"Ugh." Derae yawned as she awoke that morning still feeling a little groggy from the days before. It didn't help that she'd been crying all last night. Her father had taken her out for a hunt a few weeks earlier and... ugh. She'd rather not even think about it right now, not that her brain was fully functioning right now anyway.
She managed to drag herself out of bed and stumbled over to her dresser to get ready for the day ahead of her. She pulled open a drawer and grabbed the new dress Dahlia had made for her. It was a little bit big, and jet black.
Yay, my favorite color...
Derae sighed; She'd never dreamt of anything like this; being forced to wear this god awful dress and stand at her father's grave as they spoke of times that they cherished. It just made her want to cry all over again.
She hit her face with her hands a few times to steel herself, telling herself to bulk up. Her Dad wouldn't want to see her like this, a royal mess. She pulled the dress over her head and pulled it on in one fluid motion. It was well made and fit her perfectly. It was jet black and lacy; a combination Derae didn't exactly LOVE but she couldn't deny the quality of the dress Dahlia made.
She grabbed her grey belt and paused. Glancing towards her bed side table, she eyed her mother's ring. She walked over with timid steps and placed the ring on her belt. She sighed. The ring was a simple sapphire, her mother's favorite, set on a simple metallic band. She walked over to her desk and picked up the dagger her father had given her on her 13th birthday. She remembered him telling her, "You're a teenage girl now, Derae. You need to start learning to defend yourself." She found herself with her hands on her hips, mocking him silently and laughed. That had been 5 years ago. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she blinked them away as she tied the dagger to the belt.
She heard a soft knocking coming from the front door; it must be Dahlia. She used her bare hands to dry her tears and made way for the door when, without warning, the door swung open revealing a man clad in armor. Under the armor, Derae could see his clothes were not like the village's. It was clean, unlike the villagers; it was bright, unlike the villagers and it had strange markings covering what she could see of it. One of which she felt was oddly familiar but she couldn't remember where she'd seen it. She wasn't very familiar with things outside the village.
She stifled a scream with one hand and put the other on her father's dagger, ready to attack if needed. The man pulled his hand to his mask and Derae tensed. He was... laughing? She slowly loosened her muscles and pulled her hand away from the dagger as he laughed.
Raising my brow, I asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm a friend of your father's." He spoke. "I guess I must have frightened you." He removed his mask and smiled at me. His voice was soft despite the hard expression etched onto his face. As he smiled, lines formed, as if he face was caked from drying out in the sun. His blue eyes held a certain... friendliness to them and considering his smile showed no signs of malice, Derae decided to lower her guard. She had pretty good intuition... Or so she thought, anyway.
"Care to give me your name, Friend of my Father's?" She questioned him, taking a less defensive stance now.
"People call me Mamoru." He explained, "I heard about your dad. Everything will be okay. I have somethings your dad wanted me to give you and if you'll have me, he asked me to teach you more in the ways of fighting." He grabbed Derae by the shoulder, a smile on his face and walked her out the door.
"I figured you'd be sulking in the house, so I figured I'd come get you. You know, making people wait, isn't very courteous. Your father was the same way." The way he bellowed as he laughed, made it seems like he had no worries in the world, something that Derae found a bit of comfort in. However, his sudden friendliness was rubbing her the wrong way. Who the hell did he think he was?
"How do you know me so well, Mamoru?" She asked him as they walked down to the grave site. It was just past the small pond that she and her father had fished at for so many years. They never actually caught anything, but it allowed them time to themselves and a moment of peace. She never thought that he would...
"Your father often spoke of you..." his words were lost as Derae's thoughts drifted to her father.
"...the funeral." She finally heard him say, but she didn't know what he was talking about now.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" She asked, sending him an apologetic smile.
"Derae, you have to find a way to cope, okay? Your father would hate to see you like this. He often sent me letters about you. I know you more than you think. You love people. You love nature. You're not a shy and silent type. Don't let his death change you. He'd hate that." He sternly told her, a determined look in his blue eyes. Derae looked up into his eyes and saw the concern held there. He must have treasured her father dearly... But still, the fact that he thought he knew her so well, irritated her.
Lay off my case. I'll get it together on my own, creep.
Derae was silent for a moment. She took in a deep breathe, hit her cheeks, closed her eyes, and chanted softly, "I will NOT back down. I will NOT give up. I will live and I will learn. Fear won't stop me, and neither will you. Get out of my head, and leave me be!" She opened her eyes, stood up straight, turned to Mamoru and said, "I'm okay. This won't change anything. I still have my father. He's right here, and here."She explained, feeling a bit foolish, and placed one hand at her heart and the other on her dagger.
"Your father used to do that all the time..." Mamoru mused, smiling. "It used to frighten me a bit, but he did it so often that I got used to it." He laughed, as we continued toward the grave. They were passing the pond, when Derae glanced at the patches of dirt there where her and her father's butts had worn the grass away. She smiled and the memory. Atleast grass would start growing there now. She laughed, and Mamoru gave her a look. She shrugged at him and continued on, not willing to divulge the secret.
"Derae!" came a shout from behind them. When she turned around, she spotted Izema, Dahlia's daughter and her best friend. Derae and Mamoru waited for her to catch up.
"Morning Izema." Derae smiled, wacing at her friend. Izema was 5 feet tall and full of energy. Her long blonde hair fell around her shoulders in such a way that it made her
seem like she was floating everywhere she went. With hazel eyes and a smile that would melt any man's heart, she was the exact opposite of Derae, black fuzzy hair. But she saw through Derae's lies and knew when something was wrong.
"'Ello Derae. Nice dress." She snorted, looking me over. Derae looked down at Dahlia's dress.
"It's better than no dress, I guess. I'd much rather be wear pants and a shirt. But you know, can't win 'em all." Derae replied, laughing.
"Who's tall, dark and handsome over here?" she asked, pointing her thumb at Mamoru behind her. He raised his brow at Derae but smiled kindly at Izema.
"That's one of my father's friends, Mamoru." Derae told her. "I just met him today." Derae added to her in a whisper, prompting Mamoru to raise his brow at them. Izema turned towards Mamoru and waved, winking at him. Derae laughed, and turned to walk toward the graveyard, her friends following suit, Izema on Mamoru's arm, batting her eyes as hard as she could. She always was a bit of a flirt...
The funeral seemed to drag on, as if trying to delay something, but Derae couldn't think of what. Dahlia said a few words and Mamoru even spoke for her father. The villagers asked if Derae had anything to say but she wouldn't have been able say much of anything even if she'd wanted to. Something about sharing her most valued memories with these people seemed a bit... sad.
On the way back to the house, Mamoru followed her and Izema left for her own. He gave Derae her space, however, walking a few feet back. As they entered the house, Derae turned to him.
"I'd like to get out of this depressing dress, if you don't mind. So, please wait here. I'll be out in a minute. And don't go busting through my door again, okay?" She informed him and went to her room.
A few minutes later, She was back in her normal attire; Tan pants that went down to an inch above her knee, a worn green shirt with a slight v-neck at the top and the symbol of one of the Goddess, Nayru, to be exact, sewn onto the shirt. She tied a brown belt around her waist and tied her dagger to it again. She'd never noticed it before, but the dagger had a strange symbol etched into it. She assumed it was a crest of some sort before, but it was eerily similar to the one on Mamoru's armor... She ran a finger over it. What could that mean?
She shook her head, as if to brush the thought aside. "I'm keeping Mamoru waiting." She mused to herself and strode to the door, swinging it open, hitting something. Oh God. It was Mamoru!
"Oww..." Mamoru exlaimed, holding his nose.
"Oh crap! I'm so sorry! I wasn't really paying attention to how much force I was using. Plus, why are you in front of my room?"She apologized, cringing at the blood now flowing from his nose.
"I'm fine, but you should really learn to control your strength." He replied, holding a hand up to his nose. "Man, I haven't had a hit on my face like that in awhile. Actually, the last person that ever hit me was... your father." He continued, pulling his hand away to see blood, which he promptly wiped onto his shirt. Derae furrowed her brow at him fully ready to go get
a wash cloth for him.
"Anyways, I have something for you from your father. It's urgent, he said. But, I decided to wait until now to give it to you." he told her as he pulled out a bag. He handed it to Derae and motioned for her to open it.
She pulled at the tie and the bag fell open revealing a small bracelet. She blinked, a bit confused at it's purpose. It had two small stones, one a light blue, and the other a deep dark red. They were framed by leaves and it was just big enough to fit her wrist.
What the heck is this thing meant for, Dad?
She looked up at Mamoru, and he nodded. And so, she placed the bracelet on her wrist. For a moment, nothing happened and she felt a bit silly but soon it started to glow.
Derae collapsed to the floor, shocked by what was happening. Why was it glowing? Even Mamoru looked bewildered. The two stones seemed to pulse in turn. First the blue, then the red, never at the same time and then suddenly it died down.
"W-What was that?" Mamoru stammered, clearly unaware of the bracelet's meaning as well.
"I don't know..." She told him, her curiosity growing. She attempted to pull the bracelet off to get a closer look at it, but it wouldn't budge. What? She pulled harder... it wouldn't come off. It had tighten onto her arm.
"Wait, why don't you know?! You're the one who was tasked with giving it to me!" She shouted at Mamoru, holding up at accusing finger in his direction. "What have you done to me?!"
Mamoru held up his hands to defend himself, looking much like a deer caught in headlights. "Y-You're dad just said to give it to you!" He shouted in return, shaking his head.
Great... Just... great. Thanks Dad.