The forest afternoon was golden as a warm wind swept the fields and meadows. The smell of smoke had finally cleared away in the passing days, and many people had already begun to rebuild houses, repair roofs and garden fences. All through the village the echo of saws and hammers filled the air. For some, life began to return to as it was. For Rue, the weeks had been like an out of body experience. She had wandered numbly through her days as she went through the motions of living. Sometimes though, as if from nowhere bright flashes of anger and longing for retribution came upon her. Others, it was overwhelming grief that struck her. It happened in the strangest of moments: feeding the cuccos, washing dishes, walking to the pasture that she would suddenly be overcome. She could not think of her father and tried to force him from her mind each time his sweet, wrinkled face came into it. Her grief for him was huge, and terrifying. She had been unable to comfort her mother, who she knew was hurting far more than she let on. She had lost not only her husband, but her two boys as well. As such, the twins had lost their father-figure and Rue had lost both of her brothers and any kind of guiding voice she could possibly hear. With Link and Khai gone, Rue had taken on the responsibility of feeding and caring for the animals, so she had busied herself with mundane things. The twins had been at her heals since the day of the raid. Though they annoyed her and she had little patience for them, she had allowed them to tag along where ever she had gone. Now with their chores complete, in the glow of the afternoon, four children hung about beside the stables. Ami sat atop a crate with the embroidery she was stitching and the twins stood fidgeting on either side of Rue as she notched another arrow. A sheathed sword and its strap lay haphazardly in the grass. The two girls had tied a bag of feed to a pole, already there were two arrows skewed out from the sides. Rue took aim, and let another fly from her fingertips. It stuck fast in the center of the bag.
"You're getting really good at that, Rue." Said Ami, from beneath her blonde bangs.
Rue notched another arrow.
"I used to shoot with Link all the time…he taught me a lot." She said, drawing the fletching to her cheek.
Ami glanced up at her as she pulled a thread through the circle of fabric in her lap.
"I can tell… I miss him. I hope he's alright, wherever he is." She said.
Rue let the arrow fly, striking the bag about an inch from the first.
"Me too…" She said.
Logan shuffled beside her as his sister silently sat down beside Ami on the crate. The little girl had not spoken much since the raid.
"Can I shoot it, Rue?" The little boy asked.
Rue looked down at him and shook her head.
"No, Logon. You're too little." She said.
Logan looked up at her pleadingly.
"Aw c'mon Rue. I'm not too little, I can do it. Please?" The child whined.
"I said no, Logon." Rue snapped, preparing to draw the bow back again.
The little red-head plopped down into the grass to sulk.
"…Khai would have let me shoot it." He mumbled.
"Khai won't even let you have sharp sticks, Logon." Ami chimed.
Rue sighed, the arrow at her cheek as she aimed at the feedbag again. Logan looked up at her from the ground.
"When are Link and Khai gonna come back?" He asked.
The question came just as Rue released the arrow and she launched it off into the sky. The girl turned to the child, unsure of how to answer.
"I…I don't know. I don't think anyone does right now. Link had something really important to do, with that girl that he brought here …and Khai…" She paused glancing to Ami and back to the little boy.
"…Maybe Khai met up with him, and they're all together now." Said Rue.
Logon nodded and turned again to watch the grassy field. Rue drew back another arrow and took aim. She thought of her brothers. Not knowing where they were or even if they were alive ate at her daily. Rue had been utterly lost without them. She no longer had Link to vent to, or Khai to ask advice from. There was no one left to talk to besides Ami, who was younger and didn't understand certain things. Now that Mariana was gone, Rue was suddenly the oldest of the group and never had she felt so alone. Rue let an arrow fly and again, it struck true in the center of the bag. Rue's father had taught her much when it came to the ways of weaponry, but not half as much as her adopted brothers had. Roland had not been as stringent in his teaching of Rue. She was, after all, the youngest and her father already had two boys well on their way to their twenties impeccably trained. It was Khai who had taken her hunting for the first time, who had ridden horses with her. Link who had taught her to shoot and often times had given her lessons in swordplay. She could remember a time when she had been ten and Link fourteen, how he had taken her out into the woods and given her a bow for the very first time. He had showed her how to position herself, how to aim. He had been so patient. She looked on at the arrow burrowed into the sack and sighed. Ami looked up again from her stitching.
"Do you think you could kill one of those monsters Rue, those things that rode the boars?" She asked.
Rue looked back at her as she picked the small broadsword up off the grass.
"I did kill one. Two of them actually… I'd kill more of them though...if I had the chance..." She said, unsheathing the sword.
She examined it for a moment in the afternoon light before she looked back to the other children behind her. Ami set her stitching down in her lap.
"Woah, really? Two?" She asked.
Logan hopped up beside his sister on the crate.
"Uh-huh, it's true. I was there. So was Loron." He said.
Ami looked to the little girl. She glanced up nervously, but said nothing.
Rue turned her sight forward and slowly began to run through the few techniques she could remember. Though a little awkward, she had a good stance and a strong back. She knew enough to defend herself. She stopped, and turned toward the others.
"Want to see another thing Link taught me how to do?" She asked.
She turned from them and started toward the feedbag, now somewhat resembling a pincushion. As she gained speed, suddenly all of her frustrations were in her footfalls, the sword coming stiff to her side. With all of her anger, Rue twisted at her waist and swung her shoulder into a backhanded strike that tore a perfect line into the bag, the contents spilling in a loud rain of kernels. A short cry of elation echoed a long with off-time hand claps through the pasture. Rue returned to her friends, sheathing the sword again as Ami tied off a stitch and cut the loose thread with her teeth.
"You really are good. I wish my brother would have taught me about swords. It looks fun. I guess embroidery is fun too though… Hey, Rue." Said Ami, pulling the fabric from the wooden hoop.
"I'm finished with this. You can have it if you want…it would look really nice on the front of that blue dress you have." She said softly, holding the cloth with the lacy, sapphire-blue pattern stitched in.
Rue smiled and took it gently. She held it up in front of her for a time.
"Thank you, Ami… it's beautiful…"
Rue felt one of those moments coming, and had to be silent. She swallowed a few times, tears threatening to brim in her eyes. She did not want to cry in front of the twins. She took a deep breath and looked out of the field in the amber light. Ami had watched her eyes get glassy.
"What's wrong, Rue?" She asked.
Rue sighed again and looked down at the beautiful fabric in her hand.
"A few months ago… I would have been so excited if you gave this to me. I would have been so happy to sew it onto my dress …now though… I don't want to do anything… I don't want to sew...I don't want to walk in the woods... I don't even want to eat half the time… All I want to do is go find my brothers…and go do something to fight those things. I've just been sitting here…waiting… I want to do something so I know those things will never, ever come back..." The girl had tears on her face now, but she brushed them away in the light of the setting sun.
Ami hopped off the crate and laid a hand on the tall, dark-haired girl's back.
"We should go, Rue… it's getting dark."
Rue, Ami and the twins headed down the path through the hills, leaving the pasture gated until tomorrow, when the tasks would repeat themselves. The girls walked quietly side by side in the dimming summer light. The moon and stars were nearly visible now in the purple sky. The twins each held one of Rue's hands as the four of them made their way past the ruined bean and gourd fields. When they got to the edges of town, Rue turned to Ami.
"See ya tomorrow?" She asked.
Ami nodded, glancing down at the twins.
"Yeah…for sure…Rue, can I talk to you for a second…alone?" She asked.
Rue looked down at the twins, releasing their hands.
"Go on ahead guys, I'll meet you at home."She said.
The two little red heads stared at her.
"Why can't we listen?" Loron asked softly.
Rue laid a gentle hand on her head.
"We have to talk about grownup stuff, okay? I'll see you guys in a minute." She said.
The two children pouted, but started walking in the direction of the house in the distance.
"Secrets don't make friends!" She heard Logon yell.
Rue laid her palm across her face. With an eye-roll and a long sigh, she turned to Ami again.
"What'd you need to talk about?" She asked.
Ami's eyes flitted nervously.
"My father says things are getting really bad… He's talking about moving us all deep into the forest if it gets much worse. My uncle lives by the lake. He says he's seen all kinds of monsters around… " She said.
Rue licked her dry lips, listening to the whirr of crickets beside.
"Yeah… I don't doubt it…That's probably for the best I think." She said.
"Are you gonna hide too? Maybe you and your family can come with us." Ami said.
Rue looked ahead to her house and back to Ami.
"I don't know… if it comes down to it though, would you take the twins?" She asked.
Ami smiled and nodded her head.
"Yeah, don't worry. Well, see you tomorrow?" She asked.
They embraced.
"See you tomorrow." said Rue.
Yolandae lit the lamps in the foyer and the kitchen of her home as the sun sank lower into the hills. She looked through the windows again, to see if she could see Rue and the twins coming down the path from the pasture. She did not, so she sat down in a chair beside the hearth for a moment. She breathed a long, deep sigh. Her house was filled with the scent of baking bread and the bean soup Yolandae had prepared for herself, her daughter and the two children. Men from the capitol had come in the passing weeks. They had brought with them food and supplies for rebuilding the nearly leveled forest town. Yolandae had kept on top of cooking, she supposed, most of all. It provided a distraction for her, something to do to mark the hours in the day. She sat in the silence for a time, watching the sky turn to dusk outside. It had been so quiet as of late in this home. Without Roland and the occasional presence of the boys and Mariana, aside from the occasional scuttle from the twins, the house had been solemn and silent. How she missed big breakfasts, the ones at which the boys came home and sat down with Roland, Rue and herself. Roland had always been a loud one and Khai yelled practically everything he said though, Rue was relatively quiet and Link even quieter. She missed the noise, but mostly she missed a normalcy that she could never have again. It was difficult to think of Roland, though there was no a single thing in that house that did not trigger some memory, including the child they'd had together. She had tried her hardest for Rue to keep her despair to herself. Though, Yolandae didn't quite know to soothe her daughter. Rue had seemed so distant, and she wanted to talk about none of what had happened. She knew the whereabouts of her older brothers wore heavily on Rue as it did her. Yolandae had to hold out hope that the boys were still alive out there. It was all she could do. She found that she worried far less for Link, even being the younger lad. He was not alone, and she had seen the princess's skill with her own eyes. Khai however, she feared the worst for. She had not heard a word from him since he had ridden off into the dark. In her moment of solitude, Yolandae allowed herself some tears, very nearly sobbing as she thought of all the things that simply weren't anymore. As she took a breath and dabbed her eyes Yolandae finally spied Rue coming down the path. She stood, wiping her tears and went to pull the bread from the oven. She heard first the twins' small footsteps pattering about. She heard Rue come in a few moments later and hang her sword belt on the wall beside the door. She greeted them with a smile.
"Good evening, young ones." She said, setting the table.
"Hey, mom." Said Rue, kissing her cheek as she passed.
After Rue and the twins had washed up and the bread had cooled a little, Yolandae bid them to sit down. She served the two children soup and cut bread for them to the tune of tiny thanks from the small ones. She then she did the same for Rue. After she had served herself, she finally sat down. She looked up at Rue, who disinterestedly stirred her soup.
"How are the animals, Rue?" Asked the lady.
Rue glanced up at her, blinking a few times before she returned her eyes to her soup.
"They're fine… I fed them… let them out most of the day… cleaned the stables." She said.
Yolandae nodded.
"Was that Ami you were with?" She asked, blowing softly on her spoon.
"Yeah…why?" Rue returned.
"She was welcome to dinner. I want to make sure the little ones all know that they can get a meal here…we have plenty of bread to go around. Are she and her family alright, Rueliana?" Asked Yolandae.
Rue continued to stare into her dinner.
"Yeah… she's fine. Both of her parents lived…" She said.
The dark-haired lady gently set her spoon down, searching for something wise or worldly to say to her grieving daughter. Before she could speak a word, she heard a loud knock. Hesitating for a moment and furrowing her brow, the lady stood to answer the door. As she swung the heavy oak open into the evening air, she started a bit at what she saw. In her doorway stood an elderly Goron.
"Good evening lady, I am looking for…" The old Goron glanced down at the letter in his hands.
"…Yolandae, Rue and the twins." He said.
"I am Yolandae…What can I help you with, sir?" The lady answered with confusion in her voice.
By now, Rue and the twins where behind Yolandae in the doorway, staring wide-eyed at what appeared to be a talking rock outside. The Goron gave a little wave to the children as they looked on at him in consternation.
"My name is Gor Hiroto, I am one the elders of the Goron tribe. I come to you on behalf of Sir Eolan, Captain of the Guard, from Kakariko. I was told to give you this letter." He said, handing Yolandae an envelope.
The lady studied it a moment before she opened it, Rue craned her neck over her mother's shoulder as she unfurled the page.
"It's from Khai!" She breathed.
The lady steadied herself for a moment and then began to read aloud.
"Dear Yolandae, Rue, Loron, Logon, I want to let you all know that I'm okay and I'm safe where I am. I'm currently in Kakariko with a knight named Eolan. He's the one who found me in the field near the castle. I've seen Link and the princess, they're alive as well…" Yolandae trailed off, laughing softly with relief as her eyes glistened.
Yolandae continued to read.
"However, all of the things Link told us about are true. There is some kind of demon that has overtaken the castle and it has an army of…" She paused again in shock, glancing for a moment at the twins and then back to the page.
'…He has an army of walking dead bodies at its disposal. Kakariko and Goron City were raided, just like Ofaria was. Eolan and I are trying to cobble together some kind of resistance. We're waiting for Link and the princess to get back before we make a move. I love you all, I'll write again when I can... Khai." As Yolandea finished she looked to the Goron before her.
"Sir Eolan was told that your husband owned a forgery. Is this true?" He asked
Yolandae nodded.
"Yes, Roland made weapons. Fine ones." She said.
The old Goron smiled.
"I have proposition for you, Lady Yolandae. Would you mind stepping outside? There's something I'd like to show you." Said Gor Hiroto.
Yolandae and Rue, with the twins ever at her heels, did as he asked. As they and rounded the corner of the house, they were met with six more of the rocky creatures and a wagon, piled high with ore. Rue moved toward it as her jaw fell open.
"This is most of the ore that was left in Goron City. As that letter states, Kakariko was raided, as well as our city on the mountain. There will soon be war, and to fight what comes we will need all of the weaponry we can produce. I have brought you not only the ore but six of my tribe to help protect your village until it is time to mobilize. Noble lady, would you help to furnish the resistance with weapons to use against the army of demons?" Said Gor Hiroto.
Yolandae was speechless for a moment and watched as Rue walked around the cart, pulling from it a small piece of ore. She returned her eyes to the old Goron. Delicately taking the sides of her dress, she curtsied low.
"I would be honored..." She said, pausing for a moment.
"… Though, I am not all together sure how to get the forgery up and running. That was Roland's passion."
"I do!" Rue said aside.
Gor Hiroto turned to her.
"You know how to melt steel and make weapons, child?" He asked
"I watched my father do it a million times... I'll show you how." She said, returning her eyes to the chunk of ore she held in her hand.
This was the moment she had waited for, and a fire lit in her chest as she held the dully glittering mineral in both hands. Yolandae smiled, looking proudly on at her daughter.
"Well then, it seems we can indeed be of service. There are seven of you, yes?" She asked.
Gor Hiroto nodded.
"Yes, six of chief Darnuun's best guards and myself. We have brought a pavilion and most of our own provisions. All we need is space." He said.
Yolandae motioned with her head toward behind the house.
"The yard in back is large. You may set up anywhere you like there." She stopped, and looked over at the Gorons who prepared now to haul the overwrought cart into the yard.
"I'd just made dinner before you'd come knocking. I know Gorons don't care much for bread but, perhaps I could brew you some tea, or coffee?" Asked Yolandae.
The old Goron laughed and shook his head.
"No thank you ma'am. However…" Gor Hiroto glanced down to the ground.
"Is that quartz I see in those rocks?" He asked, pointing to one of a few white stones that lay beside the porch.
Yolandae looked down and smiled.
"Why yes, I believe so. Help yourselves." She said.
The old Goron smiled wide and grabbed the rock up with his large, weathered hands. He happily chomped down as Rue and the other children watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as the other Gorons came with excitement to eat the discarded building stones stacked before the house. When they were finished, Rue opened the back gate to the yard and helped guide the Gorons to back the cart up beside the forgery. When she was done, she shut the gate and turned to follow her mother and Gor Hiroto into the doorway of the shop. All the while, Rue still clutched the ore tightly in her hand.