass.

People began to come into view, concerned and amazed at the boy flying out of the well. Link could just feel Pippa on his stomach, snuggling into his neck and his bow digging into his back as he lay on it.

“Are you alright?” Link heard a voice say as the bucket from inside the well landed on his head, causing any sound that was made around him to be muffled by it.

The last thing he heard clearly were the words: ice arrow.