Epona slowed down to a walk as they entered Castle Town, and once they were through the gates, Link dismounted her and led her by the reins to where he used to board her during the Twili invasion. After paying a small fee of ten rupees, he and Midna set off for the castle entrance. It was almost dawn, which would make it easier to get to the Snowpeak entrance.
"So, Link… once we've helped Yeto, we should get back to finding the shards. Only three remain now."
"I agree." He nodded. "I just- I'm not even sure where to start. We have been very fortunate in finding the first."
Midna stopped as they reached the doors of the Castle, and turned to Link. "But, where do you think they could be?" She sighed. "We don't really have the time so search the entire kingdom for them."
Link's neutral expression twisted into a frown as he thought hard about the likely locations of the remaining shards. That first one had been in the randomest of locations, and if Midna hadn't pointed out the bulbin then he would never have guessed it to be on them. Throughout the entire journey, he'd been pushing aside his fear of not finding the shards in time and ignoring the voice in his head that had been planting doubt, but now that she'd brought the subject up, he could no longer ignore it.
"Link?"
Realizing he'd spaced, he shook his head. "Let's not worry about that. I'm sure it'll work itself out."
"But we should really talk about-"
"No!... Midna, I can't. Not yet. It'll only distract me from what I need to do. I can't let that happen."
"I know. But if we don't plan then-"
"I said I can't! So, please… just drop it."
"O- alright."
"We can figure it out when the time comes."
Link walked on ahead, leaving Midna standing still for a moment before she trailed along. From the beginning she could see his doubt, and it had only grown bigger with each day that passed. She feared that if she couldn't get him to talk soon then it would surface horribly at a time when he couldn't afford to lose.
As he hastily made his way through the halls, he pushed back all the memories that were attempting to flood his mind, and instead focused on getting to where they needed to be. Midna caught up as he neared the throne room and then turned off of the path and headed out towards the waterfall.
"Uh Link, do we still have to-" Midna began, but watched as he dived down before she could finish. "Dive." She muttered and followed his lead with a shrug.
Link kicked his legs as hard as he could, swimming down to the bottom right and through a narrow gap. Breaking the surface of the water and climbing onto the path, he gasped as air rushed to his lungs and then turned, waiting for Midna who appeared only seconds later. Though she looked rather unimpressed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He scratched his head.
"Hmm, I don't know… maybe because I could have just warped us here!" She pointed out, clapping him around the back of the head.
"Oh well, it hardly matters now." Link rolled his eyes. "Let's get going. We have a life to save."
Side by side, they walked down the path that led up to two large double doors; the entrance to Snowpeak. Link looked to Midna, who gave him an affirmative nod, and then he pushed his body weight against the right door. He struggled a bit before the door gave way and opened just enough for them to be able to slip through.
The howl of ice cold wind echoed through the air, sending chills down his spine. He sucked in a breath and folded his arms against his chest in an attempt to keep his body warmth. Unlike the last time he'd been here, he wasn't totally prepared. He carried only weapons with no change of clothes or armour. Midna, although she wore only her Twili dress and cape, did not react to the cold. She didn't even shiver.
"Shouldn't you change? Your clothes are soaked."
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I didn't bring anything to change into."
Midna planted her face in her palm. "But you can't stay in that…"
"Why not?"
"You'll get sick! Does hypothermia sound fun to you?"
"Not really, no."
"Then you have to take those off…"
Link's eyes widened in horror and he frowned, shaking his head defiantly. Midna stood tall, unmoving as she waited for him to realize that continuing in wet clothes would be unwise.
"But-"
"Come on, you're not gonna be able to save Zelda if you freeze to death! And, you'll freeze a lot quicker in those clothes."
"Fine." He huffed, knowing that she was right and hating it.
"Tick tock, get on with it." She demanded, turning around to give him some privacy.
Begrudgingly, Link put his weapons aside and grabbed the hem of his Hylian tunic and lifted it up over his head, revealing his scar bearing chest. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed before removing his trousers too, leaving only his blue undergarments and picking his weapons back up.
"There." He grumbled. "Happy now?" He questioned as he shoved the wet clothes into his pouch.
Raising her eyebrow, she turned around and couldn't stop the laugh that followed. Link's frown turned into a scowl as he took a few steps forward.
"If you are done laughing, I'd like to get to Yeto and Yeta now." He grouched, trembling in the cold.
Midna ignored his complaint and the two continued walking through the thick blanket of snow that covered the land. Not even ten steps further, Link stopped once more as his body began to stiffen, making it hard to move. His shivers only increased as he did so, making it hard to speak, but Midna quickly realized that he was no longer beside her and turned to see him drop to his knees.
"Link?"
"I- I- I'll be f-fine." He stuttered. "I just need a m- m- minute."
Kneeling down in front of him, she reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. His skin was ice cold to the touch, and she could tell that he wouldn't make it all the way to Yeto and Yeta's mansion if he continued like this.
"Link, I have an idea… but I won't do it unless you agree."
"A- agree to what?" He asked, trying to steady his breathing enough to talk.
"During the Twili invasion, you had a certain ability that aided you in some ways. I do believe that this would be one of those times where it would be of use."
"You mean…" He drifted off.
"Yes. I mean becoming a wolf again." She confirmed. "And because I would be granting you these powers this time, you wouldn't be stuck in that body."
"B- but what about w- w- when we enter the r-realm?"
"You'd still have the choice, though it would be better to blend in until we reach the Twili Castle."
Link pondered this thought and after weighing up his options, decided that it was the only one that would get them anywhere. Although reluctant, he gave her a confirming nod. She brought her hands up so that they were parallel and in a matter of seconds, a ball of green light with a gold-ish glow hovered in between. She released the ball, and watched as it drifted towards Link, and disappeared when it hit his chest exactly where his heart beat underneath.
His shivering stopped but nothing happened, and he shot Midna a questioning look which she returned with an assuring smile. Glancing down at his hands, he could feel something stirring within his body and before he could say anything, his fingertips turned a midnight black, which quickly spread to his wrists and up his arms. His whole body was soon nothing more than a shadow and that's when the change occurred. The human form that was being assaulted by shivers had morphed into the form of a beast and the shadow that had covered it, faded away to reveal a wolf with thick grey fur, a white belly chest and nose, metal ringlets piercing both ears and unique markings in between its eyes.
"That's better." Midna smirked.
Link, now completely a wolf, wasted no time in moving. The thickness of his fur meant that he didn't feel the cold as much as he had before, enabling him to run faster. He continued through the snow until the steep hill came into his line of vision, causing him to skid to a halt, stopping just inches shy of the drop. Midna glanced down the drop, and turned to Link.
"And how do you suggest we get down this hill? It's different this time, you had a snowboard."
Despite being unable to verbalize his thoughts, Link lowered his two front paws to the ground and lifted his backside higher, with his tail wagging like a boisterous labrador. Midna remained standing as her eyes danced back and forth between him and the hill.
"I'm not jumping in your shadow only to have you surf down this thing. Forget it!"
Link straightened up again with a whine, and as he took in her stubbornness, another idea struck him. He huffed before lowering his entire body to the ground in one swift flop, and rolled over so that he was on his back. Midna's eyes widened in concern.
"Now isn't the time for a nap or a belly scratch, Link." She rolled her eyes.
Without warning, he rolled back on to his stomach, and then leapt up at her. She fell backwards, sending her tumbling down the hill; though not before she grabbed hold of his fur, pulling him along with her. Small mixes of growls and whines escaped him while she squealed the entire time until they crash landed in a heap at the bottom. Dazed from the fall, Midna got to her feet and rubbed her head. Link jumped to his feet, unaffected by the tumble, but as Midna finally regained her focus, she bent down and flicked him in the nose. He let out a loud whimper and backed away, with eyes as sappy as a puppy's.
"Don't look at me like that. I don't feel guilty at all, you deserved that!" She huffed. "And don't you think that you should change back before we go and greet Yeta. I'd hate to think of the chaos if she were to see you this way."
Lowering his head, Link morphed quickly back into his human form and wrapped his arms around himself. Now that Midna was satisfied, they walked up to the front doors of the mansion and noticed that the door on the right was ajar.
"Y- Yeta?... Are you home?... It's me, Link." He called out. "And my friend Midna. I got your note, we have come to help Yeto."
The distant sound of shuffling feet got closer and Yeta appeared in the doorway with a huge smile plastered on her face and a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Link come to save Yeto?"
"That's right." He nodded.
"Yeta sent note. Yeta glad you got note. Yeta invites you inside."
"Th- thank you." He stammered, trying not to shiver too hard.
Yeta widened the gap in the door to allow them through and as soon as they set foot inside the mansion, the heat from the crackling fire warmed Link instantly. He exhaled in relief, finally being able to drop his arms back down by his sides.
"Yeta see that Link is bare. So, Yeta offer these clothes as gift for troubles."
Link was about to speak up, when Yeta produced some fresh garments from beneath her wrap. He eyed the outfit, trying to hide his horror in order not to offend her. In her hands was a white gown made of wool, just the thought of it made him feel itchy, and he bit back a laugh as he briefly pictured Zelda in one of her nightgowns that were similar to what he was being presented with.
"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly-"
"Ahah!" Yeta interrupted. "Link must accept."
He opened his mouth to speak again, but Yeta gave him no chance as she rushed towards him and shoved the gown over his head and body, trapping his arms. Midna hid her face, trying not to laugh as Link struggled to ease his arms into the sleeves.
"There. Yeta sure that Link much better now."
"Yeah, thank you." He muttered, trying not to squirm.
"Did Link and friend bring ingredients for Pumpkin soup?"
"Ordon pumpkins, goat's cheese and reekfish heads. Check, check and check."
"Yahoo! Come, Link… hand Yeta ingredients to make soup. You go speak with Yeto."
"O- okay."
Link reached into the bag where he'd been keeping all of the soup ingredients, and handed over the goat's cheese first, followed by the Reekfish heads and finally the pumpkins to Yeta. She took them all in her arms at once before setting them down on a small wooden table, located next to a cooking pot. He hovered for a moment, watching as she began to prepare to make the soup, but she was quick to notice.
"Yeto want speak with Link. Must go now."
After hesitating for a second more, he turned and headed towards the door but looked back as he realized that Midna was not behind him. His eyes quickly fell upon her leaning on the table, taking in everything Yeta was doing, and he smiled before slipping quietly through the door; leaving the two undisturbed.
Inside the room he'd just entered, it was almost bare. The only thing that truly stood out was the bed over by the wall; a large king size with white linen sheets covering the surface and a canopy held up by four posters. In the middle of the bed, Yeto was laid down, his eyes just barely open. Closing the door behind him, Link paced over and sat down on a wooden stool that was beside the bed.
"Yeto?"
"Ah-" Yeto began to speak, but broke off into a coughing fit. "Link come see Yeto?"
"I have… and I've brought ingredients with me to help Yeta make the soup that's going to help you get better."
"Link help Yeto. Link is good boy."
"Right." Link squirmed as heat rose to his cheeks, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Anyway, Yeta mentioned that you wanted to speak with me?"
"Yeta right. Yeto want to give Link gift for troubles."
"Oh. No… you really shouldn't-"
"Ah, but gift help Link to get where need."
Link frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Yeto sense Link on important mission and with old friend too. Yeto has something that belong to friend."
"Really?"
"Link be kind and get bag over there for Yeto?"
With a nod, Link looked to where Yeto was pointing over to the top of a closet that he'd failed to notice upon entrance. He got up from where he was sitting and walked over, retrieving a bag that was discarded at the top and then handing it to Yeto.
"Yeto know Link need this, so Yeto give to Link…"
Yeto pulled himself into a sitting position before reaching into the bag. Link watched, anticipating what he was about to be presented with. As he removed his hands from the bag, Link bit down to stop himself from gasping at what was now in Yeto's hand.
"Th- That's the-"
"Shard of mirror. Yeto found while out. Though it zapped Yeto when touch it and make Yeto ill. Link need shard, so Yeto bring home."
Taking the shard from Yeto's outstretched hands, he examined it closely. Then everything clicked into place. Yeto had fallen ill after bringing the mirror home, and if that was the case then… could it be that it was also a mirror shard that had caused the memory loss of the Castle Town residents?
"T- thank you, Yeto." Link whispered, still staring at the shard. "Now, we should focus on getting you well."