Chapter 1

The day dawned bright and clear in Hyrule, a small town in Ayortha. The streets rang with children's laughter and the shouts of peddlers hawking their wares.

"Fresh goat cheese, best there is!"

"Get your greens here, fresh from the field!"

"Fortune-telling, matchmaking, tarot reading!"

The happy villagers meandered through the town square, browsing through each stall. There was, however, one gloomy face.

Celisanne stormed through the streets on the heels of her brother, steam practically billowing from her nostrils.

"How come YOU get to do everything fun? How come just because I was born with different body parts than yours, I am confined to a life of child-rearing and dreariness? I am your twin! The same in every aspect other than gender! And yet you get to go off on your sixteenth birthday with a shining new Valyrian steel blade to travel the world and embark on any adventures you wish, and what do I get? A pack of silver-tipped sewing needles! The outrage! It's not fair, Saeron." She huffed in fury, her face the color of the tomatoes being sold in the stall they passed, and shook her mane of wavy silver hair.

"Celisanne, you know as well as I that if it were my decision, you would be given the same as I, and we could go on our adventures together. But it is not I who gifted you those needles, it was Father, aye, and Mother, too. If you have complaints, take it up with them, and see what your words earn you," her twin brother said. "Now we have work to do. Do you have the list of things Uncle said to buy?"

Wordlessly, Celisanne pulled out the wrinkled paper.

"Sugar, salt, lemons, a pair of boots from the cobbler's, a waterskin, and a satchel. Sounds like you're going on an adventure, brother," Celisanne grumbled. Together, they set off into the busy marketplace to buy what they needed.

By noon, they had bought everything their uncle had requested of them, and had settled down to eat a quiet lunch in a small diner overlooking the fountains of the town green.

"You know what?" Saeron said suddenly. "I'll buy you a sword with my own money. It'll be as good as my own sword, and we can set off on adventures together. What do you say?"

Startled, Celisanne inhaled as she swallowed and began to choke. Her brother pounded her back until she could speak again, when she promptly demanded, "What do you mean you'll buy me a sword? You need that money for travelling! If anyone's going to buy me a sword, it's going to be either Father or me. I'd rather buy myself a sword-that I've earned myself-than have you spend all your money on me."

"Well, alright, then. But you'd better do it fast, or I'll be long gone, sister," Saeron teased. Celisanne punched him in the shoulder, and he kicked her under the table. Glaring at each other playfully, they finished their meal with a comfortable silence between them.

They delivered the items to their uncle, who paid them generously and invited them in for tea. They refused, and ventured back into the marketplace to shop for the rest of the day.

"Hey, look at this," exclaimed Saeron, holding up a tiny tin music box. He twisted the crank a few times, but no sound came out. "I think it's broken, sister," said Saeron glumly. Suddenly, all the untied chickens, horses, dogs, and cats came pouring into the tinkerer's tent.

The tinkerer snapped out of his doze and glared at the twins, then the animals.

"What in tarnation is going on here? Why are all these animals in my tent? Out! OUT!" The tinkerer's voice rose shrilly above the clamoring of the animals, who were doing a fine job trampling all his wares into the dusty ground. The twins gently shooed the animals out of the tent under the watchful eye of the tinkerer.

"Thank you, thank you," he murmured. "In thanks, you may each take any one piece you wish from my stall. I assure you, they are finely wrought, only the best craftsmanship. Worth many tics."

"Very well, then, if you insist," Celisanne replied. "I'll take this one, with thanks." She picked up a knobbly contraption that clicked and clacked appealingly.

"Ah, fine choice, little miss. That is a handheld Deluminator. It will shine with light when necessary, and drain your surroundings of light when told. Here, let me show you how it works." He demonstrated and handed it back to her. "Use it to keep you safe on dark nights, little miss."

"Could I have this?" queried Saeron, holding up the small music box that had caused all the trouble.

"But of course, although it is only a broken music box. Perhaps you will find some use for it," the tinkerer replied.

"Thank you for the presents, master tinkerer," chimed the twins in unison.


At home, they recounted their day's events to their parents over dinner, a delicious spread of homegrown greens, trout, sharp cheese, and fresh-baked bread. Saeron brought his music box out to show them, though he did not twist the crank, explaining that it drew animals from nearby. Celisanne pulled out her handheld Deluminator and showed them the light-manipulating properties it had in their kitchen.

"Very good, children," said their father. "These are powerful items you have acquired. I hope they will serve you well on your journeys through life, and perhaps even beyond."

"Yes, and they were nobly won, too! Continue to perform good deeds and the world will treat you well, as you have seen today." Their mother smiled, her blue eyes crinkling good-naturedly.

"Oh, yes, I'd been meaning to ask, but are you sure I mustn't have a sword and adventures like Saeron? We are practically the same person!" Celisanne leaned forward, her gold-speckled green eyes burning with a hopeful light.

"I'm sorry, Celisanne, but that is not the path of a woman," her mother said with a regretful shake of her head. "Perhaps elsewhere, but not here. Here, women only mend and darn, bear and raise children. That is all. Sometimes I wish it were otherwise, too, but wishes fill no bellies."

"Well, I'll just travel away from here, to a land where women have adventures just like men! Surely that wouldn't be a problem, then!"

"Sweet child, what would the townsfolk think of us, your parents?"

"I don't much care what they think, and you shouldn't, either!"

"If you're so set on this path, then fine. Do the same chores as Saeron for a week and if you don't complain, then your father and I will give you the same things we gave Saeron. Alright?" Her parents looked at each other, then back at her.

"Alright! Thank you! Thank you for hearing me out!" Celisanne leapt out of her chair and hugged her parents around the neck, then hugged her brother. "Brother, we're going to be together! Oh, what fun we'll have!"


~~~One week later~~~

"I did it! I made it a whole week without one complaint! And look, I even have callouses now!" Celisanne bounced around the house, showing everyone her new callouses.

"Well, alright, then," her father grumbled. "Come with me- you too, Saeron. We're going to the blacksmith's and the tanner's, oh, and the stables. Bring your sword and Lady with you, and meet us in the main road."

Saeron led Lady, their old plow horse, out of her stall and into the road, her saddlebags slack and empty. Together, the three of them— four if you counted Lady— set off into the bustling town.