Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun.

Chapter One: Vale

I had always had an admiration for Isaac for as long as I could remember. Isaac, the quiet son of Kyle and Dora. Before, when I was younger, it was a sort of hero-worship. Now, at age fourteen, I have an undeniable love for him. Call it a crush, but I know what I feel. His golden-brown hair, ruffling in the breeze makes my heart leap. His indigo eyes, so deep that they pierce into one's soul, pierce mine. It sounds strange, I know, but I can't help it.

Whenever I try to crush my love, knowing that it will never work out, my heart wins over my mind. Isaac can never be mine, I know. Why, we've scarcely said two words to each other over the last three years. The girl who was kidnapped today? Jenna, that's it. Jenna has Isaac's heart. I may try whatever I want to win his affection, but he will never notice me as a girl. I will only end up making an utter fool of myself. I do not know him well enough to consider him as a friend. Instead, I must watch him from afar.

I still remember the first day I had mustered up courage to talk to Isaac. That day was the day I saw him differently. That was the day of the boulder. Yes, although it was three years ago, I still remember it. We all do. The others remember it for the boulder; I remember it for Isaac.

I was eleven that day, young and naïve. I had been in a slumber when my father woke up my older brother and me. It was not yet dawn. Why had Father woken me up? That was when I heard the storm outside. It wasloud . I wondered how I had slept through it.

My mother was frantic, shrieking that the Mt. Aleph boulder was going to fall and kill us all. The Mt. Aleph boulder. What? I remember thinking. My father quickly explained as he ushered our family out the door. Somehow, someone tried to do something to our Sanctum. They failed, but a trap, the boulder, was triggered.

"Now," he said to my brother, "make sure your sister arrives safely at the plaza. Your mother and I are going to help evacuate the villagers with Kyle." My brother nodded gravely. Not of age yet, it was rare that he had such a responsibility.

"Let's go," he said to me, in a voice filled with false bravado. He tried smiling, but the attempt failed. I followed him around the corner and down the stairs. It was hard to navigate the roads, for the storm was unleashing its fury. Mud was piling on the hem of my skirt. I would have to really wash this skirt after the storm.

The storm was fierce. It had the looks of the gods' wrath, but the gods had no reason to be wrathful to our city of Vale. There were the billowing black clouds, the pouring sheets of rain, the ominous sounds of thunder, the blinding flashes of lightning—basically, it had all the elements of a proper storm.

Rock there, rock here, don't step in mud. Ack! Don't walk into a tree! Down stairs, more stairs, finally! Flat ground. Oomph. Don't trip, either.

We were about to turn another corner when I heard a crash. We both turned around. A boulder, not the Mt. Aleph boulder, for sure, but still large, was blocking the stairway. I thanked the gods that my brother and I had been able to have gone down that set of stairs before the boulder hit. My brother muttered an oath and continued on. But there was something else near the boulder. Someone else—someone with blond hair, Isaac!—had tried to go down the stairs but wasn't able to. He turned away, almost slipped, and then tried an adjacent staircase. I watched his progress. I heard a rumbling noise, but dismissed it. Isaac reached the staircase. When he was as the top, I remember thinking that he looked like a hero out of the legends. His cloak and scarf were flapping wildly behind him. His hair was plastered to his face. Behind him, lightning flashed, and thunder boomed.

He started heading down. I heard a rumble somewhere, but dismissed it as thunder. Isaac had gotten about halfway down, when my brother came back. He motioned for me to hurry up. He clearly was impatient to get to the safety of the plaza. I couldn't blame him.

CRASH!

I looked up. Isaac was at the top of the staircase again. Why? I wondered. Then I saw the staircase. A boulder had blocked the way again.

"We can't stay here forever," my brother yelled into my ear. Even so, I barely heard him, as thunder had sounded that instant. Sighing, I hurried after him. Were the gods against Isaac? Would boulders continue to block all of Isaac's paths? Running to catch up, I tripped over a rock.

Tripping over a rock while one is cold and wet and miserable is not fun.

After some more stairs and turns—and trips—, we reached the plaza. There were a few people huddled around, mostly about the Psynergy stone. They all were shivering. I took a while to catch my breath Running in the rain had been tiring. And, it was still cold and wet, and I was still feeling miserable.

It really was quite dreary in the plaza. There was nothing to do but to watch the rain and to be cold and wet and miserable. The silence was depressing. Sure, there were a few hushed whispers here and theres, but they weren't about any mood-lifting subjects.

More people started trickling in. These people brought in more hushed whispers that occurred more and for a longer period of time. I longed to find out what they were talking about, but whenever I came close, they stopped talking. Their looks plainly said that a little girl need not know what they were talking about.

The monotony was slightly lifted once Isaac—and his friend Garet, the mayor's grandson—arrived. I smiled. At least Isaac made it safely. They started asking around. Then Isaac came my way. I quickly wiped the grin off my face. There was no need to act like foolish in front of him. "Do you have any Psynergy left?" he asked.

"Aw, Isaac! She's just a little girl! How do you expect her to have any useful Psynergy?" Garet demanded. I felt my anger flare up.

"Hey, mister!" I shouted. "I do have Psynergy, you idiot!" Pausing to catch my breath, I turned to Isaac. "See, look! I do have Psynergy," I huffed while lifting a pebble some distance into the air. I was quite proud of myself. Before, I had only managed half that distance

Isaac smiled at me. It wouldn't be until later when I found out that it only was the smile one gave to a child to console him. Then, however, I was ecstatic. Oh, gods! Isaac—Isaac, my hero, smiled at me! I was going to explode with joy! Not literally, of course. Not figuratively, either, I think.

"Felix fell into the river," Isaac started. Felix? Jenna's brother and one of Isaac's closest friends? River? Felix is going to drown? What? He continued, "We need people with Psynergy—more than you do—to try to pull him out. I'm sorry, but you can't help." He shrugged at me.

Afterwards, he and Garet found Jenna and a man with Psynergy sufficient for their task, and they left. I sighed. Isaac was so brave, helping others like that. I wish I could help. But my Psynergy wasn't enough. I vowed to work hard on it once the storm ended.

I spent most of the next hour moping. It was partly because I still wanted to help Isaac, partly because I was bored (and cold and wet and miserable).

Eventually, the storm died down. Father came to fetch me and my brother, but he looked sad. I asked him why, but he said that it was nothing. Nothing. How dull did he think I was? However, I was cold and wet and miserable, so I didn't comment.

Later, I learned that Felix, his parents, and Isaac's father had all died. Their bodies were never found. After that incident, Isaac grew silent, almost. He rarely spoke, unless he was with his friends. We all had been supportive of him, and Jenna, but still, he did not improve much.

And yesterday? Yesterday, Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Kraden, their teacher, had dared to enter the Sol Sanctum. That was brave of them, but quite foolish as well. The village elder was planning to scold them—well, not Kraden—until he heard what happened. Isaac and Garet had returned with news that Jenna and Kraden had been kidnapped, and the Elemental Stars, something that could unleash Alchemy and subsequently destroy the world, were stolen. We of Vale never knew of the elemental stars until they told us.

Isaac and Garet were the appointed ones to catch the thieves, return the Elemental Stars, and in the process, save Jenna and the world. Cliché, isn't it?

The two boys had also given us news that Felix wasn't dead. I couldn't believe it. If Felix drowned, how could he still be alive? But, Isaac and Garet saw him, and Isaac wouldn't lie. Garet, I'm not too sure.

Last night, we gave Isaac and Garet a going-away feast, one of the best our monotonous town of Vale has had for a while. The cooks had outdone themselves. There were plates of pork, beek, mutton, and fresh vegetables. I had taken advantage of the situation, for it would be the last I would see of Isaac before he would leave.

Now, we are gathered at the gate of Vale, waiting for Isaac and Garet to show up. They arrive soon, late, panting for breath. Just like Garet , I think, to be late. I conveniently forget to add Isaac to my observation. We laugh heartily; they look so ludicrous. Isaac, with his scarf tangled. Garet, with his hair mussed. Soon, the laughter dies down. We know that they will be leaving soon. I take a good look at Isaac. I'm going to keep this image in my memories. Still, a though pops up.

But he can't leave me! He can't! But deep down, I know he could and had to.

As everyone was saying the farewells, I left. I don't think I could stand watching Isaac leave.