Apologies on how late this Chapter 's long, and I definitely had a block writing it. It just didn't flow as nicely as my notes would have made me believe it would! Regardless, I hope you enjoy this longer Chapter!

Cheers

Leif couldn't close his eyes, he couldn't sleep. When he closed his eyes, all he could see were his parents laying on the floor, blood everywhere. He could hear their screams echoing through the castle as they yelled for them to run away. He could hear the screaming of the guards in the room next to theirs.

How had the monsters gotten to the castle undetected? How did no one know what was happening until it was happening? What happened... Leif had always wanted to leave the castle, but not like this. Never like this. Leif started as the first cracked in from of him, it's orange hue lighting up the solemn group of four. Rom and Galien were discussing something quietly, Rom's face in a deep frown. Leif didn't think he had ever seen Rom look so serious, Nor Galien for that matter either. It could only mean that things were very bad. Leif buried his face in his hands, clenching his eyes shut. He silently cried for all the people he had seen dead on the way out of the castle. He cried for his parents and his missing sister. He cried because he couldn't do anything to help them.

With a deep breath, Leif composed himself and wiped his eyes. The dirt from the ride mixed with the tears and stung his eyes, but he ignored the uncomfortable feeling. He looked up at the fire, blinked and turned to Iry, who sat next to him. Iry had had a faraway look in his eyes since they had stopped to make camp. He hadn't spoken a single word or made a sound, either. He didn't even acknowledge Leif's presence. Leif felt lost, he didn't know what to do or what to say. Everything had happened so suddenly.

One moment he had been arguing with his father, trying to get more information on what was going on with the attacks Iry had mentioned, while his mother was trying to discuss with Galien where the Princess had gone. And then... They were all screaming. Leif picked up a rock and held it in his hand, rubbing his thumb across the rough surface. His sister, Aleigha was somewhere. Galien wasn't mentioning anything to do with her and Rom was avoiding Leif. He tossed the rock into the fire, hitting one of the logs and causing it to slide into the embers. Iry shifted his eyes from the ground to the fire, quickly losing focus.

He had been afraid, so incredibly afraid. The simple tasks his father had asked him to do had taken such a toll on him. He was the son of a soldier, fear wasn't in his family. He was the best swordsman. He was incredibly smart and strategy and tactics came easy to him. He was agile and proficient in any sort of weapon. But he had been paralyzed with fear. He had felt like a child, unable to do anything. Iry bit his lip. Leif had tried talking to him a few times throughout the evening, but Iry couldn't look him in the eye. He know that Leif thought highly of him. What would he say if he knew how useless Iry had been. For all his bravado, he couldn't even pack a travel bag on his own. Frustrated, Iry let out a small "tch" and squeezed his eyes closed, brows furrowing deep. He was ashamed to be called a soldier.

Iry was aware that Leif was watching him and could see the turmoil on the Prince's face. Iry had no idea what was happening, he had absolutely no clue. He could hear Rom and Galien stand up and walk closer to the fire and the two young men. Leif tore his gaze from the brooding blonde and gave a weak smile to the older men. Rom's gaze fell on Iry and he took a deep breath in. Galien said nothing, he red yes staring at the fire.

"Hyrule is under siege." Rom said simply, his gaze remaining on his son. " The castle has been taken and the King and Queen killed." He turned to look at Leif, noticing the shine in the boys eyes as he fought back tears. "The Princess has been kidnapped and I'm afraid it's my fault. All of it. I couldn't protect the Princess, just like I couldn't read the signs." Leif shook his head, laying his hands on his crossed legs. "I can only assume that they have killed the entire Royal family, except for the Prince." The group was silent, the weight of those words hitting them all.

"No one could have seen this coming, Rom. I'm sure you did your best." The Prince said slowly. His words sounded hollow, even though he really did mean it. Iry didn't move at all or make any sign that he had heard what Rom had said. The group was silent again; the only sounds the crackling of the fire and the wind through the leaves around them. They had made camp as far from the Castle as the horses could carry them, being burdened with two riders on each. Though they were surrounded by foliage, they had chosen an area where two sides were covered by a rock face. Galien had mentioned a cave a few kilometers away, but with the coming darkness they didn't want to take a chance making their way there, or getting caught with no light entering an unknown cavern. The group continued to sit in silence, unsure of what their conversation should be. So much had happened in so short a period that the information still wasn't fully processed in their minds.

Iry stared into the fire, his fingers flicking the sharp edge of a dagger. He had frozen; had been so afraid and he didn't know why. He had been in battle before, he had trained and knew the dangers of the world. He was frustrated with himself, for not understanding where the fear was stemming from. He twitched his hand slightly as he had absently pressed too hard on the dagger tip. He looked at the small cut on his thumb, the blood rolling downwards and dripping to the ground. Why was he so afraid?

Rom announced he would take the first watch and bade his companions to rest while they could. He knew they had a long way to go and not a long time to get there. Rom settled against a tree, further aware from the dimming fire so that it wouldn't ruin his night vision. He could hear the tossing of the restless Prince, surely just as deep in thought as he was. They were hoping to reach a satellite Sheikah village closer to the border of Hyrule. With the castle overtaken, it wouldn't take long for the lands to be filled with Monsters. They needed to find out who was behind the attack, and see whether they could organize some form of offensive force. With at least one member of the Royal family still alive, it wouldn't be difficult for the surviving army and allies to rally with him.

The Princess had been the target, Rom thought to himself, biting the tip of his thumb. No doubt, this enemy had known the important nature of the Royal family daughters. If the princess was truly dead, there would be a lot of fear and hesitance to strike an opponent, regardless of if she was the reincarnation of Hylia or not. For the most part, the people of Hyrule knew of the wars waged against evil in the past, though the intricacies of it all were lost or unknown. Rom wondered if it would be possible for Prince Leif to muster the courage needed for the people to follow and fight. Whomever they were against had played a very good opening hand, Rom hated to admit.

Galien burst into the camp, a mere hour after he had relieved Rom of watch, and threw dirt onto the cooling embers of the fire.

"Get up!" He whispered urgently, quickly shaking each man and leaving a weapon by them. The three jumped of the ground, grabbing the weapons and looking into the darkness. "The horses are gone, and we are surrounded." No sooner had the words left Galien's mouth, then a mob of monsters burst through the trees to the group. Before they knew it, the group was split as they fought and tried to move away from the stone face.

"How the hell did they find us!" Rom yelled, pulling a sword from the back of the dead horse. Galien slammed his bo-staff on the ground, a sharp spear point shooting out of the end with a click. Without a moment's hesitation, he swung it forward, driving it deep into the charging Moblin's head. He turned to meet Rom's eye frowning and shaking his head before dodging another spear. Rom turned to look at Iry and Leif, who had become separated from the two older men. They stood back to back, Iry holding the long sword and Leif with two dirks. Rom parried a stalfos' attack, slashing the creature's neck with one quick movement.

"We need to move to the Prince!" Galien called to Rom, executing a spinning slash to a group of bulbins who were stupidly charging into the death dealing sheikah. The two fought hard to get to Leif and Iry, their attention split between the foes immediately in front of them and the surrounded battling duo who continued to get pushed further and further from them. Galien vaulted over Rom, landing on a large moblin's head, using the higher, unstable ground to pick off enemies quickly. Rom took the distraction to dodge further into the mass of enemies, calling out to the boys to fight their way to them. Rom glanced around, no longer to move any closer, trying to figure out a way to get away from the horde of creatures. He cursed to himself, not seeing a way out. The amount of monsters seemed endless. In an attempt to give themselves a better and safer position, the group had really only made it easier for this ambush. Rom let out a frustrated yell, spinning out of the way of an incoming jab, ending the spin with a thrust into the next attacker. In all his years of fighting and working as a tactician to the King, he had never made such an error in judgement. He looked over to Iry and Leif, slashing another monster across the chest. Leif was battling a group of three lizalfos, vaulting, dodging and thrusting with a great deal of grace. His movements were fluid and precise, his efforts apparent judging by the dead monsters lying around him.

Iry also had monsters lying around him, however his battle seemed stiff. Rom frowned, fully realizing that despite their discussion, Iry was still having an internal battle. He was letting his fear cloud him, a dangerous action that could get him killed. Iry vaulted over his current opponent and landed a deep slash across the moblins back, immediately turning to slash the lizalfos behind him and then thrust forward into a second moblin. Rom could see that the two were beginning to become fatigued by the way they were swinging their whole bodies into their attacks and parries. They needed a way out. Iry rushed forward, quieting the voice of terror in his mind and parried a sword strike heading to Leif's back. He could feel the back of his hand burning and wondered if he had been hit, but a quick glance noticed no blood or injury. He executed another spinning sword strike, immediately rushing head on into a group of smaller moblins.

"Iry, help!" he heard Leif call out to him. He turned quickly and saw Leif being rushed by a Goblin, with a group of Stalfos and lizalfos coming in close. With the Goblin's size, there was no way Leif could take them all on, but Iry was cut off. Try as he might, he couldn't get through to the Prince.

"Leif!" Iry yelled angrily, slashing a bulbin across the face. "Leif!" He bit his lip and jumped over a Moblin, landing on top of a couple Stalfos before jumping away again. He would get to Leif. With a final leap, he jumped up and onto the Goblin, stabbing it's arm as it swung its huge battle axe down at an otherwise engaged Leif. Pulling his sword out, He moved to quickly attack the goblins head, but as the creature whipped it's head back in a howl of pain, Iry was caught off balance mid strike, and only managed to carve a deep gash across the back of the Goblin's shoulders. He fell off and stood next to leif, shaking his burning hand. Iry swung his sword forward trying to hit the giant monster a third time, but was blocked by the shaft of the axe. His sword pinned, the goblin ripped a spiked hammer from the hands of a bulbin and swing it furiously at Iry. Iry moved his left arm up to attempt a block, knowing if the hammer hit he was dead.

As a spike on the hammer hit the back of Iry's hand, there was an explosion of light. Iry dropped the sword in his right arm and grabbed the wrist of his left arm, screaming in pain. The light exploding from Iry's hand burned his skin and sent shooting pain up his shoulder and to his neck. Everything stopped moving as the light burst forward, monsters all over the area shrinking and blocking their eyes.

Rom used the opening to burst forward to the boys. He kept running, regardless of the stinging spears and swords, taking opportunities to slash at the monsters as he darted past. He had to get to them; He had to get them out. Iry's yell stopped and he collapsed to the ground, the brightness slowly dissipating. Leif sprang into action and started taking out large swatches of enemies still stunned by the bright light erupting from Iry, Iry had gotten up on one knee, his left arm hanging by his side as he fumbled for his sword. He heard Leif curse and call to him as some monsters had broken away from his killing area and rushed to the stunned Iry. Leif and Rom called to Iry in unison as a huge bloodied spear shot towards him. Iry, unable to move, watched the spear get ever closer to him. He wanted to move, but he was frozen. Why was he so scared? MOVE Dammit! he yelled at himself, managing an arm twitch. he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, waiting for the spear to hit.

But it never did. Iry could feel something warm running down his cheek. He opened his eyes to see the spear tip touching his cheek, warm blood from the tip falling down his cheek. He looked up to see the back of his father.

"Iry, whatever fight you are going through inside yourself... is not something anyone can help you win... but you need to be brave... and face your fears..." Rom fell to his knees, one arm on the shaft of the spear. " I'm so proud of you.. Iry..." Rom turned to look over his shoulder and fix a bloody smile to Iry" Be.. brave... son.."

"...Father?" Iry choked, raising a hand. Rom fell forward with a thud, and Iry clutched at the IRy frantically "FATHER!"

"Iry, get up!" Leif yelled, running back to his friend and pulling his arm. Iry's eyes were fixed on his father's body as Leif pulled him into the cave. Galien appeared behind them, throwing a small bomb at the veiling and blocking the entrance. Leif swung Iry around and slapped him across the face when they had stopped briefly for a breath. "Pull yourself together Iry, this isn't the time to pity yourself. we have to get out of here."

Iry wiped his face, the tears and blood on his cheek smearing as he wiped. He was weaponless now, his sword by his father. He turned and faced Leif, before turning his head so as not to meet the prince's gaze. He couldn't. Galien eyed the boy curiously. Iry was a completely different person from the Castle soldier. There had been a glimpse of the old Iry when he had rushed to save Leif against the Goblin's attack, but the Iry standing here was not he. This Iry was perpetually afraid, with no known trigger. They started their run again, silently.

A short while later, they stopped once again. The cavern they were in had a slight glow to it, as the burning keese flew through the stalagmites. Though they couldn't see it, they could feel the heat from a river of lava, telling them they were going to far into the Death mountain range. Sitting on a rock, Galien looked to Iry who stood with his head down, making no sound.

"Iry," Galien said sharply. "Give me your hand." Iry looked up and walked to galien, offering his gloved hand to the older man. Galien pulled Iry's glove off and inhaled sharply. Glowing brilliantly on Iry's hand was the symbol of the triforce, the lower left triangle shimmering boldly. Galien looked up to the stunned face of Iry, who pulled his hand away and took two steps backwards, shaking is head. He stopped, dropping his hand.

"You bear the Triforce of Courage," Galien said, standing up and fixing an intense stare at Iry. "You are the hero of time." Iry couldn't move. It was as if his body had forgotten how to do anything at all. This couldn't be real. He stared wide eyed at the ground, his upturned blue eyes wide with shock. It couldn't be real; it was impossible.

"Iry," Galien said flatly. The boy still didn't move. Leif pursed his lips and wrung his hands. He had never seen Iry like this before and no idea what he should do. Iry was always the level headed one talking sense into Leif. Since they had left the castle, Iry hadn't spoken much to Leif and in some instances even avoided him. Even when Rom and Galien reported that the Royal family had been assassinated, Iry still wouldn't talked to the Prince. Iry was supposed to be the brave one. He was supposed to be the one who had the plan. Leif was supposed to be able to depend on Iry. Leif dropped his hands to his side and slowly stood up, head down. His bangs blew across his dirty face as he slowly walked towards Iry. Whatever was wrong with Iry, he needed to get over it. He needed to be himself again. If not for Leif's sake, then for his own. For his father, who had given his life so they could escape! Leif clenched his hands, stopping in front of Iry who still had not moved. Leif noticed Iry shaking, the soldier's eyes clenched shut and his mouth clenched in a grimace.

"What is wrong with you." Leif hissed through his teeth. Iry's breath hitched slightly but he still didn't move. "Iry, what in the name of Hylia has gotten into you!" Galien moved a step forward before stopping when Leif shot a furious glance his way. Iry looked up at Leif, and unfamiliar look in his eyes. It was a look of fear. Where someone else would have softened at the look, it only served to make Leif even more furious. He snarled at Iry, before slamming his fist into the blonde's face. Iry flew backwards into the dirt, blood immediately trickling down onto his lip. He made no move to staunch the bleeding, the look of fear on Iry's face replaced with one of sheer surprise. Leif grimaced and shook his hand a bit.

"What is your problem, Iry? You have the least things to worry about." Leif spat, clutching his wrist and staring Iry down. Iry shifted his glance to the side, his hands clenching the grass underneath him. His brow furrowed and he blinked.

"I didn't ask for this." Iry whispered, not looking at Leif. "I can't do this. Fighting Moblins and Stalfos... Is easy." Finally, he turned his wild, wide eyes to Leif. "This is evil incarnate! This is not something I can do. It's impossible! I shouldn't even be here." Leif scowled again and launched himself at Iry. He couldn't understand why he was so angry. Iry had every right to be scared, didn't he? Iry made no move to defend himself as Leif landed on top of him, the leather strap and his shirt clenched in the furious Prince's hands.

"My family didn't ask for it either." Leif growled, his face inches from Iry's. "My little sister just wanted to pick the goddamn flowers, Iry. Now she's a rotting corpse, just like your father." Iry stared impassively at Leif. "Nobody asked for this. But we have to step up. Ya, you shouldn't be here. You should be dead or a prisoner in the castle. But you aren't, you're too busy being alive." Leif threw Iry backwards, flinching inwardly as Iry's head hit the ground and then stood up. "You're supposed to be the best. That's why I asked for you. That's why Rom and Galien risked their lives to get you. Because I needed you. You're supposed to be my best friend." Leif turned away from Iry and shook his head. " You were so arrogant and cocky. A fake." He started walking away, back to his mat. He stood staring at the bedroll for a moment. "You're a coward."

Iry felt as if he had been stabbed in the stomach. His head and face were throbbing, but he didn't move from the ground. He was supposed to the Hero of Hyrule. He bore the mark. He was supposed to be the keeper of the Triforce of Courage. His father had entrusted the safety of Leif and Hyrule to him. But how could he, someone who had barely seen 17 years, possibly defeat this Evil. Courage seemed to be the one thing he didn't have.

He was a coward.