Chapter 1

Little groaned as his mother pinched his ear for snoring too loudly. It wasn't his fault the funeral lacked its first three letters – FUN! Brother Charles kept rambling on about the Hero of Oakvale's greatest achievements and how he would be gladly accepted into the arms of Avo. That prim old monk kept going on about how nearly fifteen years ago, the Hero of Oakvale went out and slew the biggest threat to Albion at the time. Little knew all about this, because he heard his father's stories… Losing his father was fun by any means. It had only been three days, and he missed his father terribly. As his mother scolded him, Little remained envious that his goody-two shoes sisters could behave. Sparrow sat next to Rose, both of them sobbing as quietly as they could.

When the gossipers talked of the family, there was a LOT to be said.

When the Hero of Oakvale defeated his foes at the Witchwood Arena about a decade ago, Lady Elvira Grey was a conniving witch of a woman. Everyone in the town of Bowerstone hated her. She was bitter about her position as mayor. It caused countless tensions in her family and it plagued her mind back then. The Hero blindly, of course, fell in love with the beautiful woman. She knew he would, otherwise all her magic love incantations would have gone to waste. But when the Hero finally killed Jack of Blades and came home triumphant, she had a change of heart. The Hero was always so kind towards her, even though he knew of her secrets. He had his own secrets… like how he'd hit Maze a couple of times as a kid. Or that one time where he killed Twinblade out of pure anger. That was a much debated topic. Twinblade was an ex-hero and all, you know. Her now deceased husband could be pretty evil back then. But once he realized he could change the world for the better, the Hero of Oakvale was reborn into a very nice man. Keeping him on the straight and narrow wasn't too hard since Elvira was pregnant with their eldest, Rose at that point.

And speaking of Rose, she was commonly thought of as a mix of her mother and father. She had her father's hair color, her mother's eyes and beauty. But the Hero knew that Rose could never be a child of the Hero's Guild. She lacked the blood thirst to kill other creatures or to witness evil. Rose only showed anger when her family was threatened. She only showed promise in her gardening abilities, to be honest. And those creepy gnomes she collected...

Then there were her younger siblings. Twins. Hard to come by in Albion, actually. They were about eight years younger than Rose. And that was basically the end of their similarities.

The boy, Little, was named so after the Hero of Oakvale himself. Being called Little seemed better than being called Junior. But Little was a little ruffian. He liked to pick on and beat the other kids. His father would regularly chastise him, but to no avail. He seemed to take after the evil sides of both his parents. One thing was certain – he was good with a wooden sword or a toy gun, and could sneak up on you like a ghost. His parents only wished he wasn't so ready to spill blood when an argument amongst his peers came about. He looked like a split image of his father – eyes, physique, facial structure – all of it.

Sparrow was more calm and innocent. She preferred to read her books about the Old Kingdom to picking fights. She was like the good in both parents, showing her magic abilities at such a young age by using minor healing spells. She had blonde hair which Elvira enjoyed putting up in all kinds of new fashions. But Sparrow looked pitiful sitting there in black, crying her somber deep blue eyes out. Out of the three children, Sparrow felt the most somber about her father's death. Even though she lacked the skill to heal her father, she blamed herself for not saving him.

"Rose, take your siblings up to the coffin." Elvira whispered. Rose stood up, grasping the hands of her younger siblings and taking them to the coffin. Sparrow nearly flung herself into the grave with her father, but Rose yanked her back. It tore Elvira up inside to see her flesh and blood so saddened.

"Little, put the sword on the coffin now." Rose whispered. Little (for once) didn't argue and put the sword on top of the coffin.

They moved aside for their mother, who brought a black rose to the coffin. She placed it above her beloved's favorite sword, not believing this could be the end of their love story. He had changed her world in so many ways…

The Guildmaster's voice pierced the grave air about them. It was hard to not know which man was Weaver with that ridiculous tattoo on his head.

"I am honored that you allowed us to bury the Hero here… It's been so long since such a hero has graced our grounds. Know that all three of your children have a home here, Elvira. If they need it..." Weaver sighed.

"Well, it seemed to fit." Rose said. Always chipper, that one. "Father used to tell us all kinds of stories about his days here."

"Oh yes, he was such a little rebel… Only if more people had his love of life. This Guild would become the place for warriors again. Thankfully that old coot hung around long enough to teach me how to use a gun… Doubt I'll need it now, though." Weaver coughed into a handkerchief. He looked into the white fabric with a look of depression on his face.

"What is it?" Sparrow asked. She deemed herself a little doctor just because of all those old books and ancient spells.

"Ugh. It's just the old broken rib acting up, I think. Besides, old men all need to die eventually. Doesn't help that I spent all those years trying to keep your father from setting beetles on fire..." Weaver muttered.

Little laughed at that. He would have to try that one day.

Elvira sighed as she watched some of the strongest warriors in Albion bury her husband six feet under.

"Oh, Elvira. This letter came for you about a week ago. I… I meant to get one of the apprentices to go down to Bowerstone to give it to you, but… it didn't happen, of course." The Guildmaster mumbled, pulling out a piece of parchment.

Elvira opened the letter cautiously, anxious to see what was inside. When her eyes finished scanning the page, she sighed angrily.

"So… that… sister is really… real?" Elvira tried her best to make her incomplete thought into a sentence.

"Yes. She's been… up near the Northern Wastes, doing Avo knows what. Why? What does it say-"

"She foresaw the death of my husband, that's why!" Elvira cried, at her breaking point. "Now she wants me to believe I need to sent the children to live with her! How dare she? She has never met me before in my life, let alone her own nieces and nephews!"

"Mother, please calm down. Let's just go home now. It's getting dark, and I think Little's going to start whacking away at a tree if he doesn't get food soon." Rose said, her arm on her mother's shoulder.

"Your daughter is right. Besides, Theresa may or not be legitimate in her claims. She has never been at the Hero's Guild before and has no training in her will abilities. It's probably all hogwash based off some hallucinations she has had or something." Weaver stated, shrugging. Then he coughed a few more times.

Elvira accepted the fact Theresa was odd, and decided to take her children home. The last thing they needed today was more drama. As they said goodbye, Little tried to smack one of the apprentices in the legs with a wooden stick.

"Little! Put that stick down! That's it, young man! When we get home, you're going to help Rose put all the chickens back into their pen… Avo knows those creatures are escape artists." Elvira snapped, dragging her son away from the Guild's courtyard. It was going to be hard getting him to obey now that his father was gone.

A/N: Yes, I made the Hero be with Lady Grey... If you don't like the pairing, this story isn't really about them, so... (as if that wasn't obvious). If you didn't catch the subtle hints, this takes place 16 years after Fable: The Lost Chapters ends (after you defeat Jack of Blades for the 2nd time). Rose is 15, Little and Sparrow are 8. And yes, this Rose is the equivalent of the Rose from Fable II. If you have any questions about the story, ask and you shall be answered. If there are any possible plot holes (as I've reread this chapter a zillion times and well, I don't see any), let me know, and I'll fix it! :)