Alright. Here goes another chapter. Thanks for reading guys. And I just wanna say, if you are reading this, if you are liking this or even if your not, it would be nice to get some more comments. But Im not gonna beg too much.

I hope you like this chap. I don't know how well its gonna fair, most of it is made up of flashbacks so... bare with me.

Six. Wuss in Training part 2

Mayor Puller was in a flurry tearing apart the delicate interiors of his house; ripping things off the walls, flipping over furniture from its otherwise idol locations. Desperation translated perfectly from deep within his gut into the tremor of his wrists and the sweat on his palms. "Where is it?..." he mouthed, forking his fingers through his hair.

He spun around at that moment to find his son. His little boy. Standing there. The face of innocence. He stared into those young, curious eyes and hated himself even more. In that moment he wished he was eight years old again. No worries. No secrets. Puller suddenly felt ashamed of his actions. The house was in turmoil, and, in his fit, he'd woken the poor boy. It was only six in the morning.

"Oh... Siry" He began to explain himself. "Dad has to go away for a while. You know... Mayor things. But... uh. I have Ravious to watch you in my stead. Ok?"

Young Siry, eight years of age, said nothing. They just stared in silence. Father and son. Then Puller made one last attempt at dissecting the house, though more gently, until finally, he gave up and dreadfully headed for the door. With his racing mind, he never bothered to bid farewell.

Siry watched the last speck of his fathers coat trail out of sight before the door was closed shut. He stood there a while longer in the silent, eerie wreckage of the house. And then he walked into his room, pulled up a broken piece of the floor and revealed an impressive white stone; not just any piece of jewelry, but a giant pearl. His face made a funny reflection into the shine of it. Easily worth thousands of rupees.

--

"Piracy?" Sarah scolded him in disbelief. "This is your brilliant plan? You should know that there's a fine line between rebels and criminals."

A full moon glistened off the pond right beside the village store. Siry stared at its reflection, indifferent to her concerns. It was a calming view, beautiful in a sense, which was not something that could often be said about Ordon. Especially with gray clouds claiming dominion over the skies.

"He's a bit soft," Siry said. "I guess we can do with that… he can't defend himself in the middle of the night. Fine. But," he looked down so that his hair would cover his face, "what I want to know. What I really want to know… is why him? What possible use do you have of him?"

She didn't need to see his expression to know that he was remarkably jealous. His voice wavered in uneasy suspicion.

"Something tells me Link will become a very valuable asset." She said. All smug, knowing her words were going to haunt him. She meant them pragmatically of course, but he wouldn't think that way. She could almost feel the heat of his jealousy against her skin, and it made her feel all the greater.

She looked behind them to see Link standing there. Confused. Vulnerable. His face really took a beating. It was already swelling. Poor kid. But it wasn't like she hadn't gotten it before. Her and Siry both. They'd been training for a few years now, constantly testing their fighting abilities, preparing themselves for whatever lurks outside of Ordon.

She chanced a glance at his hand. The hand where the symbol appeared. The symbol of the tri-force.

The first time she saw it appear was almost a year ago. Ravious was very frustrated that day; screaming in Links face. Making him squirm back in his chair, shifting uncomfortably. And that's when she saw it glow, the gold colors commanding her undivided attention. Then it was gone. Just like that. As if it was never there. He told her it was a birth mark. Sure. Made sense.

Sarah spent weeks snooping around Ravious's old books until she came across an ancient Hyrulian bible. It was much older than the rest of his reading material, and as the others showed signs of use from time to time, the bible looked to have been neglected. She blew a thick layer of dust off of its cover.

Sarah wouldn't know at that time but the starving curiosity that gnawed in the pit of her stomach was about to be fed. And fed well. It would explain everything… or as far as the ancient religions would go. About the three goddesses; Din, Farore, and Nayru. Many common prayers at that time used to rid of evil. Worship hymns. It even explained about the tri-force. What it meant to them then.

What it meant right now.

She wasn't a sold believer, but the facts did add up. Evil was upon them, everywhere outside the village, or as far as everyone was told. And impending evil is the surest sign that the hero is yet to come. The hero who wields the tri-force of courage. Again, according to the biblical perspective, but the more she reads of the Hyrulian faith the more worried she's become. What if it was true? All of it? What if the hero of courage would not come to save them, because the hero has none?

But of course it's all a load of primitive twaddle. An ancient religion? Who would believe such preposterous concepts? The old ways are dead. In ruins. Why? Because the people had too much faith in their fake gods and idols; the gods and goddesses that were the makers of their end.

She was broken from her deep thoughts as Siry began explaining the plan to Link; the final test to prove his worth. She wasn't sure of the tri-force and the ancient religions, but seeing it on his hand made her believe it enough to know that, in the off chance of her being wrong, leaving Link in Ordon, where bravery is as thin as hay, could be the ultimate mistake.

So she had tried her best to convince Siry. And being his cocky, arrogant self, Sarah knew this was the only way Link could ever come with them. But yet she felt bad for him.

"Hasn't he endured enough already?" she asked.

Siry snapped her stern look. "You know as well as I do that this journey requires guts. Getting clonked in the face is not gutsy... it's just getting clonked in the face. But if he can manage to break into the shop and claim us a little initiation prize... knowing that there is only sixty other people in Ordon and that he has a long history of staying safe, doing what he's told, and maintaining a pair of very soft hands... I'd say he'd make a fast learner. And a worthy companion."

Sarah said nothing to that, so he continued. "Of course that all depends if he's really up to it," Siry shrugged while producing his signature smile of mischief.

Link traced his fingers over the bumps on his face out of continuous habit. The bruises stung so bad; a reminder of everything he'd been through today. It was frustrating, getting beat into a distorted mess, realizing that the whole cause was for nothing and that he was now being asked to perform an even more daring and difficult task.

Somewhere inside of him, a part of him wanted to taste the outside world more than anything else. Yet another voice in his head was advising him to stay, be safe. After all, the village was trying to protect them for a reason, as far as he was told anyway.

"Hey wuss," Siry said. "You gonna move?"

He forced himself not to think. If he were to ever complete tonight's daunting task, thinking was not an option. But unfortunately, thinking was his entire life.

Robbing the store? Shivers went down his spine. Was this really necessary to prove his worth?

"Last chance," Siry frowned. "Either you're in this or you're not kid."

Finally Link made to shake Siry's hand; a friendly symbol of agreement. Siry grabbed it, pulled Link over to the window like a child, and kicked into the glass with a loud, disruptive shatter. "Now or never," he smirked before running off into the shadows with Sarah following closely behind.

Crash. The sound echoed in his ear drums. The night was still young, and Link could not help but wonder how many homes were about to be woken and lighted. Now or never. He hesitated once because the scary reality of his mission was starting to sink in. Then hesitated a second time as he realized there was no safe way to climb through the broken window. His hand tingled.

Then he pushed himself through, cutting his legs and arms the whole way, and stepped inside. Tiny fragments of glass crunched underneath his shoes. Link immediately put his arms to work; shoveling various items into his robe used as a sort of temporary bag. Lettuce and tomatoes. Bottles and welcome rugs. A little of everything.

When Link felt sure Siry would be satisfied, he unlatched the door and exited, disappearing into the darkness, dropping a few onions on the way, heading in the direction he thought the others were headed.