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Ordon usually remained fairly warm during the winter compared to the rest of Hyrule. The most they got was a cool breeze, maybe a couple of snowflakes that didn’t stick the landing, and the ones that did were even rarer––even then the most they got was less than an inch. They were used to nothing. Not a whole blizzard.
Link shivered as he looked outside through the small window on his door, watching the clouded night sky as snow continued to pile onto the platform leading to his home. It was more than halfway up the door, and no matter how hard he tried to push, it wouldn’t budge in the slightest. His view from upstairs confirmed that the rest of Ordon was in much the same predicament: everyone was snowed in.
He climbed down the several ladders back to his living room, where his guest waited for him: his beautiful, gorgeous, lovely wife, Zelda. He walked towards her seat on the makeshift couch––that is, a pair of cushions and with a thick, cotton blanket on top of them––he had propped up by the fireplace. Maybe it was about time he got himself some new furniture.
“Welp, it’s official, we’re trapped here until all that snow melts,” Link sighed as he plopped down behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his chest, “Guess that means our vacation has been extended, huh?”
Zelda chuckled, knowing he was smiling under the guise of a worried, defeated tone. “And you’re happy about this, aren’t you?”
“What?! ‘Course not,” Link harrumphed as he nestled his head against the crook of her neck, “Definitely not celebratin’ the fact I get to peacefully cuddle my wife for a couple more days, how could I ever?”
“Mhm,” Zelda hummed, twisting her torso so she could wrap her arms around her husband’s waist, “And you’re certain there’s no way out?”
“Well, unless you help me push the door open, but even then the road’s completely blocked.”
“Dammit.”
“...You really wanna go back to the castle that bad?”
“Why would I ever?! All there is over there is work, work, and more work!” She groaned, sinking further into him, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Zelda was a maniac when it came to getting work done, always has been and always will be. However, after five years of knowing each other, he had managed to rub some of his laziness on her. With a lot of struggle. And a lot of begging. “We were supposed to go to Uli’s for supper, don’t you remember?”
“Oooh, that’s right. Now tha’s real a shame, she was makin’ good ol’ pumpkin soup tonight.” He added in a whisper, “And Uli makes the best pumpkin soup!”
Zelda groaned, lightly hitting his chest with her fist while leaning further against him. “Don’t you think I know that?! Good Hylia, you have no idea how terribly I was craving that savory, tasty soup.” She ran her fingers across her lips, “I’m salivating just thinking about it.” A cool breeze sneaked in from the window on the third floor, which didn’t have any blinds to cover it with, and made her shiver. “Plus, it would certainly help warm us up during this blizzard.”
“Hmm.” He got up and walked to the kitchen area, scanned through the shelves and sifted through some crates whilst humming a tune she didn’t recognize.
“Link?” She called, following after him as he walked to a nearby ladder and descended to the cellar. She crouched, “What are you doing?”
“Lookin’ for somethin’,” she heard him and the slight echo that followed say, “Aha! Here we go.” He marched up to the entrance, now holding a rather large wooden box, and smiled widely up at her. “Zelda, my darlin’, think ya can magic this crate upstairs for me?”
She gave him a puzzled yet intrigued look. “Alright, but what exactly are you planning?” With a wave of her hand, she lifted the box out of his hands and carried it up with the power of wind. She placed it on the floor beside her, then looked back at Link just as he popped his head out of the entrance, still smiling like a puppy.
“I’m gonna make ya Uli’s soup! I got the recipe memorized right in the ol’ noggin’,” he grinned and poked his head, then lost his balance on the ladder and nearly fell before performing a swift recovery. He looked back at Zelda, noticing the way her brows quirked and mouth twisted with what he could best describe as… disgust? “What?”
She hesitated, “It’s just… you’re not a mother.”
He blinked up at her, jaw falling slightly open. “Well unless I’ve been taught the birds and the bees wrong my entire life I’d certainly hope not!” That made her snort––and in turn almost made him forget why he was (fake) annoyed in the first place––and he continued, “Anyway, what’s being a mother got to do with makin’ soup anyway?”
“Well,” she began, running a hand through his hair, “Everyone knows food tastes better when it’s made by a mother’s love.”
“Can’t deny that,” he nodded, automatically leaning into her hand, “Still, I-”
“And quite frankly––and I don’t mean any offence by this––you don’t seem like you’re much of a cook.”
Link gasped with overblown offense. He hopped the last step of the ladder and crawled to her, trying desperately to ignore the amused smirk on her lips. “Hey! I can cook just fine!!”
“Mhm,” she hummed, going back to playing with his hair.
“And I’ve cooked for ya before!”
“Yes, desserts .”
“Still counts!”
“Alright, alright, I concede,” she giggled, then jumped into his arms and wrapped her own around his neck, “Please! Satiate my hunger, dear hero! Prepare me some soup, I beg of thee!”
That got a chuckle out of him. “If ya insist, but only if ya help out.”
“A good chef doesn’t need any help,” she teased.
“Do ya want the soup or not?”
“Okay, okay!” She huffed as she stood up and walked back to the kitchen, carrying the crate with her magic while ignoring Link chuckling behind her.
“Do you know how to cook?” He asked in a non-judgemental way as he opened the box and fished out the ingredients.
“...I won’t chop a finger off, at least,” she shrugged, taking hold of a knife from the shelf. She stared at the knife for a while, humming with uncertainty. “Probably.”
“ I’ll make ya a prosthetic if ya do.”
She rolled her eyes. “How thoughtful of you.”
Link set a large pumpkin, onions, garlic, some nuts and cinnamon, milk, and a Reekfish on top of the stove––which was just a small stand made of brick with a stone placed on top of it and a little fire pit beneath it. Zelda eyed the fish wearily, “I don’t believe Uli’s has any meat in it.”
“I’m addin’ my own twist to it,” Link said all smugly as he walked past the hearth and grabbed a jar full of water, “Well, it ain’t exactly original, I learnt it from the Yetis up in Snowpeak.” He saw the hesitant look in her eye and chuckled. “Don’t knock it ‘till ya try it.”
She made a sound that told him she was unconvinced (ouch) before turning to him with a small smile, “Well, what do we do first?”
It took him a couple seconds to register her question––she looked so pretty with the warm fire light illuminating her face––and once he finally did, he clapped his hands and gave her a wide grin. “First!” He looked at the milk bottle, then at the water jar, “We think about what Uli uses as the liquid for her soup…”
Zelda only blinked at him. “I thought you had this recipe memorized?” She teased.
“I-I do! I just… can’t quite remember what she uses to make her soup all creamy-–” he grabbed the milk bottle, “-–Milk––” he grabbed a block of cheese from the crate, “––Or cheese.”
“Hmm,” she said, putting a finger up to her chin and lightly tapping it, “I don’t believe she uses cheese––at least, not that I’ve tasted, buuuut,” she looked at him, a cheeky smile appearing on her face, “Since we’re already making modifications, we could always use both.”
Link put the ingredients down on the stove, grinning, “And this, my darlin’, is why you have the triforce of wisdom! Now then,” he pushed the pumpkin towards her, “We chop the pumpkin! Would you do the honors?”
“With pleasure!” Zelda raised the knife above her head, and for a moment the fate of his stove flashed before Link’s eyes. Zelda was strong, really strong, a swing that big would surely-
She slammed the knife down, slicing the pumpkin perfectly in half. Link remained silent, waiting to hear the cracking of the stone or the complete and utter shattering of the knife, but nothing came. His stove and utensils get to live another day, it seemed. If anything it was more impressive that she was able to slice it so cleanly and easily––Ordon pumpkins were some tough squash, usually it took at least a couple tries (or a lot of pushing down) to get a knife all the way through. Quite frankly, it made him swoon just a bit.
“Perfect! Now we gotta slice those in half,” he reached for a small pot on top of the shelf and carefully placed it over the fire roaring in the hearth, “And roast ‘em. In the meantime, we’ll prep all the other stuff.”
“You certainly have the vocabulary of a head chef,” Zelda teased as she continued cutting the pumpkin while also scooping out the seeds. Link rolled his eyes, smiling, then got to work on chopping the onions and mincing the garlic, and once he was done, he poured them into a skillet. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Zelda rub some oil on the pumpkin slices then carefully place them in the pot over the hearth.
“Well, look at ya, yer already an expert! Ya sure ya need my help?” Link said, his smile widening as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“First of all, you’re the one who asked for my help-”
“Yer never gonna let me live it down, are ya?”
“No. Secondly, I’ve helped Uli make this soup before so I’m not completely unfamiliar with the steps.” He felt her wince as he grabbed the Reekfish. “...I’m still unsure about the fish.”
“Relax, I’m gonna make this sucker the best fish you’ve ever tasted!” He made quick work of filleting the fish, then added both pieces onto the skillet. Zelda made quick work of lighting the fire beneath the stove, and soon enough the house was filled with a delectable aroma that made Link’s stomach rumble.
He fished––haha––the Reekfish out of the skillet after searing both sides and placed it on a separate plate, then placed that on the dining table beside the hearth. Zelda grabbed the pot where the pumpkins were and took the slices out, carefully peeling the skin off with a fork, then she put each slice into the skillet while Link made sure they didn’t stick to the metal.
“Now, here comes the tricky part!” He grinned, “We gotta mush these guys together, and lemme tell ya, it ain’t an easy task.”
“Is that so? A bit of magic would make this easier then,” Zelda suggested, already in the middle of raising her hand to conjure a spell, before Link stopped her by shoving some strange tool she had never seen before into her hand. It almost looked like a spatula, except the flared part was circular with a bunch of tiny holes in it. She raised a brow as she looked at it, “What is this?”
“A masher! To mash with,” He moved aside, pulling Zelda to his previous spot, “And you’ll be doing said mashing!
Zelda looked at the skillet, then at the masher, then at Link, a knowing smile on her face, “You just want me to do all the hard work, don’t you?”
“What?! ‘Course not!” Link said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head against her shoulder, “I jus’ want to see my lovely, beautiful wife use her wonderful strength to obliterate some veggies.”
She laughed, that sweet, melodious laugh that he loved so much, and he couldn’t help but smile. Being like this, hugging her from behind as they prepared their dinner together, almost made him yearn for a life in which they could live like this every day. A life in which they could appreciate the simple things more––maybe they could grow a garden, make their own furniture, raise their own animals. He could wake up next to her and they could stay in bed as long as they wanted with nothing pressuring them to get up.
Of course, he wouldn’t trade the life they currently had for the world; he loved having the power to be able to help people in more ways than beating up a couple monsters. Still, it was a nice alternate universe to imagine.
He didn’t realize he had started to doze off––her sweet lavender scent usually did that to him––until he felt her finger gently poking his cheek. “Are you alright, my love?” she whispered, a hint of worry in her voice.
Her calming voice only made him want to fall asleep more, cuddle her by the fire all night and morning, but he also had a duty to fulfill to her. “Yea, just a bit tired, tha’s all,” he said while rubbing his eyes.
“It is a bit late,” Zelda murmured, trying to get a peak of the night sky from the window upstairs, “How about we finish this and tuck in for the night?”
He smiled and kissed her cheek, earning him an adorable giggle, “Sounds like a plan.” With eyes still heavy, he glanced down at the skillet––just to check if she was almost done––only to find that orange slop had replaced the veggies and squash that had previously been there. Link gaped at it, “Yer done already?!” He could’ve sworn he had only closed his eyes for less than a minute, how the hell did she manage to make… that in like ten seconds?
Zelda flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder, standing proudly as she grabbed the milk and gently poured it into the mixture, “Oh please, it wasn’t such a hard task. A couple pushes was enough to merge everything together quite nicely.”
Link feared for what the bottom of his skillet may look like, but he digressed. Not like he used it much anyway. He offered to take over stirring the milk in, but Zelda insisted that she should be the one to do it and left no room for argument, so he sat on the floor with two bowls ready to have soup poured into them. He didn’t expect her to be so into the whole cooking thing, if anything he thought she would find it bothersome with how messy it could get; he supposed that after so many years of helping Uli out whenever they came to visit she would grow used to the manual labor that came with it. Not to mention, whenever Zelda was determined to finish something, she was determined, and there was no stopping her.
She walked, skillet in hand, towards him a few minutes later, humming her lullaby as she carefully poured the soup into both of their bowls––which happened to perfectly house the exact amount they had made. While Link grabbed the fish, she grated some cheese onto the bowls and broiled it with her magic until it was lightly browned. Link put a fillet on each of their bowls, garnished them with nuts, and handed Zelda the best spoon he had in the house: a simple metal one.
He grabbed the only other spoon in the house––made of wood––and scooched up until he was right beside her, grinning as he scooped the soup, “Y’ready to taste our masterpiece?!”
She sighed, taking her own spoonful, “I sincerely hope I didn’t mess anything up.”
“Nonsense, it’ll be wonderful, I’m certain of it!” Link encouraged. “And I mean… even if it does taste horrible, at least we worked on it together and we messed it up!”
Zelda chuckled, “I’ll be sure to tell Uli how we tainted the sanctity of her recipe.”
“She might kill me for it, but i's fine,” Link sighed, holding his spoon up to his lips, “Welp, here goes nothing!”
He shoved the spoon into his mouth before he could think too hard about the possibility of it tasting absolutely vile. Instead, he was met with the most delightful assortment of flavors, from the powerful taste of garlic and pumpkin to the more subtle nutty hints; the texture was creamy thanks to the milk, and the cheese added the perfect amount of tanginess without making it overbearing; not to mention, the fish had been cooked to perfection, just as he had hoped!
He saw Zelda staring at him from the corner of his eye, noticing she had yet to take a sip out of her bowl while waiting to see his reaction. Oh, she was adorable. Chuckling, he placed his bowl down and turned his torso to face her, gently taking her hand and guiding her spoon up to her lips. She hesitantly opened her mouth, looking at him wearily the entire time, and sipped on her spoon. The moment the flavors hit her tongue, her eyes went wide and she nearly dropped her bowl; her face turned red with joy as she looked at him, eyes sparkling like the radiant stars above: “It’s delicious!”
“I told ya it’d taste good!” Link laughed, wiping away some stray soup on the corner of her lips, “Now, let’s dig in!”
They finished their bowls within minutes, with not even a drop left behind. It was a shame they hadn’t made more, otherwise they might’ve had seconds. Or thirds. Really, they could’ve lived off that soup alone for the rest of their lives, if they so wished. Link made the mental note to share the recipe with Uli later––she would certainly find a way to make it taste even better!
With bellies full and bodies warm, they decided to call it a night. Link laid out a bunch of blankets layered on top of each other on the floor to act as a bed (good Hylia he really needed to invest in some actual furniture) and tossed a couple logs into the dying embers of the hearth, sparking it back to life again.
He sat down beside Zelda once he was done, wrapping a heavy blanket around both of them. A chill blew past, nothing more than a tiny draft, but it was still enough to make Zelda shiver and him frown. “Ya still cold?” He asked in a low voice, wrapping more of the blanket around her than him.
“The soup certainly helped, but,” she shivered again, “just a bit. You know what else might help, though?”
Oh did he. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, making her yelp as he fell back against the blankets on the floor with her on top of him. Her laugh was music to his ears, and her eyes were the sea he would love nothing more than to drown in. “That better?” He asked as he gazed at her.
“So much better,” she nodded, placing a tender kiss on his lips. He melted into her touch, chasing after even after she moved away to rest her head against his chest, her smell making him dizzy and lulling him to sleep. But before he gave in, he hoped and prayed to the goddess Hylia above that this blizzard would last a few more days. Weeks, even. A month would be perfect! But at that point, Zelda would probably think of some spell to teleport the two of them back to the castle. Still, it wasn’t so bad to imagine.