Prologue:
Seeking Truth
Eli

"How are your parents, dear?" croaked Nana, her sloped form and white hair drawing Eli over from his usual haunting spot.

He leaned a hand on the wooden fence, his dark eyes studying the old woman at the cucco pen. The birds were noisy creatures, crowing and clucking incessantly. He wasn't sure why she was so fond of them, but Nana could always be found here. The gentle old woman lured him over easily with a smile. There were few people that he knew other than his own family that would actually smile at him sincerely.

Still, Nana smiled as she turned gaze upon him. She locked eyes with him and didn't flinch. Her rich brown eyes met his nearly black irses. They lingered there warmly with her smile pulling at her wrinkled skin. It was a small thing, but for him it was rare.

"They are well," Eli answered, feeling the ghost of a smile on his own features. A cucco squawked loudly right next to him on the other side of the pen. He glared at the creature for a moment and turned his attention back to Nana. "How are the cuccos this morning?"

"Eli."

He looked up at his father's call and found him approaching with an odd look on his face. While he had his mother's eyes, he took after his father in the rest of his looks. Everyone always said so, and even Eli could say the same when he looked in a mirror, though they had differences even after accounting for age. They had the same nose and shape of the face. Dad was just a little tanner than Eli was and had green eyes. Dad's hair was like ruffled raven feathers that stuck up every which way, while Eli's drifted straight down like black silk.

The face that looked like his had frowned down at Eli in confusion and almost concern.

"Who... are you talking to?" There was a strange hesitancy to his father's voice, like he was afraid to ask the question.

"This is Nana," said Eli, gesturing next to him. "Nana, this is my father."

Nana smiled in a sad and gentle way and not at his father.

Dad's eyes passed through her when he looked to where Eli had gestured. The furrow in his brow and the frown on his lips deepened so much Eli felt a flip in his gut, like when one nearly trips or misses a step. The sensation was as disturbing as it was unfamiliar.

"I... don't see anyone."

Dad had them leave in a hurry, telling Mom they needed to talk when they got to the ranch. Father was quiet in the wagon all the way there. Leita kept glancing over at Dad, nibbling her bottom lip with a sad frown and crease in her brow. Eli kept trying to read his book, but his eyes absorbed no meaning from the black Hylian script on the pages. His mind was trying to solve the conundrum. The fact he saw a person where his father did not. However, that meant he needed to ask Mother questions, though he preferred to do so alone. He tapped his index finger in a rhythmic pattern on the front cover of his book.

Mom was calm. She sat in the wagon with the same tranquil presence that she always seemed to exude. She stroked Leita's silver hair, which was silver just like hers. In the absence of Father's sound, she hummed a song herself.

Still, Eli's own thoughts lingered. No one was there, he had said. No one was there. But how could that be? Eli saw Nana as clear as day. It was day, even. Why couldn't Father see her? Or was the question, why did only Eli see her?

He felt his insides become hollow as the wagon jolsted him over some rocks. He remembered the words the villagers and the townspeople would whisper like he couldn't hear them.

Odd. Crazy. Not right in the head.

Were they right? Is that why Father was so upset?

No, no reason to jump to hasty conclusions. Letting his emotions run wild with him was stupid.

The sky was darkening but bright with the golden and red colors of dusk when the wagon came to a stop at the barn side of Lon Lon Ranch. It was a two day's ride back to Lake Hylia, where they lived. They always stayed the night at Lon Lon Ranch on the way to and from home when Dad would go to Castle Town and Kakariko to sell fish. The owner, Talon Romani, offered room and board to travelers. He also had a daughter around his age, Malon. Like usual, Leita played with Malon, and Eli would just read a book or go look at the horses. Sometimes Malon would try asking him to play. She wouldn't look him in the eyes, but she at least looked him in the face.

Now Dad wouldn't even look at him. He just helped Leita down and took her hand, walking her over to the door without looking back. Mom paused after she climbed out, seeming to notice something in his hesitance. "Eli …?"

He glanced over at her. His hands gripped the wooden edge of the wagon hard. He could handle the villagers and the townspeople giving him weird looks, saying those things, and even avoiding him. But if his father ...

"Is he mad?" Eli asked, his grip on the wagon kept the tremble out of his voice.

Mom just sighed for a moment, her gaze at him solemn in twilight. Her long hair reached the small of her back and glowed gold in the dying light of Din's Eye, though it was silver. His mother was short and petite in form with gentle and fragile facial features, yet her presence was anything but fragile.

She reached over and grasped one of his hands. "Listen to me, and you listen well. He is not mad with you. He's just confused. He loves you."

"He said the woman I was talking to wasn't there—Why wasn't she there?"

Mom helped him out of the wagon and took his hand in hers as they walked up to the house. "She was there, sweetie."

"But—"

"Just because only you can see her, doesn't mean she's not there," explained Mom. "Everyone experiences and perceives this world in their own way. So do you."

"That still does not explain why I see her when no one else does."

"Because it's your gift," said Mom. "You have magic. Sometimes that comes with more than being able to produce and manipulate mana, my dear. Your talents are more specialized. Remember, this is why the shadows speak to you."

Eli nodded. That had been another time he was starting to think that the villagers could perhaps be correct, that there was something wrong with his head. However, Mother was a high priestess in the Order of the Three. Eli knew better than to assume that she knew everything, but she was still a trusted source of wisdom and knowledge. He could always talk to her when he was concerned about the state of his mind. She never treated him like he was crazy or weird.

"If she was not there then what is she?"

"She was there," repeated his mother, her tone hardening as they stopped outside the house. "Only you could see her because she was a spirit. She left her body but did not pass on as we normally do."

Eli blinked. "She was dead?"

Mom nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes, she had died sometime before."

Eli figured this should unnerve him more than it did. Instead, he felt relief. He was just glad to know, to understand. If he could understand it, then it wasn't so unsettling. The old woman was just dead. He wasn't losing his mind, making up imaginary companions.

"Now come. It's getting late. I'll answer any other questions you have in the morning."

There was just one thing that made unease flood his innards. The look on his father's face. It was all he could see when he closed his eyes. He could not distract himself from it. That aside, he knew that Mother and Father were having that talk that was mentioned before. Eli rolled out of bed and crept through the dark, but like always his feet knew where to find the path between clothing that littered the floor even when he couldn't see.

He inched down the hall, his feet knowing where to step without eliciting a squeaking creak from the floorboards, until he found the luminescent crack that was their bedroom door. He kept his back flat to the wall by the crack and just listened.

"—to worry about, Tori. You know acting like this only makes him more confused and scared."

"I know …" Father sounded tired. "I didn't mean to, it's just … How am I supposed to not be worried? I … I know my father was hard on him, and I know he didn't have the best upbringing, but is that really all it took for him to go over the deep end like that? I want to believe I can raise Eli differently ..."

"Then do believe it," said Mother with that familiar and firm tone of command in her voice. "Eli is not your brother. Having this gift does not make him anymore so, and it is a gift. His connection is very deep."

Eli was confused. He knew his dad had a brother. His uncle, Killian, but Dad had never talked about Uncle Killian like that. They were twins and very close. Eli appreciated when Uncle Killian would come and visit. Dad laughed louder and always smiled more. Dad never talked about having any other brothers. What was this deep end that Dad was worried he would go over?

Those were the only answers he got that night, which had only spawned more questions. At least Eli knew now that those people were dead. Why did only dead people smile at him?

The windmill cast a cool shadow over Eli and the well, giving him a reprieve from the heat of the summer day. He leaned on the well's ledge, just staring into the vast water below. Because of the shadow, the water had a darkness to its depths—kind of like his blue eyes.

Everyone in Kakariko avoided the well, like they avoided him and his gaze. Eli knew there was something different about the well, like there was about him. That was only obvious. Instead of being repulsed, like others, he found himself drawn to its edge every time they visited Kakariko Village. As he leaned over the edge, he swore he could almost hear whispering. It was faint as if the water was muffling it. He couldn't hear what they were saying. He never could, but he was compelled to come back each time and try. That if only he could manage to hear them, they would whisper the truth to him.

The truth about why the other children were afraid of him. The reason that even those who were older flinched and looked away from his gaze. It didn't matter where he was, Kakariko or Castle Town. People would struggle to look him in the eyes.

"Hey, Eli, are you gonna stare at that well all day or are you gonna come play for a change?"

He sighed deeply for a moment before looking up to find Ventus Agni staring at him. Eli used to try to make him go away by just staring him in the eyes and saying nothing. This worked on all the other kids. They even had a game about who could look Eli in the eyes at all, a game that was played more often around holidays like the Day of Courage. The rumor among the children in the village was that they would get cursed if they looked him in the eyes.

However, Ventus would stare back, but with a look on his face like he was trying hard to take a shit. Ven would keep staring if Eli did, so that didn't work. Eli didn't like "playing." He preferred to read or practice the sword play his father taught him. Ventus was too interested in swords though, so Eli never practiced around him.

"And what would I play?" asked Eli in a dull tone.

"Well, Leita, Rini and I are playing hide-and-seek. There's always Tag too," the other boy answered, one of his eyebrows arching in surprise at the mere insinuation the elusive boy might play with the three other children. "I suppose we could play whatever you wanted to, since you know, it would be the first time."

Eli smiled, his eyes casting a careless glance to the side. "Leita says I can't play hide-and-seek. I cheat. Thanks anyway."

Ventus asked almost every time despite the fact that Eli always declined every time. He knew by that weird look on his face when he would stare him in the eyes, that it wasn't because Ventus liked him. The Agnis were his parents' friends, so they visited with them whenever they were selling fish in the Castle Town market, or when Ven and Rini's dad would visit Kakariko. Ven's dad, Kubera, one of Dad's old war buddies. It was like some unspoken rule that they had to play together when they visited.

Except for Eli. He wasn't going to force his company on anyone, not even Ventus. Especially not after the look Ceres Agni, Ven's mom, gave him the last time he was in Castle Town. She never came to Kakariko Village at least, so that was a relief. Eli didn't feel like upsetting his parents' friends, even if he hadn't done anything. He didn't even like to hang out with Ventus and Rini, so she needn't look at him that way. That aside, he didn't have the same interests as the rest of the children his age. It would have just been awkward even without the added tension of… whatever else it was about him that disturbed people.

"Whatever." Ventus gave the typical response to the answer Eli always provided. It was a ritual between the two boys, and one only Ventus seemed interested in keeping up for whatever the reason. "If you change your mind, the offer is always open."

Waving his hand, he walked off, no doubt, to where Leita and Rini were waiting. The wave was the most polite thing about the boy at times considering how downright rude he could get, although it remained to be seen if any of his rude behaviors were intentional. Eli was sometimes tempted to accept the offer just to see the look on Ven's face if he did. He smiled at his reflection in the shadowy water, but then the resulting consequences would be too much of a bother than he wanted to deal with.

"Eli!" He looked up to find Leita running over to him. Her face bright, and her green eyes—just like Dad's—alight with joy. The source of this joy was made known as soon as she held out a cookie to him. "One of the ladies gave us cookies! You want one?"

It seemed like everyone in the village was always offering Leita sweets. She made sure Eli got his share, even if it was part of hers. She was like a flower, attracting all the bees that buzzed around her. They cooed and told their parents how sweet and adorable she was.

And Eli agreed with them. His interests didn't lay in sweets or the approval of others; jealousy had no part of his heart. He draped his arms around her and just sighed, leaning his weight on her like she was his life raft. They were close in age. Leita was nine springs, and Eli was ten but would be turning eleven in the fall. They couldn't be more different, but she always smiled at him.

Alive and smiling at him.

"You're heavy," she complained.

A soft smile moved his lips.

"The cookie is really good. Do you want any?"

"Ventus asked me to play hide-and-seek," said Eli.

He watched her chew her cookie with a troubled expression. Leita really had told him he couldn't play hide and seek, because the shadows always told him where she was hiding. True, he had only used the shadows to hasten the end of the game, because she had to pester him into playing it with her in the first place. Yet now he could read the inner struggle on her face. She wanted him to come play with her, Rini, and Ven, but she also didn't like when he "cheated." He had mentioned it because he wanted to see that look on her face, but now it seemed a little too cruel.

"It's okay; I didn't want to play anyway."

"Eli, honey."

He looked up at his mother's call, his arms still around his little sister. She was walking with Dad and another really tall woman. Eli knew her, because everyone in the village knew her, even if they were just passing through. It was Lady Impa.

"Lady Impa wants a word with you," said Mom as they reached him by the well.

Eli looked up at Impa, who stared back at him with her red irises. She didn't flinch or look away or make that weird face Ven would. Instead, it was like she was searching him. No one ever did that, except Mom, when she knew he was hiding something. She towered over him, her arms folded across her chest in an imposing stature.

Her gaze lifted only to glance to the well and then back to him. "Why do you always linger by the well?"

Eli glanced over at Mom. She nodded. He turned his gaze to his father beside her. He smiled in an apologetic way and just nodded too. He even seemed relieved, so it must be okay with them to talk about it. Still, he wondered how much the Sheikah knew about the well, since she asked about it. He wondered if he answered vaguely, would she give him more in response?

"Because," he returned his stare to her, "I can hear them."

However, this seemed to be all Lady Impa needed as an answer, because she just nodded. "Your parents have told me about your gifts. I've also heard as much from other sources."

"You mean the villagers," Eli suggested.

Impa nodded. "They don't see the truth, but one can find it if they know where to look … My people are very few after the war. Our ways must live on, even if not through those of our blood. I wish to train you in the ways of the Sheikah, to become an Elite Guard."

Leita squealed, bouncing up and down and tugging on his arm. "Eli! You'd protect the Royal Family!"

It was true. That was the role of those in the Elite Guard, which was staffed by the most talented warriors and mages of the Sheikah tribe. Still, Eli's brow furrowed in almost more suspicion than confusion.

"Why me?"

Given the reactions he got from most people without even doing anything, he didn't understand why he would be considered for such a prestigious position.

Impa kneeled so that she was closer to Eli's eye level. "Because your gifts are suited to learning the ways of my people. The Sheikah are, were, the shadow people. Guardians of the dead. If you wish to learn the truth about yourself, then come train with me."

Eli accepted her offer, even though he had never really given a serious thought to what he really wanted to be when he "grew up." Leita already knew; she wanted to be a high priestess of the Order of the Three, just like Mom. Eli had considered he could have become a priest of the Order himself, but he wasn't interested in religion as he wasn't sure how he felt about the goddesses. He thought about being a soldier like Dad had been before he went to Lake Hylia to be a fisherman. Or he could be a magic scholar, as he did love learning and reading about magic.

Being an elite, it would be like being a little of both. Impa said she could teach him about his magical gifts alongside his mother. She would also teach him more about fighting. Dad had been a soldier, but he was no knight or anything. Impa could teach him a lot more. There was also that thing about the truth, which Eli valued the most.

"What did Lady Impa want with you?" Ventus again. Eli looked up from the well once more to stare into his inquisitive face. At least he wasn't making that other face as it was hard to take him seriously to begin with.

"She wants to train me to be an Elite Guard," answered Eli.

"What?" Ventus looked surprised for a moment before scoffing, crossing his arms across his chest in challenge. "Quit lying. Why would she ask you to be an Elite Guard?"

Eli locked his eyes on Ven's at this comment, feeling something cool start to coil in his chest. "Why would I lie?"

Not that Eli valued honesty, as he saw no quam in lying when it suited him, but he had never given Ventus a reason to doubt him. Also, no one had dared spit insults to his face before. They just whispered behind his back like he couldn't hear them.

"You mean besides the fact you are the same age as me, don't have Sheikah blood, and talk to nobody? Oh, I don't know," drawled Ventus. He had the gift, it seemed, to be a lot more eloquent between the lines than he did when actually talking. Though, Eli also wondered if that was intentional either, as Ventus had never seemed that bright to him.

The cold thing in his chest hardened. Needless to say, he already felt enough private humiliation at learning the people he had thought he had been talking to this whole time were dead. It was an insult to injury to realize why people always gave him those weird looks. It was because they always saw him talking to "no one."

He didn't need Ventus to remind him, though he knew the other boy was only doing so out of jealousy. So this time he'd say what he wanted to say. Even if he had also questioned Impa's decision to offer him Elite training for similar reasons. He didn't care that Ventus was the kid of his parents' friends. He didn't owe them, or him, anything. What had they ever done for him?

Eli raised a single black brow at him. "Compared to what? You? An idiot who stumbles about playing at being a knight with that moronic look on your face? Surely, you'd be more qualified."

"An id—Why you son of a bitch!" Ventus' eyes narrowed and rage filled his eyes. His small hand curled in a fist and began to raise, as if to punch him. "You think I'm stupid?! You're not better than me!"

Well, he hadn't said that last bit exactly. Still, Eli's feet had started to widen into the fighting stance his father taught him.

"Ventus!"

A tall man stalked toward them, wild blond hair blowing in the wind. A sword rested at his side, and the left arm was shorter than the other due to half of it being missing below the elbow. As he drew closer, there was a hint of the same constant cowlick in his hair that was present in Ventus'. Both were wild and untamed, but the boy's hair was a much lighter, whitish blond than the sun kissed hue of the older man's.

"Ventus, what are you doing?" Kubera demanded, glowering down at his young son.

Ventus shrunk under his father's gaze, the anger and rage within him wilting. Kubera wasn't just any soldier, like Eli's dad had been. He was a real live knight of the Royal Guard, protectors of Hyrule; captain to boot. It was a fact Ventus was rather proud of, as Eli had often heard him boasting about it.

"Dad," Ventus whined. "He called me stupid."

"I don't care what he did or didn't call you. Striking another person isn't acceptable just because they called you names. You want to be a knight, right? Knights protect people, not start fights over hurt pride," Kubera growled before looking at Eli, his face softening up a bit. "I just heard about you being tapped for the Elite Guard. Congrats kid."

"Is there a problem, Kubera?" His own father approached, coming up the steps to the well, raising a brow at him. "Is there, Eli?"

Eli stared at him for a moment and then glanced away. He would say what he wanted even with Father there. "Well, perhaps it was unfair to compare Ventus to me in that regard, but all I said was the truth; he invited it in the first place and that does make him a fool."

His father blinked, almost confused not by his words, more that he was speaking them this way to others. Eli kept to himself for the most part. Dad raised a brow at him with a still shocked face. "Excuse me?"

He looked up into his father's face to face that eventual disappointment. Eli raised his brow as he folded his arms across his chest. "What? He is, even compared to other children more his speed."

"Elias." He knew he would hear the both shocked and disappointed tone in his father's voice.

"See?" Ventus demanded hotly, pointing at Eli. However, while Kubera's expression softened toward his son ever so, he didn't take his son's side.

"Ventus, you're going to hear a lot of shitty things—some true and some not—as you grow up. Resorting to violence though, as I said, is never the answer. You're almost eleven, you should know better by now," he said before sighing. "We're going to have a talk when we get home. I'm disappointed in you."

That seemed to cause Ventus to wilt and he looked down at the ground, almost as if he was trying to fight back tears. While Eli had to suppress a smirk. He knew it was petty, but Eli hadn't started this. Ventus did. It was the moron's own fault. Yet, his lack of having more of a hand in it also gave Eli a slight sense of dissatisfaction. It felt less like a success on his part. Kubera had acted on his own. It would have been more satisfying if Eli's influence had been a deciding factor in Ventu getting reprimanded, but it wasn't. This was just how Kubera was. No strings need be pulled or tendencies nudged further. It was almost boring really.

"No, Kubera, it's fine. I don't know what's gotten into Eli. He's not usually like this," said Dad, smiling at his old friend.

"As if he was going to land that hit anyway," Eli breathed under his breath but loud enough.

He saw when Ventus would play fight with his friends. The other boy had no real training. Which was surprising, given who his father was. He also knew that because of who his father was, Ventus personally knew many of the other royal knights. He had assumed his little community in Castle Town would have imbued him with their skills. Though, it seemed they hadn't. Eli had some at least from his father, and though Dad was no knight, he had still been confident he would have dodged the strike and countered with ease.

Dad turned back to him. "Khaz Elias, what is wrong with you today? Why are you talking like this?"

There it was. His first name. It never sounded right to him. His middle name was Elias, after his grandfather, which he liked better than "Khaz." Eli shrugged. "I hardly see how the problem is with me."

Dad sighed, pinching the bridge of his brow. Eli watched his shoulders sag with an invisible burden, and he felt a little bad at that. It was uncomfortable, seeing his father look tired, worn, or worried. Dad was like that more than he showed others. Sometimes at night, his father couldn't sleep. Eli would wake up when he needed to pee and find him working on that secret room in the storage room floor. Dad said it was just in case. He never said in case of what, but Eli knew it was in case the Gerudo ever attacked again.

Dad dropped his hand from his face. He turned to Kubera with his usual gentle smile. Dad's smile was like Leita's, warm and full of light that everyone seemed to like. He gave his friend's shoulder a squeeze.

"Again, I'm sorry. I'll also talk to Eli."

"Don't worry about it," Kubera said, smiling back before looking down and with his one remaining hand, took Ventus'. "I guess our boys are finally at that age." Then he grinned. "Well, at least neither of their sisters seem to be the troublemaking sort."

Dad waved as they left, and then turned back to Eli. His stomach started to twist at the disappointment that weighed on his father's face. He had told himself he didn't care, but it was hard to believe that now.

"Eli," began Dad in a quiet voice that was no better than the look on his face.

"I just …" Eli glared at his own feet. "I'm tired of everyone."

Dad was quiet, and then he knelt down and hugged him. He sighed in his ear. "I know … I'm sorry."

Chapter One:
The Storm
Ventus

"Wahhh…" Ven breathed, holding a stick he had found tucked away in the trees around the Temple of Time a year or so ago. Flicking his wrist out, the branch snapped forward and the air whistled. The scent of his mother's bread and the overcast clouds' promise of rain wafted over him after their lunch rush at his mother's nearby bakery.

Ven was supposed to be helping clean the house for the Serwens to move in with them. Apparently since Eli needed to train and study in Castle Town with Impa, Aunt Amaya was moving them there. Leita would even be joining his school. Though, Rini had to move all her stuff into his bedroom because Eli and Leita would be staying in hers. While cleaning out the guest room for Aunt Amaya, Mom had found something of Aunt Fae's and became inconsolable. Not knowing what to do, Ven had scooted out the house to practice his swordsmanship, although he could hear Rini even now trying to comfort their mother.

He wanted a real sword, but Dad said he was too young to have one. He couldn't wait until he turned fifteen, so he could join the Guard. While Dad did teach him some moves—because Ven wouldn't stop annoying him—it was rare for the knight to spend any real quality time with his children due to the nature of his job. At least, Ven liked to think that was the reason. However, it got harder to believe when he noticed the other knights spent less time on duty than his father.

Pulling the branch back and sliding into a position he saw his father take sometimes, he narrowed his eyes at an imaginary assailant—a Gerudo—before he lunged forward.

"Fwah!" He yelled, cutting off their arm, just like they did to his father. When they fell to their knees, clutching their bleeding stump, his 'sword' dashed out and removed their head. Their body fell to the ground, and Ven lorded over them as drops of rain began to splatter over his clothes.

"Heh," he smirked, pleased at his 'victory.'

He had heard what Eli said about him not landing a hit. Stupid bastard thought he was as deaf as everyone else. Well, he was coming soon, so he'd show him then. He was the son of the captain of the Royal Guard after all. So what if Eli was tapped for being an Elite Guard? The real heroes—who protected everyone and not just the Royal Family—were the knights after all. Plus, Dad finally agreed to teach him some more sword lessons on his birthday.

Let the Gerudo come again. I'll beat them all back, just like Dad, he thought. He would become a knight and the captain of the Royal Guard like his father and uncle before him. Except this time he would kill Ganondorf, the Gerudo King. Daddy said it was just a matter of time before that desert snake would attack again.

Despite Kubera Agni and the other members of the council making it very clear they didn't trust the King of Thieves and weren't at all happy at the free reign the man had in the kingdom, the king of Hyrule, Theodas Nohansen, was kind-hearted and much too optimistic for his—and Hyrule's—own good. According to Dad at any rate, who was right, of course. But this time, Ventus would make sure Mandrag Ganon wouldn't live to regret his decision to assault Hyrule a second time—whenever that time came.

However, his face fell an inch or so. Even now, he didn't understand why the Sheikah woman would approach Eli of all people. What made him so special? He didn't have Sheikah blood, like Ven did. Sure, he acted all high and mighty, pretending like he was some sort of adult, but he was the same age as Ventus—no, younger. He was just some crazy kid who spoke to nobody, stared into the well and pretty much refused to interact with anyone no matter how many times Ventus was nice to him and asked.

Then he goes and says I'm stupid, acting like he was all better or something, he thought with an angry pout. Puffed up jerks like him deserve a smack in the face. Yet, the "talk" Dad had with him that night resurfacing in his memory. He hadn't yelled, but Ven wished he had. It was a small consolation knowing Eli got in trouble with his dad too.

Still, he didn't like the idea of having to share his home with the dickhead. It was one thing if it was Leita or Auntie Amaya or Uncle Tori or Uncle Killian, but Eli … Eli was something else. He had tried so hard to include him. Tried so hard to get along with him. Ignore the superstitions which surround him, if only because his mother said they were nonsense. Yet time and time again it was thrown back in his face.

And then it seemed like he was just handed things. Acknowledged without lifting a finger, even by his own father. Ventus Agni knew how hard it was to earn praise from Kubera Agni. He had tried all his life, never succeeding once. All that he got was higher and higher expectations.

His sullen brooding was interrupted when he heard the sound of horse hooves pounding on the cobblestone street. While it wasn't unusual for a horse to be traveling in Castle Town's streets, the sound of the trot was faster than he normally heard, like a gallop. Taking a step further into the street, he squinted and looked down the street and for a moment, he didn't see anything.

Then a white horse appeared around the bend, and in surprise, Ven leapt to the side, just avoiding being run over. His eyes widened upon noting it was Lady Impa riding on the horse, a small girl in front of her. She had blonde hair, fine clothes, and looked the same age as him; he knew who she was of course as he would run into her occasionally when terrorizing the castle looking for his father. Princess Zelda.

On their heels was a large towering black mare, and a large man with dark skin and hair like fire rode it. There was only one male Gerudo every hundred years. So it could only be Ganondorf, himself.

Ven froze in shock, his sword clutched in his hand.

He couldn't move. Even though Ven swore he would take him down, take justice, for Ganondorf Dragmire had killed Ventus' uncle—the previous captain of the Royal Guard—during the Gerudo War, the boy remained still as a statue.

The Gerudo man didn't even notice him standing there as he raced past. His golden hued eyes were anchored and burning upon the brown horse that had preceded him, and his teeth bared in a grimace of heated determination as he urged his own horse to gallop faster.

Soon three others on horseback in hot pursuit of Ganondorf appeared. They were knights, friends of his father's. They sometimes would even come visit the bakery and buy some bread, and on a rare occasion, would show Ventus some of their moves with their weapons. Nora in particular was more open to showing him little tricks here and there, but those were how to hit and run rather than stand and fight. It wasn't something Ventus was as interested in—it was too cowardly in his opinion—though it wasn't like he could be picky.

A couple of arrows whizzed out, but they missed their target. However, as Ven followed them with his eyes, he yelled in shock when there was a large explosion. His hands flew to his ears as they rang, and he moaned in pain at the sudden din. It took him about a moment or two to hear again—screaming and crying—and there was a sick, sweet scent of burning flesh. When the smoke cleared the knights, his father's friends, were lying broken and dying on the ground.

"What's going on—" Mom exclaimed, throwing the door open, her eyes stained red and glistening, only to see Nora, Tessa and Garrik bleeding on the ground, Tessa's insides in particular staining the streets, and she screamed, the rain beginning to pour down harder.

She wasn't the only one.

Their neighbors, who heard the explosion as well, began to peek out of their homes, and panic and confusion began to grip everyone.

Ignoring his mother's cries for him to come back, Ventus rushed to Garrik's side, being broken from the spell of panic which held him bound, bending down next to him. Placing his small, shaking hand on the knight's middle, Ventus tried his hardest to put pressure on the wound and stop the bleeding. If he could just stop it long enough for Garrik to be able to heal himself and then to heal the others …

However, the knight reached up weakly and grasped Ventus' wrist, causing the boy to look into Garrik's brown eyes which were becoming duller as his life drained from his body.

Garrik rasped, coughing up blood. His voice was muffled, almost like he was talking from the bottom of a well, and for the first time in his memory Ven had to strain his ears to hear. "Ganondorf … betray …"

The last word rattled on his breath, and the knight's grip on Ventus loosened before his hand fell to the ground, motionless.

Standing up, tremors running through his body, his hands still covered in blood, Ventus began to run down the street, ignoring his mother's shouts for him to come back. He needed to go tell Dad; Dad would know what to do. Dad could do anything, take care of anything.

Living in Castle Town his entire life, Ven knew every single back alley and shortcut like the back of his hand. He slipped through crowds of people who didn't seem to know quite yet of the horrors of what happened. No doubt by tonight when the word got around, fear would start to grip the city, yet Ventus was positive whatever came, his father and the other knights, not to mention the Elite Guard, could take care of it.

Me too, of course, he assured himself.

Everything would be okay.

Feet pounding toward the castle, he noticed several people leaving the gate. While some of them were soldiers Ventus didn't recognize, he noticed his father with Eliza and Liam on horseback leaving the castle.

Stopping in the middle of the road, panting, his hands on his knees as he sucked in the much needed air with desperation, he waited for his father to draw closer. Now the rain was a torrential downpour, and Ventus' blue tunic clung to his small frame, plastered on by the sheer force of the weather.

"Ventus!" Dad shouted, stopping next to him. "What are you doing here?!"

"Ganondorf … chasing Lady Impa and the princess … killed Garrik, Nora and Tessa who were chasing …" he gasped, looking up at his father as lightning struck, lighting up the entire sky for a brief second, and was followed after with an angry growl of thunder. "Garrik said … let everyone know … betray …"

Kubera swore, pulling on the reins of his horse, who whined at the raging storm which now surrounded them.

"We know—Ventus, go home and stay!" His father demanded, and when he opened his mouth to protest, his father snapped at him. "Do it, Ven!"

Ventus recoiled but after a moment, nodded, and ran off.

The Agni house, which was often filled with laughter and arguments between the two children, was silent. Ventus caught the flickering candlelight with his rock, small rainbows playing across the wooden table. A Goron, who always came to the town to sell wares and always got their crusty and old bread, gave it to him as a gift. Some of the regulars had also been wishing him happy birthday, even though his birthday wasn't for a couple of weeks still.

Rini, sitting across from him, combed her doll, Anna's, straw hair without a word. The only sound which could be heard was their mother in the kitchen, preparing dinner if only because it was something to keep her busy for the time being.

Yet Ventus couldn't stop thinking about the bodies of the dead knights that had been lying outside their home just hours ago. It was different, imagining the fallen bodies of your enemies, only to see the broken ones of your allies and friends.

The sickly sweet smell of burning flesh haunted his senses, uninvited. Even now, the echoes of the explosion rattled in his mind and the stench still clung to the walls, despite the bodies no longer being here. His hands still felt sticky too, even though the last of Garrik's blood had been scrubbed clean from his hands hours earlier.

It didn't seem real. It wasn't right. Nora, Tessa, and Garrik gone. Just like that. They were knights. They shouldn't have died that easily.

No. Maybe they weren't dead. They were just taken away to get healed. That was it.

"Ventus, Rini, go wash up," Mom said, appearing in the dining room, wringing her hands, a forced smile on her face, yet her eyes shone with worry and fear.

"I'm not hungry," Rini muttered, pausing in her combing, looking up at her mother, searching for something.

Ventus' insides, twisting with nausea, agreed with her statement.

"Is Dad going to be alright?" his little sister asked.

Mom's lips pressed together, forming a thin line. After a moment though, that same, tired, smile from earlier replaced the look as Mom walked over and bent down, kissing Rini on the forehead, smoothing her long blonde locks back.

"Of course, he will, honey. Your father survived one war. He can survive whatever the world throws at him."

Ven heard the door creak open, and turning his head, he gave a shout of relief upon seeing his father standing in the doorway. He was soaking wet, a pool of water collecting at his feet, a worried and dejected look marring his face, but alive.

"Daddy!" Ventus cooed, launching himself out of his chair and enveloping his father in a tight hug, joined seconds later by Rini.

"Kubera … thank Farore," Ventus could hear Mom say, as he nuzzled his face into his father's tunic. The cold water was a welcome relief against his skin, and a much needed distraction from the phantom feeling of Garrik's innards on his palms.

"Yeah … but we lost him," Dad sighed, pulling Ventus and Rini into a bear hug all the same. "We're still on high alert, so I can't stay long, since we need to protect the king. Lenna may be an Elite, but it's better to be on the safe side. Guards are already patrolling the city looking for Ganondorf, but just in case, all of you stay inside."

"Why was he chasing Princess Zelda in the first place?" Ventus asked, pulling away.

It didn't make sense to him. Yes, while the Gerudo was vile—he overheard enough of his father's talks with his knight buddies and his mother to know that—it had been ten years since the war and Hyrule had squashed the Gerudo's assault.

Well, attacking little children and royalty is what villains do, Ventus reasoned to himself, but still waited for his father's answer.

"I don't know, Ven," Dad sighed before giving him a small smile, ruffling his hair. "We'll figure it out though." He paused for a moment, and his eyes hardened. "This time we'll execute the bastard."

Screaming interrupted them, shuddering through the air. Dad's eyes interlocked with Mom's, and after a quick command to 'Stay here!' he ran out the door. However, Ventus was never good at listening to directions, and, grabbing his stick, he ran after him only to be stopped when an arrow whizzed past his face and dug into the doorway next to him.

He whipped his head to see a Gerudo woman mounted on a horse, stringing another arrow on her bow only to be struck down by a crossbow bolt from a Hylian guard. As she fell from the horse, Ventus found himself being yanked back inside.

"Ventus, what is wrong with you?" Mom hissed, pressing the two of them to the wall, Rini standing next to the table, pulling Anna closer to her chest. Mom held a single finger to her mouth, and peered around the doorway again, eyes flicking around in the darkness of the night before cursing; the first time Ventus ever heard her do so.

"Mom?" he asked in a breath, his hand clutching the stick tighter to stop them shaking, feeling that sick twist in his guts peak.

"Ventus wait here with your sister for a moment, and stay out of sight!" Mom instructed, and when his mouth opened to protest, her head snapped around and glowered at him. Ventus' mouth snapped shut, knowing well enough not to push his luck. Instead he gestured for Rini to come closer to him, and in seconds his younger sister was in his arms, her small body shaking.

Ven could hear his mother moving through the rooms upstairs, drawers being thrown open and to the side. Outside he could hear shouting and yelling among the cracks of thunder. Every so often lightning would dance in the sky, and there would be seconds where he could see the shadows of the battle take part.

Heart pounding in his chest, he strained his ears for any foreign sounds approaching them, but there were just so many. It felt like forever when Mom came down again, tucking the last of some clothes in a bag which she slung over her shoulder.

"Let's go!" she whispered, gesturing for them to follow her. Encouraging Rini to go forward, he watched his mother's eyes dance around the house as they slipped out toward the back exit which led to a small alleyway too narrow for a horse to get through.

"Whatever you two do, make sure you are not seen by anyone," she whispered, looking at her two children, her hazel eyes boring straight into them as if willing both to understand her words.

Unfortunately, the gravity of her words didn't seem to get through to one of them.

"Mom, I don't understand," Ventus whispered back. "What's going on? What about Dad?"

"This isn't the time, Ventus," Mom whispered harshly, starting to slide down the side of the alley, keeping one hand on the bricks of the buildings. "Your father will be fine. He's going to meet up with us later. We talked about this … if this happened again, what we would do. But if something happens to me, take your sister and go to Kakariko Village. Do you understand?"

Ventus didn't want to leave his mother behind, but Rini gripped his hand tighter, and glancing down, he could see fearful tears welling up in her eyes.

"Being a knight is about protecting people, Ventus, not starting fights."

Swallowing any further arguments, he nodded his head. Mom may not be a knight like Dad, but he was sure she was just as awesome in her own way. Even if something did happen—which it wouldn't—he was sure Mom would find a way to return to them. Right now, he had to protect Rini. Get her out. Mom was sure to follow, and Dad he knew would be on his way later.

"C'mon Rini," he whispered, encouraging her further down a path he was well acquainted with—it was his favorite whenever he was sneaking out the house and didn't want Mom or Dad to catch him. Screams echoed in the air around them, but Ven wasn't worried.

After all, he was a great hero. Protecting his little sister from a bunch of dirty Gerudos was nothing.