A/N: Wow, a lot of you wrote about your concerns about Gan last chapter. Without giving anything away I assure you this story will not have a tragic end. And to that one anon, yes I've read Tale of Two Rulers and I enjoy it quite a bit. Riku's name is actually derived from Riju's name from BotW. You'll find a lot of the characters names I use are renamed characters from BotW. Thanks for leaving reviews!

Chapter 5: Siblings

"Wake up, we're gonna be late!" Link blinked his eyes open and managed to get a glimpse of Riku hurrying out of his room. That was right, class would be starting soon! He tossed off his blanket and quickly changed into some of his clean clothes. There wasn't enough time to put his hair into braids, so he pulled it back into a simple ponytail. He wasn't very good at making his hair look nice like Dad could, but it would have to do for today.

He scampered out of his room and quietly made his way to the main door. His dad was sleeping on a rug next to their table, he was clinging onto Link's favorite plush toy and he was drooling all over it. Gross. In the gathering room on the bottom floor, a lot of his aunts were either sleeping or groggily holding their heads. He waved to the ones who were awake and he continued on his way. Riku was far ahead and it frustrated him that she wouldn't wait for him to catch up.

When he finally arrived at the arena, he was out of breath. The arena was to the north of the commune, so it was a far run from his home building. The place was used for all sorts of things, like horse races, tournaments, ceremonies, and training classes. Yesterday he'd been there for archery, which was something he found he enjoyed quite a bit. He didn't hit most of the targets, but his teacher informed him he did amazing for his first time trying.

He quickly squeezed through his crowded classmates and he sheepishly looked at his feet when the defense teacher gave him an accusatory glare for being late. It wasn't his fault, Dad usually woke him up and took him down to get breakfast long before training began. He signed sorry and smiled at his teacher, doing that usually got him out of trouble. She glanced at him and scoffed, her expression remained neutral.

"Riku, Link, you two will be staying after class for being tardy, don't let it happen again." she stated with a hint of anger on her tongue. Her golden headpiece had garnets on it, meaning she was from the Grenat family which also happened to be the name she had her students call her by rather than first name like the other instructors. Her hair was sheared short, so she didn't have to worry about putting it into fancy braids. A cloth belt around her waist held a variety of swords and daggers, a large round shield was carefully attached to a belt on her back. Scars of different sizes littered her exposed skin, Link wondered how she received them since they were living in a time of peace.

"Yes, teacher." Riku responded with a little bow of her head. Link decided to follow suit and he bowed as well.

"Since we were interrupted, I will start over. This class, unlike some of the others you are taking, is mandatory. You will learn how to fight and defend yourselves, how well you do will determine when you are moved into the next tier of training. I will hear no complaints and I expect all of you to be on time." she shot a look at Link and Riku, he cringed inwardly when they made brief eye contact.

"If there's no war then why do we have to do this?" one of his older classmates piped up. Link was thinking the same, though he dared not to ask the question himself in fear of the teacher's wrath.

"Bandits and others who wish us harm still roam these lands. You all may be young, but I won't treat you like ignorant babies. Trouble is brewing in the north, we must be prepared for anything that comes our way. Enough chit chat, grab a sword and shield." All of them scattered and grabbed a wooden weapon and shield. The sword looked like a smaller and less deadly version of the one he and Riku helped give to his dad. He waved it experimentally and watched as his classmates did the same. The teacher went down the line of children, correcting their stances and holding techniques as she went along.

"Don't be so stiff, bend your knees and elbows." she instructed Link when she reached him. He obeyed and loosened his stance, the sword in his hand felt lighter and easier to wield. A hint of a smile seemed to creep on his teacher's face, for a moment he thought he'd get a compliment from her, but instead she swung her wooden sword and knocked the shield out of his hand. He inaudibly yelped as the point of the sword hovered mere inches away from his nose. "Dead. Like I told you earlier, you need to prepare for the unexpected." she withdrew and continued her inspection with the rest of the students. Link could still feel his heart racing, one of his classmates snickered when he stepped out of line to retrieve his dropped shield.

Grenat stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at the child who had giggled. When the teacher approached, his classmate tensed and clung onto her shield like her life depended on it.

"Why are you laughing?" she questioned, her demeanor made it apparent she was disappointed.

"I...u-uh-" his classmate stammered and she fidgeted with her sword.

"Link is your comrade, would you laugh if he was harmed in a real battle? Would you laugh while you told his loved ones why he wasn't returning home?"

"N-no." the answer came out as a squeak. Grenat looked at Link for a moment, she looked like she was sizing him up. She rummage through her bin of supplies and returned with a small bag of weights, which she attached to her student's belt.

"Run three laps around the arena, if you drop any of the weights you have to start over. Go." the student nodded and began to jog silently around the area. Everyone else remained quiet, they didn't even dare to reveal a grin or smirk. "Pair up and try to disarm your partner, I'll be watching."

Link faced his partner and watched her as she stalked towards him like she was a cat and he was a mouse. She, like everyone else around his age, was taller than he was. He used the shield to block his chest and neck, he cautiously peered over it and kept a close eye on his opponent. She swung her sword repeatedly, with each hit Link took a step backwards.

"The best defense is a good offense!" Grenat shouted amongst the noise of her students' clattering and fighting. Link didn't think it was necessarily aimed at him, but he heeded the advice and struck back. His classmate was momentarily surprised and he managed to counter a few of her sword strikes. He thought he was doing a good job, but then his opponent made a wide swipe and struck his sword hand. Immediately he dropped his sword and shield so he could hold his throbbing wrist. She rested the edge of her sword on his chest and offered him an apologetic smile.

"Dead." she lowered her sword and frowned. Link closed his eyes tight in an attempt to stop them from watering, he didn't want his peers to think he was a crybaby. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard." he nodded his head, he wasn't mad at her, but his wrist still hurt.

"What's going on here?" Grenat asked firmly. Link opened his eyes to look at her, to his disappointment tears started rolling down his cheeks and he did his best to wipe them away on his shoulder.

"I accidentally hurt Link."

"Let me see." Link hesitantly offered her his hand and she gently turned it from side to side. "It'll be fine, go sit down with the others." he did as he was told and he sat down next to his classmates who had been disarmed. Those who remained were paired with each other and they repeated the process until only two remained, one of them being his sister Riku. She fought ferociously and with poise, it was clear she was a natural. Riku feinted a stab and she disarmed her opponent with a quick upward slash, Link didn't notice until then his sister was fighting without a shield.

Once their exercise was over with, Grenat began showing them more stances and she had them practice holding their swords again. Link's stomach rumbled, this was far more exhausting than archery and horseback riding, he hoped they'd be able to eat soon.

"That's enough for today." their teacher announced. "Next time we meet I will be pairing each of you with one of your upperclassmen, be prepared for that. Keep practicing your stances and be sure to arrive on time." his classmates gathered their belongings and they hightailed out of the arena, excited to finally be free from the strict teacher. Link and Riku stayed behind, both knew they'd get into more trouble if they attempted to flee. They solemnly stood in front of the teacher with their heads hung low, what sort of punishment did she have planned for them?

"Riku, I was thoroughly impressed with you today, you have the potential for being a skilled warrior." his sister beamed at the compliment, he knew he wouldn't be getting one due to how poor he was at fighting. "That doesn't excuse the fact you were late. Start doing laps, both of you."

"When do you want us to stop?"

"When I tell you to."

Link pulled on Riku's hand before she could start badmouthing or protesting. They jogged around the arena, thankfully it wasn't too hot yet. A class of older kids were setting up their archery equipment in the shady part of the place. They held their bows with confidence and expertise, when they loosed their arrows they were able to hit the circles painted onto the targets. Link wanted to be able to do that, something about holding a bow felt natural to him and archery was more fun than getting whacked with wooden swords.

As the pair ran by the students, they were met with whoops and hollers about not pissing off the mighty granite, whatever that was supposed to mean. Link blushed upon hearing the words, that was naughty language and he wasn't supposed to use it, not that he could anyway since he didn't know the sign equivalent. In the group he saw a familiar face, it was his older brother Vhoss. Link didn't know him very well, they were ten years apart so they didn't interact much unless they were eating in the dining hall together. Before Link was born, Vhoss had been the youngest boy in the Adinaya building.

Link and Riku waved at their brother and they continued with their laps. Grenat was sitting under a shaded awning, she was drinking the juice out of a palm fruit while reading a book, it was probably filled with instructions on how to be the world's meanest teacher. Link furrowed his brows and looked straight ahead, he forgot how many laps they had done, but it wasn't any more than ten.

When they passed by their teacher again, Link noticed Riku wasn't near him anymore. She started dragging behind after the third lap, so he slowed himself down so the could be relatively near each other.

"I didn't tell you to stop." he heard Grenat yelling. Link looked behind him and saw Riku leaning against a fence post, she wiped away the sweat on her forehead as she slumped to the ground. Link stopped in his tracks and he rushed to his sister's side. "I didn't tell you to stop either, Link." in that moment he wished he knew how to sign a bad word, instead he scowled at his mean teacher.

'Are you good?' he signed to Riku, his wrist didn't hurt that much anymore so he could sign with relative ease.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just tired, you don't have to wait for me." he shook his head and he pulled on his sister's arms. She stood and leaned against him, he carefully led her along the intended path. He hardly made it ten steps when Grenat shouted at him to stop.

"That's enough, come here." Link obeyed and led Riku to the shade. Grenat offered them each a palm fruit, both greedily began to drain the fruit of its sweet juice. "Don't be late to my class again, you're free to go." before he could escape with his sister, his teacher put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Strength is not only physical, it is mental as well. Now scat." she released her grip and Link dashed to Riku before the teacher decided she wasn't done messing with them. He was confused, when the teacher had stopped him she smiled, what made it weirder was that she was smiling at him specifically. He didn't think his teacher was capable of genuinely smiling.

Riku still seemed to be tired so Link let her lean on his arm, they both eagerly made their way to Adinaya's dining hall. They each grabbed a small helping of rice and they eagerly gobbled up their small meal. Thankfully the rainy season was not far away, reports of thunderstorms in the west were a common topic of discussion with the adults. That meant the travelling Gerudo tribes would be visiting soon and there would be plenty of food to go around. What made that time of year even better was that's when his birthday was, the day after the summer solstice was the day he would turn seven.

"Follow me." Riku said suddenly when they were finished with their food. Link followed her without hesitation even though most of the time she was leading him into some sort of trouble. Still she was his older sister and he was supposed to trust people who were older than him. They made their way into the Zenali building and they sat behind the massive velvet curtains on the stage. Tables were arranged in a circle which meant the council would hold a meeting soon, but he knew Riku hadn't any interest in that. It was no secret his sister had a love for music, they were here to listen to the older kids practice their instruments.

'Horn?' he signed to Riku, he was pretty sure that was the instrument she wanted to play. A nod was all he got for an answer, they watched the kids put together their instruments in respectful silence. For some reason Riku seemed to not be annoyed with his presence when he accompanied her to listen to musicians, although he figured it was because he knew she hated being alone and he was the only one who joined her in this particular activity. Tomorrow they'd be in their first music class, even though it was one of the mandatory ones, Link was looking forward to it. He had his eyes set on the big horn, the name of which he couldn't remember, but it sounded amazing when paired with the smaller horns.

The kids started their session, Link closed his eyes and made himself comfortable listening to the soothing music. He was still sore from the day's events and before he knew it he fell asleep with his head leaning on his sister's shoulder.

He was shaken awake by a rather distraught looking Riku. The sleeve of her shirt had a wet spot on it, he instinctively knew that it had to be his drool from using her like a pillow. Link yawned and swatted at his sister, he didn't know why she always had to be pestering him.

"Come on," she hissed just loud enough for him to hear, "we can't be here." That's when it dawned on him the music was no longer playing, all he heard were some adults talking. Of course, the council was supposed to meet that night. If they were discovered, they both likely would be grounded. Link followed Riku through the maze of beams under the stage and they quietly exited through an escape door and they hurried out of the building. Thankfully no one spotted them or questioned their motives when they made their way back home.

They ate their supper peacefully in the dining hall, it was a small portion of food since lunch was supposed to be the biggest meal of the day. He wondered what would happen if the rains didn't come, he didn't know if that was even a possibility. Some of his aunts told him that a long time ago their people didn't have to worry about hunger or drought, they simply followed the rain. It must have been nice to not have to think about going hungry, but that was simply the way things were now.

While he was lost in his own thoughts, he could feel someone staring at him. He turned his head cautiously and saw one of his aunts glaring at him, he didn't remember her name but he knew she was his blood aunt. She turned away and continued talking with her group, occasionally she would glance his way with a frown. Link didn't know her well, but he did know she was on the council with Dad, so if she was here that meant the meeting was over.

Link shoveled the rest of the food in his mouth and he raced upstairs into his home. He made sure to close the door softly so he wouldn't have to have another talk about being gentle and calm with things. Dad was facing away from the door and talking to his friend Phura. She seemed nice and she had pointed ears like his own, but she was going to be leaving soon.

"With New Hylia annexing Faron, I'm worried." his dad said in a quiet voice. Link paused, he was ready to run and hug Dad's leg but he didn't want to interrupt an adult conversation. He didn't know what 'faron' or 'annex' meant, he scrunched his nose in frustration.

"I'm sure that mess won't reach this far."

Dad grumbled something too quiet for him to hear, then he turned and realized there were three people in the room. He smiled then dropped to his knees with his arms open wide. Link let himself be wrapped in his dad's arms and he returned the hug the best he could. Link learned long ago that if his dad was grumpy or sad he could simply give him a hug to make him feel better.

"How was your first day of defense?" Link cringed and signed bad once he was freed from his dad's embrace. He wished he didn't have to go to that class with the crazy teacher but he knew he was going to have to suck it up. Dad laughed and tousled his hair. "Grenat isn't that scary when you get to know her, just pay attention to her alright?" Link nodded his head and endured through another one of his dad's hair ruffles. At this rate his hair would be too snarled in the morning to properly comb through.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Your horse riding instructor wants to give you additional lessons, is that something you'd like to do?" Link nodded eagerly and signed yes a few times, he loved riding the horses and it was something he wanted to do more of. Dad gave him a proud smile and he stood back up and towered over him. "Okay, after your class tomorrow make sure to go to the stable. Now off you go, bedtime."

'Love you.' Link signed.

"Love you too." Link slowly walked to his room, he noticed Dad started frowning again. He crawled into his bed and wrapped himself in a few blankets. For a while he stared at the wall, unable to fall asleep. Was something wrong? Lately many of the adults and older kids were acting odd, maybe it had something to do with the trouble in the north his teacher mentioned earlier. He didn't know what kind of trouble it was, but if it was making everyone so nervous then it couldn't be any good. Link eventually closed his eyes and was able to fall asleep.

The following morning he was unceremoniously awoken with his comfortable blankets torn off. He frowned and burrowed his face further into his pillow, his hand blindly moved about in a desperate search for any of his covers. Next his pillow was tugged at, he retaliated by throwing one of his many stuffed animals at the offender.

"Link, get up you lazy dweeb!" Link huffed and managed to make a noise that he hoped made it obvious he was annoyed. "You said you'd go running with me." He shook his head and swatted Riku's arm away, he promised no such thing. "Fine, that was a lie. I don't care, get up!" she tugged his pillow again and he rolled his eyes, why couldn't she go and bother someone else.

'What?' he signed when she managed to wrench his soft pillow away from him.

"I need to run more so I don't tire out as fast, you need to run cause you're scrawny. So let's go together." Link thudded his face against the mattress a few times before he finally slid out of bed. His sister at least gave him a bit of privacy so he could go to the bathroom and change into his day clothes. When he tried to brush his hair he found the snarls hurt too much so he threw his hair into a messy ponytail and hoped no one would notice.

"Your hair looks awful." his sister so kindly supplemented, he stuck his tongue at her in response. They nabbed some fried eggs for breakfast and they jogged to the arena. The sun still had yet to rise, the sky in the east was smeared with streams of yellow as night came to an end. A single star could be seen in the brightening sky, it was known simply as the Morning Star since it could only be seen just before the sun rose. Link yawned and admired the scenery, he was rarely awake before or even at dawn.

The siblings jogged around the arena in silence, the cool breeze from the west felt refreshing on their faces. As the sky lightened into a light blue color, thick dark clouds could be seen in the near distance, the rains would be upon them sooner than anticipated. More residents had the same idea as the children and they ran laps around the arena while the weather was still tolerable. Someone's dog ran next to them and tried to play, both of them petted the dog before it eventually ran back to its owner.

Riku slowed down after the third lap, so Link suggested they walk instead. For once his sister agreed with him and they continued going around the arena at a calm pace.

"Grenat wants me to train with her older students in addition to my current training, she told my mom I'm talented, but I dunno…" Riku trailed off and covered her eyes when the sun graced the sands with its presence. The light reflecting off the sands was blinding, Link pulled his hood over his eyes and was glad he decided to wear it today.

'You're very good.' Link signed, Riku was one of the best fighters he'd ever seen.

"Thanks." she smiled and the two decided to pick up their jogging pace again. Even though it was early and he was still tired, Link was glad he agreed to join his sister. She was in an unusually kind mood, she didn't make fun of him even once since they started their laps. She seemed to have something else on her mind, but Link didn't want to pry.

A drop of water plopped on Link's nose, making him forget about his sister's odd behavior. He took off his hood and another drop hit him just above his eyebrow. Thunder rumbled in the sky and he reveled in it. Apparently when he was a baby he was scared of storms, but he was pretty sure his dad was making that up to tease him. A flash of lightning streaked across the gray sky, the land was encompassed in shadows when the storm covered up the sun. The rain started pelting the dry earth, Riku and Link excitedly chased each other and stomped in the small puddles that began to form. The older kids and adults who were there joined in the excitement and cheered along with them. With open arms Link proudly faced the clouds and let the rain fall on his face, the occasional boom of thunder only comforted him more.

The season of rain had come early, it was a sign that many more good things were to come.