If you've been on my Fanfiction account, you might remember one of my old stories, Among Riches and Royals. While that story is alright, I feel it was a bit all over the place and left a lot of things unanswered. It was primarily because it was initially part of a trilogy that I canceled after the first fic. Also, I no longer have the rights to some of the OCs. So we're starting over, and I'll try and do this story the justice it deserves.
A Legacy of Ashes
Chapter 2
All around the princess was her kingdom's vast and lush green fields. The goddesses' blessed land was as far as the eye could see. And yet, in the wind, she could hear something. Something unlike a whisper among the babbling rivers and chirping birds.
She could feel herself gliding along the lush green fields as if she was the very wind itself. Ever so faintly, the sound got louder.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself at the crumbling gates. The kingdom to the south. Her sister kingdom, or at the very least what was left of her.
For ten years, that dark storm raged on. A lifeless and empty void. It was as if she stood at the gates of a cemetery. There was fear pulsing throughout her body.
Then she heard it again.
It was, without doubt, an anguished cry.
She reached out, and suddenly, the world rushed around her, bringing her to a dark and desolate void. She was surrounded on either side by jagged stone. She was somewhere deep within the earth. Before her stood a writhing mass of magical energy, and despite everything in her mind screaming at her to touch it, her soul whispered not to.
Then there was a deafening roar that rattled her very core.
Her eyes shot open as she nearly tumbled out of her large fluffy armchair. She righted herself, rested her head against the armrest, and steered up at the ceiling. Her mind was a mess of fuzzy images. Had it all just been some vivid nightmare?
She lowered her gaze back down to the book that rested on her chest. She wasn't sure when she'd stopped reading, but she folded the page; nevertheless, she'd get back to it eventually.
She looked around the brightly lit library. The chair she was nestled at was just beside one of its large open windows. Her stiffness melted into easy contentment as she bathed in the softly streaming sunlight. She stood up and stretched, the nightmare starting to fade at the corners of her mind.
She ran a hand through her long blonde hair, ensuring the crown atop her head wasn't too displaced by her earlier nap. She placed the book on the table at her left, making sure she remembered where she had left it.
The castle, despite everything, was a soft and pleasant dream, a far and distant contrast to her earlier vision. And now, as she walked out into one of the castle's many gardens, she found herself unable to remember it at all fully.
She rested on one of the benches to regain her bearings. Now being unable to remember her nightmare was concerning. She turned and found herself staring into the fountain.
When she gazed deep into the water's ever-constant ebb and flow, something rushed into the forefront of her mind. A rift of some sort. That was it. A portal or seal or something along those lines. She was confident it was, without question, a large gathering of magical energy.
She rose quickly and rushed back to the library. She needed to look into whatever that was. If she couldn't find anything like it, she could be sure it was nothing but a product of her imagination. However, if she somehow, by some chance, did find it, then it was a vision.
He marched down the crowded streets of Castle Town's Market Square. Slowly approaching a nearby inn. Lovely Hylian script hung on a massive blue banner with a smaller sign to the side written in the King's Script, The Blue Butterfly.
Inside the inn's tavern, Hylrulians and those who once called themselves Ylisseans drank side by side, neatly packed into the small establishment. Behind the bar, a young man cleans glasses between orders. The boy looked up and smiled, "Ike, welcome back; how'd the mission go?"
Ike took his seat at the bar, "uneventful." He looked up as the young man placed a plate of curry in front of him, "how's your memory?"
The bartender froze, a deep frown crossing his young face. His hand drifted up to the eyepatch covering his left eye. Ike shook his head, but he spoke before Ike could cut him off, "frustrating."
"Marth, forget I brought it up," he then dug his spoon into his food. "Where's Akira?"
Marth froze and looked pensive, "he left earlier this morning, but I haven't seen him since."
Marth shook his head before smirking. "Actually, I think I may have an idea where he is."
The market square was in chaos.
A small squadron of guards hustled after a young man with a bag tossed over his shoulder, the knights a fair distance behind him as he weaved his way in between people and merchant carts alike.
Despite the soldiers at his heels, he wore a smirk on his face. As he neared a corner, he climbed up atop a stack of crates. Peeking over his shoulder to see if he was still being pursued. He leaped onto the roof the last few feet when he noticed he was.
He watched them stop at the pyramid of boxes and look around. He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. He dashed along the rooftops, approaching an intersection far from where he seemingly vanished.
As he neared the exit of the alley and was cut off by a kingdom knight. "Why is it whenever there is a disturbance as chaotic as this one, it's always you."
Akira couldn't keep the smirk from turning into a full grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He adjusted the bag over his shoulder, "I didn't even do anything this time."
"Somehow, I doubt that," he pulled the sword from its scabbard and pointed it toward the frizzy hair fiend. "The entire kingdom guard is running around like headless Cuccos looking for you?"
"I mean it this time," he pouted. "Ask the fish vendor in town square. I'm innocent."
The knight eyed a small, moving lump in Akira's vest. "What else are you hiding?"
Akira shifted shyly, trying to hide the little lump from view, "oh, nothing."
"Akira." the knight let his name hang in the air, a clear threat and warning.
"Look, Blondie, I promise you it's nothing that bad." but when the night didn't back down, Akira sighed and slowly approached the Hylian knight. Quitely unbuttoned his vest to show what he was hiding.
He looked away from the snickering knight. His own face was a burning mess. "There, can I go now?"
The knight put his blade away and waved him off, hopelessly trying not to laugh. Akira's walk through the town was otherwise uneventful. Thankfully the guard stopped their pursuit after his run-in with his rival.
His mood didn't brighten again until he walked up to another dead end. He tossed the bag over the wall with all his strength. Then aimed his arm at a nearby chimney. Then with a flick of the wrist, a thin wire fired out from the small space between the cuff of his white shirt and leather glove and embedded itself into the stone wall. Without any resistance, he was pulled upwards onto the nearby roof.
He peeked into a small pocket of space between two alley's dead ends. Inside rested a stack of crates, at least fourteen different bowls, seven with water and the other seven with food.
Within the space, a group of cats wandered of different colors and sizes. One was nosing at the bag Akira had tossed over the edge.
"Fox, no!" He jumped down and pulled the blue cat away from the sack after placing him off to the side to recover the bag before he began filling the nearby bowls.
Fox was the first to rush over to the food. The others came at their own pace.
All but one shy little kitten that only peeked out of its crate. Akira responded to this by replacing the food and water in the box. "Here you go, Oracle."
After giving Oracle a few pets, he let her be, then walked over to another crate, this one completely empty. He reached into his vest and pulled out another kitten, this one small and sleepy. He set up the box with a small blanket, food, and water.
"Somehow, I knew I'd find you here." He noticed Marth smiling down at him as they sat on the nearby wall.
Akira only waved them over, "come here."
"Don't tell me you kidnapped another one," despite his phrasing, Marth wore a kind, almost soft smile.
"It's not kidnapping if their strays," he tried to pout but couldn't hold back his smile. "Come on, I don't know what to name her."
Marth leaped down and peeked over at the new kitten. They stared at the tiny little fuzz ball and then looked pensive, "Sumire?"
"Violet, it is," Akira proclaimed as Marth only shook their head. "Oh, why are you here anyway?"
Marth opened their mouth to say something until one of the cats jumped out of the shadows and started scratching the dark-haired boy. "Crow, there you are," unfazed Akira reached up, scooped the hissing ball of anger, and cradled it lovingly. He directed his attention towards Marth again, "continue."
Marth blinked briefly before reaching down and tentatively petting the sleeping kitten, "Ike was looking for you."
Akira sighed, "he sure got back early. I hadn't even realized it'd been that time of year again."
"I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are you guys doing?"
After a moment of silence, Akira studied Marth's face and said, " we're going back."
Despite looking incredibly uncomfortable, he continued, "to find …" he was clearly frustrated, "something."
Marth fixed him with a blank stare, their half-lidded gaze clearly annoyed and unimpressed, "very descriptive, truly helpful."
"Look, I don't know what to say. I'm not sure what we're looking for" Crow managed to wriggle out of his grip and dart away. Akira didn't chase him, "I don't remember it all that well."
Marth's other hand drifted towards their eyepatch again, "You remember more than me."
Akira sighed, "maybe it'll come back to you." he rested a hand on Marth's shoulder, "you're not missing much. It's honestly a boring trip."
"If you say so." Marth returned their attention to Sumire. "We should be getting back to the inn. You'll probably leave in the morning again."
Akira smiled at that, "keep an eye on the gang while I'm gone, will you?" his gaze drifted toward the mob of cats. "Shouldn't take that long."
Marth rolled their eyes, "if I must," they didn't even try to hide their smile.
AN/ wow, that took longer than I expected. That scene with Ike and the one with Akira took way longer than I expected. In truth, I'm not sure what took me so long to write those. Maybe I was focusing on getting my other fic out. Well, hope you enjoyed it. Also, I don't want to see anyone telling me, "this doesn't make sense cuz in cannon-" I don't want to hear it. This fic is for fun and very clearly an AU. Don't come for me.
~ S. Rose (6/30/2022)