~ Chapter One: Kyrie Cross
Kyrie stretched out, lazing on an empty field. She stared at the clouds above, attempting to see whatever she could through the branches and leaves of the Great Deku Tree. The village of Larame, quiet and peaceful, rested at the end of one of the tree's massive roots, exposed barely on the surface and running all the way back to the trunk as an earthy road. She had never traveled beyond the tip of the root, having no need, but she always dreamed of what the city was like. When she was given chances to go with her family, she turned down the option in fear of her dreams being crushed by what it may really be.
She straightened out her skirt, not wanting her pants underneath to get stained by the grass. Sighing, she continued to stare at the world above. She thought to herself just how free it must've been for the Cuckuu, a fabled bird of glory, to fly above the Hylia Valley and breech the large leaves of the tree, just to see the world beyond the valley walls. Biting her lip, she remembered how taboo it was to speak of such things, so she turned over on her side. Gazing at the blades of grass beside her, she instead imagined the grass envying her ability to move around. It was continuous, where something would always be jealous of something else's own abilities, but never be able to see the beauty in its own existence.
She sat up, staring around her. It was another peaceful day in the valley, with little to worry her in her current surroundings. She was at least glad that her family owned enough land for her to gaze out and enjoy the sights. They made their living off of farm-grown produce from the lizard-like Donga and the feathered bovine known as the Lonnon. Her family had already departed for the market, leaving her with all the time she could ask for and more. However, it was also one of those things she didn't want, having nothing to do.
"Kyrie!" A voice cried out to her. She scanned the scenery, trying to focus on what, or who, was calling for her. Towards the family home, she saw a figure running towards her. It was still some distance off from her, but she knew that it was her brother, Kyle. She stood up slowly, brushing the grass off of her skirt and blouse, and started walking towards him slowly. Gathering her hair up, she pulled it into a ponytail and used a hair band she had wrapped around her wrist to keep it up. "Kyrie!" Kyle yelled out again. She groaned, a bit disappointed he was still trying to get her attention when she was walking right towards him.
"It's almost four. Why are you bothering me?" she responded back to him, loud enough for him to hopefully hear. He slowed down some as they neared one another, and she could definitely make out his features more clearly. He was wearing a green frock over his shorts and t-shirt, showing he had been managing the animals. However, his face was dinged with mud and dirt, cracked with a frown and a stare of worry in his eyes.
"I was feeding the animals, and… and…" Kyle's eyes began to water. He tended to overreact to things, and she was certain he probably gave them too much. "I was feeding the animals, and when I went to go feed the Donga, the door was unlocked. So, I went in, and they were gone!" Kyrie's body tensed up, realizing that it was as severe as he was making it out to be. It was clearly not his fault, though, but she didn't want to let that be known just yet. She laughed to ease his mind, a hint of worry making her voice waver as she did so.
"Well, they couldn't have gotten far," she said to relax him. Donga were a kind of winged lizard, about the size of a dog. Kyrie's family needed the Donga as a source of income, helping them shed their excess scales and milking the females. She had grown to dislike the milk taste, but it was a decadent treat to the people of Koholint. As she thought more about the situation, though, it died down in severity. She had an idea on what happened, and wanted to check it out to make sure.
She grabbed Kyle's hand tightly and began to run back towards the farmhouse. He complained the entire time, her grip too tight around his wrist, but she continued to pull him across the grassy field. In only a short amount of time, they soon came up to the house of their family, worn with age but definitely not in disrepair. The green paint allowed it to lightly blend with the surroundings. As they neared the front, she slung him towards it and continued running, heading towards the Donga pen.
"Kyrie, wait!" he cried out, struggling to slow himself down. But she was much too fast for him. Quickly, she came to the edge of the Donga pen, which was nothing but a large building with no windows on the sides. She rounded the corner of the pen and quickly stopped, placing your body against the wall. It was still warm from when the sun was shining on it. She waited a bit to make sure Kyle didn't follow any further. As she peeked around the corner, she saw that he had given up and was walking into the house. He gave up way too easily, which was what she had been counting on.
Standing proudly, she turned her attention back to the pen. She turned to her left and saw the back door to the Donga pen, the lock on it left hanging loosely from the latch. She walked casually over to it, inspecting it closely. It hadn't been forced off, probably left like it was from when Kyle went in. Then again, she remembered he said that it was left unlocked before he got there. Carefully, she opened the door and looked in.
A hazy light shined down in the middle of the large room that housed the Donga. A glass ceiling was placed above the feeding pit, cloaking the rest of the pen in darkness. Dust particles floated softly in the bright light. In the shadows, deep and dark, she swore she could see stars twinkling, or something reflecting the light back at least, when she wasn't looking directly. She stepped further into the pen, closing the door softly behind her. Holding out her hands, she crept into the light, turning to observe the shadows around her.
"If you're in here, it's all right now…" she whispered, slowly kneeling before the darkness, holding her hands out. "Come here..." She listened carefully as there was movement coming from within the shadows. Her eyes hadn't adjusted enough to see anything, but she was certain as to what it was. Eventually, from out of the shadows, a small rat-like creature, with red fur and a long nose, walked out with its head hung its head down in embarrassment. "You silly little thing, you. Haven't I told you not to come in here without me, Angelo?"
The creature blew a raspy noise through its nose, almost like the sound of a trumpet, and walked closer to her hands. She grabbed hold and lifted it up to her neck, letting it stand on her shoulders. Having Angelo safely with her, she walked back towards the door, glancing up a little as she did so. A soft smile perked her lips, finally understanding what went on. By the time she got to the door, she turned around and leaned against the wall near it. Cradling Angelo in her arms as she waited, the Donga slowly descended, one by one, from the shaded niches of the ceiling. Flapping their tiny wings, she was often amazed at how skittish they were at creatures much smaller.
As each touched the ground, they eyed Kyrie and Angelo carefully. Angelo had always been around Donga growing up, but this was a newer herd than what he was raised with, so they hadn't worked on the trust issues. Kyrie found it amazing that the dog-sized reptiles would be afraid of something as small as Angelo, but wasn't going to try and analyze the complexities of nature. One neared her, allowing her to more closely inspect the red and green patterns that dimly shined in the sun's light.
She stroked the scales of the Donga, running her fingers softly against each and tracing the outer spoke of each. They were so timid, yet they were easy to tame if raised from birth. The Donga wiggled its tongue at her in pleasure, enjoying the slight sensation it got from her fingers. Angelo crawled down her arm and walked along its back, allowing it to relax much more. It perked its head up at the same time Angelo did, something behind the door startling them. Angelo climbed back up Kyrie's arm as the Donga ran off to the other side of the pen.
Kyle pulled on the door, which was her cue to leave. Quickly, she passed through the opening and caught him off guard. He pulled his hand back and blushed, looking away from her eyes. She smiled softly, stepping out of the door's path to close it. She slid the lock back on it and made sure it was secure this time before turning around to face him. He was still shaken up from the Donga having disappeared, but she knew it wasn't his fault. She pulled him in for a hug, keeping him from crying.
"They were simply hiding," she comforted him with her soft words. "Angelo spooked them, but they're back now." As she said that, Angelo perked its ears up and ran down her body in a spiral until it reached Kyle's shoulders. It pushed its cheeks up against the back of Kyle's neck, trying to show affection as if to say, "I'm sorry." "Let's get back inside now. Mom and Dad should be home soon..." She placed her hand on Kyle's back, leading by gently pushing him. Rounding the corner of the Donga pen to see the house, they saw the mailman running towards their house, a traditional Hylian mailman wearing the white toga, mail satchel, and red hat. Although he was some distance away from them when they first saw him, he quickly covered the necessary ground to meet them at the front of the house.
"I've got a delivery for a…" he reached into his bag to make sure he got the name right, "Max and Lara Cross." The mailman's body was pounding rigorously under his labored breaths. Kyrie reached out to sign for it in lieu of her parents, which the mailman gladly allowed. Signing the delivery over to her, he handed her a brown box. She offered him to sit and relax for a short bit, but he shook his head. "Have a nice day!" He tipped his hat to the two and turned around. He pushed off with his foot and was running wildly. He disappeared near the root in a minute's time, leaving the two siblings to blink at how fast he was really speeding by.
Kyle ran inside, going to keep himself occupied in his room until their parents got back. Kyrie was left with the box, and her curiosity was definitely an enemy. She fought with the urge to see what it was, and finally won when she saw the wagon coming towards the house, pulling off from the root road. She stood in place as the wagon got closer to the farm. Holding the box out, she didn't wait for their normal greetings before asking, "What's in this?"
Max, her father, stared at the box closely. His eyes squinted and focused on the writing on the side, trying to think of who he knew in Koholint that would send him anything. Lara hopped off the wagon and gave their daughter a great, big hug. "Dear, don't you think it's a bit soon to be bothering us with such simple questions?" She turned around, smiling at how foolish the question was, but when she saw that Max's expression didn't change any, she looked back at the box. She, too, read the address from where it was sent, and her smile faded. "Max?"
"It's fine, Lara. They told us this would happen, remember?" Max dropped the reins of the horses in the seat and slid off the wagon, reaching for the box. Kyrie withdrew the box from the two of them, making sure she was kept informed of the situation. "Kyrie, give it to me." She shook her head, staring at the two of them. Her parents had never kept secrets from her before, which made the contents of the box that much more interesting. "Kyrie, hand it over. This is important."
"Then let me open it! Why, do you not trust me?" The first sign of doubt crossed their faces, which actually stung her more than a bee. "It's... is it something bad?" Max shook his head, but still held his hand out to get the box. Lara's face was starting to wrinkle into a worrisome frown. Kyrie slowly handed the box over to her father, but remained in place. He took hold of the paper wrapping and slowly peeled it off, peeling back several layers until a smaller, wooden box was found.
It was made of wood, the grain visibly leading from one side to the other. It was split in half with a crack between the top and bottom, where it opened. He took hold of both pieces of the box, attempting to pull it apart. At first, he didn't apply enough strength, proving how secure it had been sealed. Throwing the paper out of his hand to get a greater grip, he gripped tightly with both hands. She could see her father's muscles bulge as he pulled harder, eventually separating the two pieces. He stepped backwards, surprised at the recoil from the box. Lara tried to brace him, but she stepped back with him, bumping into the wagon.
A small, green coin fell out of the box, landing between the three of them in the grass. Kyrie's eyes locked onto it and she quickly picked it up, observing it with as much curiosity as a teenager could over the unusual. Turning it over a few times in her hands, she felt the cold tinge of metal, but found it odd that it weighed more like wood. It was surprisingly light, and there was a strange reflective symbol shining on both sides. As she gazed more at the symbol, there was a lingering memory tugging at her. She swore to herself that she had seen it before, but couldn't think of anything that would possibly have had it.
She looked back up at her parents, who were looking at the box itself. It looked like they were reading something inside the halves, both holding one and looking into it. "Kyrie," her father spoke out. "Go pack your things. We've need to return to Koholint as soon as we can." She raised an eyebrow curiously at her father's request. He didn't look to see her confused expression, though. "Hurry, we leave before nightfall. Tell your brother to do the same." His expression was cold, almost chilling as he continued to stare at the lid. She knew he wasn't kidding, but whatever he was reading certainly wasn't good news. She didn't bother asking just how much to pack, knowing she wouldn't get an answer from either of them now. She pocketed the coin, and ran into the house to start packing.