A/N: So sorry about how long it's been. Things have been extremely horrible since uploading the prologue, from a false accusation to people tryna insurance scam me at work. I've had this rough draft for chapter one sitting here for a hot minute but wanted to redo it, however I don't want to keep y'all waiting any longer than I have. I may come back and redo this later, for now now, here's the 'first' chapter!
Chapter 1 – Five Years Later…
Gillies
"Now take aim, and FIRE!"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
Captain Gillies stood upright as he gazed upon Hyrule Castle's latest…err, recruits. Many of them were young and inexperienced, but they were here because they had the fire and determination it took to be a Palace Guard. All they needed now was experience.
And a bit more muscle, he thought as his eyes trained on a particularly young-looking recruit; couldn't have been more than nineteen by the looks of him, but he was holding his bow with a pained expression and didn't seem to have a good grip on the drawstring. One of the others, a former traveller by the name of Archen, noticed his comrade's struggle and attempted to aid him. Foolish move, the Captain thought, and true to his prediction the bow snapped, whipping the string around and leaving an unsightly mark across Archen's cheek and nose. He pinched his nose and closed his eyes as the overdramatic screams of 'pain' resounded through the training grounds and drew everyone's attention, inwardly hoping someone else would be able to take over training soon enough.
"It's not going how you'd like it to," commented a soldier to his left. It was a statement, not a question, and Gillies didn't need to look to know that Captain Kimball was looking at him with a disappointed but sympathetic expression.
"Things never go how I'd like them to, Kimball. If they did, we wouldn't be here-we'd be down by Lake Hylia, drinking from coconuts and tanning till our skin tone was darker than a Gerudo's." Kimball's lips twitched as he shifted in his armor. "Lake Hylia doesn't have coconut trees, Captain." The other man groaned at the sarcasm. Still, Kimball wanted to cheer up his friend and mentor. "Let me see what I can do-," the new recruit was now messing about with some wrappings and a block of wood, "-try to get them into shape. There must be something we could have you do to take the load off."
"Drop dead," Gillies muttered as he beheld the sorrowful excuses for soldiers strewn about him, yards below at grown level. He ignored Kimball's galeful laughter and groaned. "I'm getting too old for this, Ki-PRIVATE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THAT WEAPON?!"
Kainen
All chatter ceased as the new recruit nearly jumped out of his armor, a movement mimicked by Captain Kimball as Captain Gillies stormed down the steps towards his latest failure. Before he could explain himself, his superior had snatched the bow out of his hands and was examining it-what in Hylia's name had he done? The bow was sideways, strapped to a block of wood with a jagged piece of blunt metal sticking out of the rear end. "I….I modified the bow, sir. It-it was hard to string and hold, s-so I gave myself a stock to take most of the force, and let the metal hold the string until I was ready to release the arrow…"
It was hard to make out his Captain's expression. The burning fury in his eyes had simmered down, but his eyebrows were still narrowed in confusion and suspicion. He locked eyes with Kainen, boring into his soul for a moment before turning to the targets and drawing the bow back, letting the string catch on the metal. Whatever he was doing, he seemed unsatisfied as he took aim at a target over twenty feet away…then removed the metal, letting the string rocket forward and launch the arrow toward its destination. It hadn't quite landed where the Captain had been aiming, but as he turned around his face was lit up with satisfaction. "Who taught you this, rookie?"
Swallowing hard, Kainen stood straight and spoke clearly. "Nobody, sir. I came up with it just a few minutes ago when they were patching up P-..Private Archen, sir." He didn't like admitting that he'd inadvertently caused an ally's injury, but at least it wasn't very serious. The mark would disappear in a matter of days.
"What are you fools lounging around for? GET BACK IN FORMATION!," the Captain shouted at the others, who quickly scrambled back into their spots and began re-drawing their bows. He handed Kainen's creation back and spoke in a calm but authoritarian tone. "As you were, Private. Just don't give anyone any more injuries or you're taking care of Lucky Lou for a month." Taking care of the town's favorite mule was not a task he looked forward to. "Sir, yes sir!"
As Captain Gillies turned to resume his post at the perch above the training grounds, Kainen swore he saw the man's lips twitch into something of a smile.