Moment of Peace
"Fier? Fier! Big brother Fier, wake up!"
Blinking and tired, the young male youth woke up to the voice calling his name. He sat up in his bed, and looked over to the side to look at the blond haired child who woke him up.
It was his little sister, Zelda.
Fier was the eldest child of the Hyrule Royal Family, and was a knight of Hyrule. He was eight years older than his sister, who was ten years old. Fier took his duties as the Prince of Hyrule seriously, but when it came to his little sister and the young Link, he let himself unwind and have fun, playing "Knights" with the two young friends.
In terms of appearance, along with a strong male physique developed from his training to be a knight, Fier shared his sister's blond hair and blue eyes.
"...What is it, Zelda," Fier asked, yawning.
"It is almost noon, and Link is waiting outside," Zelda spoke, lightly pushing Fier, indicating she wanted him to hurry.
"Noon? AAHHH!"
Fier jumped out of bed, remembering what he promised yesterday. "You said that you would let us watch you practice."
"I'm sorry Zelda; I was having a..." Fier stopped short. What should I say? That a Goddess gave me a vision?
"...What's wrong?"
"I am asking you to sacrifice much in the coming quest, including the bonds you share with those you love."
Fier smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing; I was just having a bizarre dream. Imagine, a Goddess making me her chosen warrior."
"A Goddess," Zelda asked. She chuckled. "I didn't know big brother had fantasies of grandeur."
"Yeah, and big brother needs privacy to get dressed, so go back outside to Link you little rascal."
That was…just a dream, right? He watched his little sister open and close the door behind her. While it felt real…it had to be a dream. Link is too young to do what the Goddess said, unless she was referring to something in the future.
He shook his head and sighed; the future was for those who were worried about it. Right now, he needed to focus on the present. He walked over to his closet, and opened it to reveal the armour of a Knight of Hyrule.
"…Hylia," he whispered. That was the Goddess' name. He reached for his sword…
"Fier!"
Fier smiled as a young, blond haired boy called out his name. Wearing a plain shirt and pants, Link beamed a smile at him.
"I hope you didn't wait long," Fier replied back.
"Dad always says that patience is a key trait a Knight of Hyrule should have."
"Then you are ahead of the rest of the squires of your age then."
Link's father was Fier's own mentor; the strongest knight of Hyrule and rumoured to have been descendant of the Link who rescued Hyrule from the hordes of Twilight. He had named his son Link after the legendary hero.
"And I am also happy to see your swordsmanship." Link added enthusiastically.
"Well, you certainly have the enthusiasm to match the other squires." Fier stated. "Now, let us go to the training ground. I have a particularly special practice partner today."
Zelda and Link followed on Fier's heels as they arrived at the dirt field where the knights of Hyrule practice all of their skills. A knight of Hyrule was versed in all manners of combat: swordsmanship, archery, spear-wielding, jousting, explosives and numerous other types of weaponry. Each knight had their preferred specialty; the man sitting cross-legged in circle at the field's center had mastered them all.
Link's eyes widened. "Dad?"
The purple-haired, red eyed man stood up and dusted off his green armour. "I assume that you slept in and Zelda had to wake you up?"
Fier kneeled before his master. "My apologies; I got back in late from patrol duty last night, sir Kafei."
Kafei was a legendary figure in his own age, having saved Hyrule from General Onox and the sorceress Veran, who had spread destruction and sorrow throughout Hyrule in the days before Fier was born. To this day, he is hailed as a hero equal to that of the Twilight Hero for his heroics.
"And you are supposed to be a prince," Kafei said with a chuckle, "but you work just like any other soldier." He looked down at his amazed son. "Good afternoon, Link."
"Are you and Kafei going to spar against one another?" Link said in wonder.
"Oh, you are going to get a much better show than that." Fier said.
Zelda and Link looked back and forth between the two. "You mean…You mean you two are actually going to fight?" Zelda said excitedly. "For real?"
"It is going to be a real treat," Kafei said happily, rubbing his gauntleted hands together. "Go and sit over there so you can enjoy the show."
Zelda laughed and dragged Link along, who looked back uncertainly at his father. He saluted, and Link waved back.
Once they were out of hearing distance, Fier leaned towards Kafei. "How is father doing," he whispered.
Kafei frowned. "The poor man is not doing well, I am afraid. It's a terrible thing to happen; he was quite a fighter back in the day." He glanced over at Zelda. "You do realize that Zelda will need to be told that this is a magical affliction sooner or later, right? You can't pass it off as a fever any longer."
Fier's eyes narrowed. "I do not want to scare Zelda by insinuating that father might be possessed by a malevolent spirit. She's too young for any of that."
"…Yes, I understand your concerns, but Zelda is a lot smarter than most her age; I believe she would be able to cope.
Fier nodded. "Perhaps."
Kafei smiled sadly and placed a hand on Fier's shoulder. "Well, we might as well get going; we don't want the kids getting concerned, do we?"
"…Yeah."
With that said, the two men walked towards the circle's edges, and turned around to face one another. But before they could get their hands on the hilts of their swords, a horn blared.
"That horn is…" Fier stated.
"Someone's invading!" Kafei shouted. "Fier, get your arms and head to the stables!"
"Dad!" Link shouted, running towards his father.
"Link, take Zelda back into the castle! We do not know how bad things will get, so we need you two to be safe!"
Link nodded, and looked back at Zelda, who was staring at her brother. "Big brother…"
Fier smiled reassuringly at her. "Do not worry; nothing is going to stop your big brother."