It was dark on the balcony which overlooked the interior courtyard of the castle. Zelda, wrapped in a shawl, stared out at the massive fountain surrounded by garden beds filled with flowers slowly fading to the crisp autumn air. She was unsure why she was up so late, her hands fidgeted within her gloves and moonlight bounced off of her tiara. In the silence princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule thought she was by herself.

"I don't want to let mother down," she whispered into the night air. "But I just don't understand this magic business. How am I supposed to channel the goddess Hylia to repel darkness."

Zelda paced back and forth on the balcony. Her slippers made barely audible clicks as she moved. Somewhere above her, the moon towered over the castle as it watched everything within its light. Below her, several rats darted through the grass as they foraged for something to chew on. Within the fountain, water lazily drifted out from the triforce held and surrounded by the goddesses. Zelda did not notice the additional figure position on the fountain.

"I am Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule, heir to the Hyrule throne, and prophesied to slay the darkness with a hero with the name Link by a Queen and a mother who a King and a father believes to be a false prophet. All of this training could be for nothing, and my mother will spend her days worried over a myth."

"Or you will all fail." A voice said from the shadows.

Zelda screamed. Her eyes darted around the balcony and towards the moon. She thought she saw a sinister face, however brief, cascade across its pale round surface before her eyes settled on the additional figure on the fountain. Its eyes were red.

"Go away before I summon the guards." Zelda shouted.

"They won't come." The figure floated off of the fountain and into the air.

"Excuse me?! Yes they will because I am—"

"Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule." The voice finished. It floated towards the balcony. Zelda automatically took a step back from the railing. "I know who you are, child of destiny." The figure now loomed over the balcony. "And I know that you will fail against the darkness."

Zelda initially imagined the darkness being bigger than one lone figure. "And what makes you say that?"

"I say that because I am wise, and I know." The figure sneered without a mouth.

"Those are just words, demon." Zelda sneered back.

"I killed your hero." The shadow tilted its head. "It will be very hard to beat the darkness without a hero."

Zelda gasped before she quickly hid her emotions like her father had taught her. "You have no proof of that either."

"Unsurprisingly his name was Link. He lived in a small farming town near the forest. He had a fairy following him and one of my poe scouts spotted him. He was roughly your age, and has now been taken care of."

"You bluff. Finding the hero wouldn't be that easy." Zelda folded her arms.

"Every resurrection it gets easier dear princess."

"So are you here to get rid of me as well?"

"No." The shadow blocked out the moon. "I have other plans for you."

Zelda opened her mouth to speak, but within a blink of her eyes the red eyed figure rushed at her. She felt something cold and hard pass through her as her body fell onto the cold stone tiles of the balcony with a thud. Above Zelda the moonlight danced across her unconscious body and the courtyard, the figure now vanished into the night.


By early morning, the streets of Castletown swarmed with people from all four corners of Hyrule. Gorons towered over doorways and hunched underneath archways. Ritos perched on top of balconies, their necks craned down towards crowds packed against the old stone buildings. There were a few gaps in the crowd where Zoras stood, their head tails swaying a circumference around their bodies. Several Hylias walked up and down the empty centers of the streets pushing carts full of souvenirs and salty sweet food. Unsurprisingly, there were no Kokiri.

The Lurikens stood south of the center courtyard of Castletown, the fountain barely visible beyond the variety of people, their heads turned towards the castle. Confetti drifted from the north and filled the streets with specks of rainbows which fell onto everything. A piece of confetti lazily floated near Lumina. She dodged it swiftly, the piece of paper half the size of her body, only to crash into Mrs. Luriken's arm.

"Better be careful fairy, or the confetti will get you," Mrs. Luriken commented, her eyes still glued towards the castle.

"I'd like to see you go against something coming at you half your size." Lumina snarked as she landed back in Nivan's hair.

"You'd be surprised what I deal with at work." Mrs. Luriken glanced down at Lumina, her red eyes gleamed in the sunlight.

Mystique thought for a moment of her mother wrestling a giant piece of paper. She laughed as the thought continued until Nivan nudged Mystique. She glanced over at him, his expression serious. Mystique shrugged and turned her attention, like everyone else, back towards the castle.

Even behind the massive gates, which separated the castle from the town, a majority of the castle could still be seen as it towered over everything around it. Its shadow was like a sundial as time passed around the circular town established around it. If Mystique squinted she could have guessed that the spiral roofs were originally a crimson red, now bleached from the sun. She could have also guessed what the images on the stained glass windows were if she had paid attention during her lessons inside of the castle. But she didn't squint nor did she remember these little details. She barely knew the Hylian alphabet after all.

In the distance, behind the fountain, something massive shifted. The concentration of confetti thickened in the air, and Lumina squished herself as close to Nivan's head as possible. Cheers echoed loudly throughout the air as the large object turned around the fountain. As it came closer into view, Mystique realized that it was a float.

A dozen of Hylian soldiers carried a large platform that hosted three thrones. In the center throne sat a full bodied man, his blonde beard and hair frosted white. He wore a deep blue coat decorated with gold and jewels which accented the crown on his head. To his right was a smaller chair, barely filled up by a tall, thin, and bony girl with long straight brown hair. Pieces of her hair were braided and pinned back by a tiara bedazzled with five jewels of different colors. Her royal blue dress complimented the man's outfit. The dress, however, looked too long for her as it trailed well beyond to completely cover her feet. To the man's left, a pale woman sat with layers of makeup on her face. Her blonde hair was pinned up in an elegant bun, a few strands coiled around her face. Someone had placed gemstones on her cheeks, which matched the ones on her crown. Like the other two, her dress was a deep blue except hers was decorated with swirls of ivory that weaved between the gold accents.

Behind the three in the throne two figures stood. The first figure Mystique recognized as Impa. She stood behind the woman's throne, her eyes scanned the crowd like a hawk. Impa wore her hair down in a loose ponytail that was filled with bits of confetti. Confetti also stuck to the blue corset and her tights. Mystique smiled when she noticed the cream and brown knee high boots Impa had on.

The other figure Mystique looked at quizzically. The girl stood next to the throne to the man's right. Her hair, like Impa's, was filled with colorful specs of confetti, except instead of a loose ponytail the girl's large blonde curls blew chaotically against the wind. Her face looked perplexed as her hands constantly scrambled to keep her hair in one direction. She wore a simplistic light blue dress that thankfully stayed in one piece so that the girl could focus on her hair.

Another figure, Mystique noticed, sat at the front of the platform, his hands cupped around his mouth as he spoke. "Behold today on our kingdom's harvest festival, we are graced by the blessings of King Suehprom Patroclus Hyrule, Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule, and Princess Zelda Asteria Hyrule!"

"Mother, look, it's your friend Impa." Mystique shouted over the crowd.

"She's an acquaintance dear, but yes that's Impa." Mrs. Luriken kept her eyes on the Queen, a flash of worry crossed her face.

"Who's the blonde girl near the princess? Do you know her too?" Mystique watched as the float got closer to where she stood.

"My best guess is that is the princess's servant. They have been attached at the hip since they were toddlers. The Queen had Zelda's servant chosen that young." Mrs. Luriken kept her eyes on the float.

The float lazily drifted past Mystique, and down the street. Impa turned her back to the thrones and stared towards the Lurikens until the float turned the corner and out of view. The crowd slowly dispersed, forming large clusters of people all trying to go to the next destination. Mrs. Luriken stood her ground, her family around her as they waited for the street to get a little more quiet. Lumina fluttered between Mystique and Nivan, no confetti to be seen anywhere.

"Do you think that the festival will be set up by now?" Mystique asked the air around them.

"The tents went up yesterday before sunset, so I would say yes." Nivan walked down the road, heading towards the southern gate.

Mystique took a few steps, a smile spread across her face, before she turned to look at her parents standing still. "Mother? Father? Aren't you coming?"

"I have to grab something at the house, I will meet up with the four of you later." Mrs. Luriken leaned in and kissed Mr. Luriken before she quickly vanished down a side street.

Outside of Castletown, dozens of tents bloomed over the grassy empty field. A large wheel towered over everything in the distance as it spun smaller circles through the air. On the opposite side of tents, two large platforms spanned across a shallow pool of water. In the center of everything, a large tent stood wide and colorful, decorated with red, blue, and green stripes. Ritos flew gracefully in somersaults through the air and cuccos could be heard clucking somewhere within the chaos of the crowd.

"How many festivals do you people even have?" Lumina said, exhausted. "Wasn't there just a festival at Kakariko."

"That was the Summer Festival," Mystique chimed. "This is the Harvest Festival."

"They're months apart." Nivan added.

"They're still too close together, I think there should only be one festival per year." Lumina floated in front of the two kids.

"Lumina, that would be boring." Mystique whined. "Where is the fun in that?"

"Less crowds sound like a lot of fun, kid," Lumina answered. "It's not fun having to worry about being easily squashed by some random Hylian, Rito, Zora, or Goron."

Behind Mystique, Lumina, and Nivan, a man dressed in stripes handed Mr. Luriken a brochure. The man had a smile plastered across his face. Curious, Mr. Luriken opened the brouche and stared at the images in front of him before he crouched down and showed the brochure.

"What's it say father?" Mystique asked.

"It says that there is a giant circus act starting at the giant tent soon. Do you three want to go?" Mr. Luriken smiled softly.

Before he got an answer, Mystique had already started to weave through the crowd towards the large colorful tent. The rest of the group slowly followed behind.

Inside the tent several rows of wooden seats rose into the air like sets of stairs. Dozens of people already sat in spots scattered across the circular interior of the room. In the center, there were only several torches and sand. Cautiously, Mr. Luriken moved his way towards a row to sit.

It was several moments, but felt like years to Mystique, before the tent filled to the brim. As the last person sat down on the only available spot left, a flashed filled the center of the room and a bald man stood between all of the torches. He wore a long red coat and held a cane. His white crimped collar puffed around his neck and mingled with his thin mustache.

"Ladies and Gentleman," his voice boomed. "And all walks of life… welcome to the Gorme Brother's circus." He walked out from between the torches, as he did the rest of the circle lit up. "Today we have some wonderful acts from all over Hyrule, as well as a special treat at the end." The man smirked before he threw something on the ground, his entire body disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The audience ooohed and aaawed as the smoke cleared. Several Hylians emerged from exits of the tent riding around on bikes. They juggled milk bottles into the air like it was nothing. The bottles danced back and forth between the cyclists with ease. Three bottles, one from each of the cyclists, soared higher into the air towards the darkness of the ceiling. The audience gasped as claws reached out from the shadows and snatched the bottles before they could drop into the light. Three Ritos tossed the bottles between themselves and Hylians through the air. The audience continued to show their excitement throughout the rest of the act.

The rest of the acts felt like a blur to Mystique. Her mind wandered to what the special surprise at the end of the show would be. She remembered that she saw Zoras as they jumped through rings of fire. A Goron battled a dodongo, which she thought Nivan could easily do, and a very nimble Hylian danced upon ropes in the air. For that last act, Mystique wondered if she could be a circus worker if her dreams of being a mail person failed. She thought about the offer which lingered in the air from Pom and Impa. She knew she was most likely too clumsy to walk on lines in the air, so being a royal agent of Hyrule wouldn't end well.

Lost in thought, Mystique did not notice the bald man as he waltzed back into the center of the ring. Nivan nudged her. A smirk crossed Nivan's face as he pointed towards the ring.

"What do you think they're going to do now?" He asked.

"I dunno, bring out Kokiri?" Mystique asked, a little dazed.

"That would be cool, no one has seen a Kokiri in decades." Nivan continued to smirk.

"Don't be stupid you two. This bald horrible looking man has no way of accessing the forest, let alone finding a Kokiri even if it walked right in front of him." Lumina yawned after she spoke, her wings lay flat on Nivan's head.

"Did you ever belong to a Kokiri?" Mystique asked. "I heard every Kokiri had one."

"Well," Lumina began. "Hey, wait what is that?!" Lumina shouted.

Mystique and Nivan snapped their attention back towards the stage, where the bald man began beckoning something large out from the shadows. Before it even emerged into the light, Mystique saw that it had one large red eye.

"Ladies and gentleman," the man's voice boomed. "Come and witness the darkness." From out of the shadows, one clawed and deformed hand dragged itself into the light. Another hand, slightly more human, followed. From there Mystique wasn't quite sure what she was looking at as a body on all fours mixed in dark sludge and human flesh breathed heavily on the stage. There was a large chain wrapped around where its neck should have been, and two Gorons held the chains from a distance. In the light, brown clumps of hair rested on the top of what should have been a head. An empty and soulless howl echoed out into the area greeted by silence.

Mystique glanced towards her father and Nivan. Fear plastered onto both of their faces. She turned her attention back towards the arena, where the creature slowly slumped and dragged its body helplessly across the dirt.

"This is what happens when you chase the darkness." The bald man tugged on his collar as he slowly walked around the creature. "Believe or not folks, this monster used to be just like you and me."

The audience gasped.

"This here monster… yes, this monster was once a Hylian." The man pulled a cane from somewhere on his costume and poked the creature. It wailed. " Now tell me, have any of you seen this happen to an innocent Hylian before?"

Most of the crowd shook their heads no.

"It's because this does not happen to innocent Hylians. This happens to those who dance in the night and play with monsters."

Mystique felt the fabric of her skirt swish as Nivan got up and exited the tent.

"This here folks, used to be a monster hunter. A Hylian who slayed the dark lord's minions for their own material gain. But like all who dabble even remotely against the light… the goddesses will punish us all. Hylia will strike you down and make you nothing more than a monster for your own kind to one day put out of its mercy for the sake of the light."

Confused, Mystique listened as the crowd shouted and jeered towards the center of the stage where the monster hunched what should have been shoulders. The beast took steps away from the man. Mystique saw something glimmer on the cane from the light of the flame. Before she saw anything else, Mr. Luriken's hands were over her eyes as the crowd screamed louder.

Mr. Luriken did not remove his hands from Mystique's face until they had left the tent. Outside, Nivan stood near one of the stalls, holding a sandwich, his face pale. Lumina floated to his side.

"I'm so sorry you three… I didn't realize something like that was going to happen." Mr. Luriken stumbled over his words.

"Nivan, are you okay?" Mystique furrowed her eyebrows as she asked him.

"I'm fine." Nivan mumbled into his sandwich.

"I can't believe how bloodthirsty Hylians are," Lumina said. "Darkness vs Light my glowing fairy ass!"

Mystique looked between Lumina, Nivan, and her father. "Does anyone know what happened to that Hylian?"

Mr. Luriken placed some coins on the booth's counter and handed Mystique a sandwich. "That was a Poe Hunter."

"But why did that person turn into a monster?" Mystique asked, fear crept into her voice.

"Because they were a poe hunter." Nivan replied.

"But why!" Mystique emphasized, her voice went up an octave.

Mr. Luriken opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it immediately. He did this a few times. "It's a long story," he finally answered. "The shortest answer I can give is that there was a mistress of shadows. Her name was Meegan. I learned about her briefly through stories and tales, but she was the Queen of the poes. There was a particular story that during the last great threat of darkness, she worked alongside the King of Darkness himself. There was a particular battle, where she lost many poes against one of the sages while the hero marched forth. It was always said as a way to get kids to behave so that Meegan survived the battle and swore revenge on any who hurt her kind."

Nivan slowly chewed his sandwich. "I always hated that bedtime story."

"Not many children like hearing of Meegan." Mr. Luriken said. His eyes wandered off to something in the distance and his face suddenly filled with concern. "Kids, stay right here, I'll be right back." Mr. Luriken paid for another sandwich before he raced off into the crowd, leaving Mystique, Nivan, and Lumina by themselves.

"What do you want to do now Nivan? Do you wanna race somwhere?" Mystique asked.

"I'm not really in the mood Misty. Can we just find somewhere to sit." Nivan said, barely audible against the noise of the crowd.

Instead of listening to Mr. Luriken, the kids wandered away from the sandwich tent and deeper into the crowds of the fair. Every booth oozed color and whimsy as they passed through. Some tents held even more sweets and savory smells, which wafted through the air. While others hosted games with bows, rings, and little plush cuccos. They wandered through aisle after aisle with little luck on finding a place to sit and rest. Instead, they ran into a group of kids play-fighting amongst the crowd.

"Oh no," Mystique moaned.

But it was too late. Link looked up from his clash with Roul. Fiona's face sourced and a tiny smile was placed on Hudde's face. It did not take long for Mystique and Nivan to be surrounded by the gang of kids.

"Look what the bokoblin dragged in," Roul smirked, his wooden sword slung across his back.

"I'm not in the mood." Nivan said dryly.

"Why… did you lose a fight to a turnip?" Link jeered.

"Stop being annoying," Mystique butted in.

"Let the boy fend for himself Mystique." Fiona said, annoyance slipped into her voice.

"Why do you always have to pick on him?!" Mystique shouted.

"Simple. Because he's weird." Roul answered.

"And it's fun." Link added.

"You're all jerks, you know that right?" Mystique stomped her foot.

"Misty, it's fine, let's just go." Nivan said.

"Typical you, just quitting and leaving." Roul followed Nivan as he tried to leave the circle and pushed him.

Nivan stumbled but caught his footing. He looked back at Roul, his eyes narrowed. "Don't do that." Nivan said.

"I bet I could beat you in a sword fight." Roul sneered. "I heard you ate dirt at the Kakariko sword tournament anyways." Roul nudged Link and Link awkwardly handed over his wood sword to Nivan. Roul stood ready to fight as the rest of the kids backed away.

"This isn't going to end well." Lumina remarked. "Should I just use a little magic on the big blonde kid and end it?"

"I'm not going to fight you," Nivan spoke to Roul.

"Oh," Roul briefly looked rejected. "Too bad you don't have a choice in this." Before Nivan could respond, Roul hastily swung his wooden sword.

Nivan easily blocked the attack.

"Well I guess it's too late now," Lumina muttered. "The kid is going to get injured."

"Which kid?" Hudde butted in.

"It's pretty obvious if you watch," Lumina said slightly irritated.

In the middle of a crowded aisle, the two boys swung wooden swords against each other. The tall blonde boy with golden lazily swung his sword with little to precision. There was no aim in his attempt to knock down the boy with ice blue eyes who blocked every attack with ease. But that's all Nivan did. He just blocked. As Roul continued to fight Nivan, frustration smeared itself across his face. Roul screamed as he thrusted for what could have been a final blow with a real sword. But instead it was a wooden sword, and yet another attack that was deflected by Nivan.

"Roul this is getting stupid stop." Fiona whined.

"No!" Roul screamed as he threw another swing.

In the crowd, amongst the variety of people a boy with freckles and floppy dark hair watched. He weaved through the crowd, as silently as he could, despite several Hylians muttering as he pushed them aside. When he reached the two boys as they fought in the crowd he continued to walk towards them. Mystique watched from the sidelines as the floppy haired boy unsheathed his very real sword and slashed Roul's wooden sword in half mid swing.

Roul yelped as he jumped back from the attack. "Dude you could have killed me?!"

"I know how to aim, unlike you." The floppy-haired boy smirked. "I also know when to end a fight he should have won easily unlike your friend over here." The boy pointed at Nivan.

"He's not my friend." Roul glared.

"Then why are you sword fighting with him?" The boy smirked.

"Who even asked you?" Link interjected.

"The name's Owin, thanks for asking." Owin continued to smirk.

"That's not what I asked." Link answered.

"Well as Kakariko's prodigy swordsman in training, I think I can have an opinion on play-fighting." Owin turned and looked at Nivan. "You alright there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nivan responded. "I was handling it."

"Not if you were only blocking. If you want to win a fight you should go on the offensive." Owin placed his sword back in its scabbard.

"I wasn't trying to win." Nivan stared at the cuccos decorated across Owin's scabbard. "I was trying to protect. That's what the knights of Hyrule are supposed to do… protect."

Owin nodded, "you're correct." He stared back towards Mystique and smiled before he frowned at Nivan. "But sometimes protecting the people you care about requires fighting and winning."

By now the rest of the kids had run off deep within the crowds. People continued to bustle through the aisle now that the fighting ended. Several Rito children ran about with balloon swords while several Zoras stared confused at the fish sticks they bought. A rancid smell wafted between the sweet and salty flavors already in the air. And, Lumina as usual, was the only fairy in the crowd.

"You're a little full of yourself aren't ya kid?" Lumina said from where she floated.

Surprised, Owin turned around. "Uh," he paused while he tried to figure out where the voice came from. After a moment Lumina floated closer towards the boys. "I didn't mean to be." He answered slightly confused.

"Usually an eleven year old doesn't join a wooden sword fight with a real sword." Lumina bobbed closer to Nivan. "And also you called yourself a prodigy."

"Yeah, that's what the people in Kakariko called him…" Mystique piped up as she pushed her way between the growing crowd to get closer. "You're the boy who kicked Nivan's butt in Kakariko at the summer festival right?"

Owin laughed. "That's correct, that's me… though I'm twelve " He paused. "That's actually part of why I intercepted the fight." Owin looked over at Nivan, and frowned. "I saw you get up and leave that horrible show, and it made me wonder how your sword fighting skills have been since we last sparred."

"Nivan is great!" Mystique butted in. "He practices every day in Hyrule field and could kick your butt!"

"Misty." Nivan glared at her.

"You've got a good cheerleader." Owin laughed.

"Sorry, but I don't have my sword on me." Nivan said.

"That's okay," Owin shook some of his hair out of his face. "I'll be with my grandparents for the next couple of days. Just send your talking green orb to find me when you're ready to fight."

"Talking green orb?" Lumina screamed.

"Don't do it," Mystique stepped between Lumina and Owin.

"And don't assume things, kid." Lumina replied.

Mystique opened her mouth to respond to Lumina, when off in the distance she noticed her father as he scanned the crowd. She turned towards Owin, "It was nice talking to you. Thank you for saving Nivan."

"Misty, he didn't save me," Nivan whined.

"But he did protect you," Mrs. Luriken said from behind the kids. They all quickly turned towards the source of her voice.

"Dear Hylia, how long have you been there?!" Lumina shouted.

"Long enough," Mrs. Luriken smiled. "Nivan, it might do you some good to practice against a real person, I would take up this boy's offer."

"I uh—" Nivan began.

Before any other words could come out of Nivan's mouth, Mrs. Luriken waved towards Mr. Luriken. She grabbed both Mystique and Nivan's hands as she dragged them through the crowd towards her husband. Nivan glanced back towards Owin and could have sworn he saw him wink.


The sun sat upon the mountain range of Death Mountain while Mystique and Nivan stood in the field. The misty morning fog drifted over the grass and in-between the scattered trees. From the stone steps, framed by the open drawbridge Owin walked down the stairs with Lumina. A smile plastered on his face, he waved.

"You were harder to find than you realize, kid," Lumina said as she floated over to Mystique.

"But you still found me," Owin laughed.

Lumina grumbled and rested her wings on Mystique's head. Mystique watched as Owin drew his sword and pointed it towards Nivan. Nivan, his sword already drawn by his side, watched with no emotion splattered across his face. The boys walked around in a circle, their eyes locked on each other's sword.

"I'm waiting for you to first strike," Owin said, his face serious.

"Most enemies don't wait," Nivan replied. He adjusted his shoulder shield with his free hand.

"Smart ones do," Owin stood still, his back towards Castletown. "Not every enemy will be a mindless bokoblin."

"I dunno, bokoblins are pretty smart," Lumina shouted from the sidelines.

"Or you're just not that bright to get captured by one." Mystique snickered. She felt her hair frizz as electricity danced across her scalp. Mystique yelped as she frantically scrambled her hands through her hair.

Nivan looked away from Owin for a split second, just a split second, towards Mystique as she shooed Lumina off her head. But, that was enough time for Owin as he closed the gap between the two of them. Nivan reacted at the last minute to block a strike aimed at his chest.

"That could have easily been a death blow you know." Owin said, his face close to both blades while they clashed.

Nivan pushed Owin away and watched as he gracefully kept his footing. There was a brief moment where both boys locked eyes again before Nivan rushed in with his sword. He aimed towards Owin's sword out of habit, and watched as his attack was easily deflected. A clear metal tone rang across the field. Somewhere, in the distance, a cow mooed in response.

Attack after attack the boys clashed sword against sword. While Nivan was excellent at blocking attacks, Owin danced around any attack with grace. Mystique watched as the boys fought across the field. Her eyes watched for what felt like an eternity.

As the fight progressed, Owin's dodges became less elegant, and Nivan's blocks became sloppy. Both boys breathed heavily, their faces glistened with sweat.

"It seems we are evenly matched," Owin breathed out. "Except you still aren't on the offense."

"Are you sure about that?" Nivan took a deep breath before he answered.

Owin watched as a smile crept onto Nivan's face. Confused, Owin held a slight defensive stance. Nivan took one step towards Owin, and then another and another and another until Nivan was only a few feet away. Owin held his stance, the confusion growing.

The attack came suddenly. Nivan swung his sword lower than Owin anticipated, which made him jump back. He stumbled as he lost his footing, his sword lazily drifted away from near his chest. Nivan lunged his sword, only to stop the tip an inch away from Owin's chest. Owin looked down at the sword so close to his clothes, sweat droplets fell down his face and onto the sword. He smirked.

"Guess I was wrong." Owin nervously chuckled. "Can you move your sword away from my chest?"

Nivan moved his sword towards his side. He smiled back. "Told you last time I would've done better with my own sword."

"I believe you." Owin sheathed his own sword. "So that's your tactic huh. Just tire out the enemy to put in a fatal blow. That's quite a gamble to do if you don't know the stamina of your enemy."

"I've got pretty high stamina." Nivan answered.

"More stamina than a King Dodongo or even the King of Darkness himself?" Owin raised an eyebrow.

Nivan placed his hand under his chin and pondered. "Well, maybe not them, but most enemies, yes."

"And how do you know that?" Owin made a face.

"I've been trained well in that field." Nivan answered.

"You have trained in this field a lot," Mystique interrupted.

"That's not what he meant," Lumina answered.

"Do you want to explain?" Owin paused. "Or do you plan to keep that answer to yourself."

Nivan glanced around the field. He looked up at the clear blue skies, the grass as it gently rolled against the wind, the distant clacking of hooves on trails.

"It's just what I practiced the most with Lumina." Nivan shrugged. "Hard to train on my offense when there's nothing to fight."

Owin made a face, while he stared at Nivan, Mystique, and Lumina. After a pause which felt like an eternity, he shrugged back. "Well you won, so how about I treat you guys to some pastries."

Nonchalantly, the group walked away from the emptiness of the field and towards the bustling crowd of Castletown. Mystique took one last glance towards Hyrule field. In the grass, she noticed something swiftly shift and dart away and towards the mountains. She felt a tug on her sleeve as she was dragged across the drawbridge.

The walk from the Eastern gate towards Mrs. Knead's Bakery was quick. Her little shop nestled itself on a corner just off of the main road leading towards the Eastern Square. Aromas of freshly baked goods and overly sugared sticky buns drifted against the smells of crowded streets. A basket of baguettes leaned against the corner, one of them with a large bite taken out of it. The faded sign for the store hung several feet above the basket.

Confidently Mystique strode into the delicious smells of Mrs. Knead's bakery with Nivan and Owin who trailed behind. She smiled as she pressed her face into the glass and admired the variety of pastries displayed behind their little glass case. A row of chocolate croissants caught her eye, but the sticky buns drew her attention shortly after. Her eyes bounced towards several small cakes neatly decorated with delicate flowers. She turned to look towards Owin and Nivan, her eyes pleaded.

"You can't eat everything here Misty, your mother would kill you." Nivan said.

"But everything looks so good!" Mystique continued to plead.

"You each get one pastry. Anything else is rupees from your wallet." Owin added in.

Behind the counter, Mrs. Knead watched with a warm smile. "Done with training so soon?" She asked.

Caught off guard Nivan stammered as a response.

"I see you walk by with that little fairy of yours every morning." Mrs. Knead answered sweetly. "You two are pretty hard to miss in a crowd." She paused. "Though I am glad that you have friends with you today. The fields are starting to get dangerous I hear."

"What dangers?" Owin asked while he admired the pile of cookies.

"The Bokoblin camps have been getting closer than normal towards Castletown. Usually they stay near the forest or towards the canyons in the west." Mrs. Knead wrung her hands.

Too distracted by the pastries, Mystique did not notice Nivan as he tried to get her attention until he waved his hand in front of her view of the baked goods.

"What?" She asked.

"You turned around before we came back inside, did you see a Bokoblin?" Nivan asked.

Mystique squinted her eyes shut. "Uh, it was hard to see." She opened her eyes. "It was quick and darted through the grass away from us."

From behind the counter, Mrs. Knead pulled out a sticky bun, a little cake, and a cookie and placed them inside of a little bag. "You should report what you saw to one of the guards on post around town. We need to know if the bokoblins plan to attack the castle."

Owin grabbed the bag off of the counter and nodded as he slid rupees her way. "Thank you ma'am, we'll be sure to tell someone."

Slowly, the kids walked out of the pastry shop, where all three of them turned around one last time and admired the baked goods.

Outside they walked until they found a spot on the sidewalk for them to sit and eat. It was near a cart full of flowers painted with rainbows of colors compared to the muted colored decorations which were scattered throughout Castletown. Mystique took a bite of her little piece of cake, the sugar flower tickled her nose.

"So, is this what it's like to live in Castletown everyday?" Owin asked through a bite of his cookie.

"What do you mean," Mystique answered with her mouth full.

"Is it always so crowded?" Owin paused. "And smelly." He wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah!" Mystique smiled. "It's pretty fun. There's always something to do or see."

"It's nothing like Kakariko, that's for sure." Owin watched as several Goron children recklessly rolled down the street. Several Hylians jumped out of the way. Tomatoes splattered onto the ground from someone's shopping bag.

"What's Kakariko like?" Mystique asked.

"You wake up to the sound of Cuccos. Everything smells like sweet hay and corn feed. Each house has a little yard with a cucco coop. You can walk around the entire city and never not be near a tree. Sometimes the laughter of visiting Gorons shakes the ground. The windmill provides a gentle breeze. And our graveyard is given enough space to respect those lost, and not crammed into a corner where no one can find it without a map." Owin looked off towards the East, his voice got quieter as he continued to talk.

"That sounds… different." Mystique said as she tried to imagine a life like that.

"Castletown takes a long time to adjust." Nivan said, his sticky bun already gone. "When I first moved here it was a lot to take in."

Owin tilted his head, cookie crumbs on his mouth. "You aren't from here?"

Before Nivan could answer, Mystique opened her mouth. "Yeah my mother found Nivan cold and alone in the streets of Castletown a few winters ago! She was out running errands and there he was!"

"I wouldn't have guessed that," Owin smiled. "What brought you to Castletown?"

"It's kind of where I just ended up on my travels. I used to live in a town that used to border the Canyons." Nivan put his hand on the back of his neck.

"And you were by myself?" Owin raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"You seem too young now to travel by yourself all that way." Owin wiped the crumbs off his face.

"I was." Nivan glanced up and down the street. "I got lucky to find such a good family to take me in."

"I see…" Owin stood up. "I'll be in Castletown for a few more days if you want to keep sparing. It'd be nice to see you join the Hylian knights one day too."

Mystique and Nivan watched as Owin merged into the crowd and disappeared into the cacophony of the town. Nivan sighed as he brushed crumbs off of his clothes and stretched.

"What do you want to do now Nivan?" Mystique asked, her eyes glued on the colorful flowers above her head.

"Anything except the bug emporium, how's that sound?" Nivan answered.

Mystique made a face as she laughed. Like Owin, the two kids blended into the ever bustling crowds of Castle Town. The only way someone could spot them would be from the glowing green fairy, which bobbed between their heads.