~Chapter 1~

"Hey, hey, did you hear?"

"No, what happened?"

"Some Hylians Soldiers saw a ghost!"

"A ghost? Where?"

"In that creepy well. They were exploring it to make sure it was safe to refill it with water!"

"No! What happened next?"

"They ran, of course. The thing just went through the wall like it was liquid. They both saw it with their own two eyes!"

"How unsurprising, those Hylian Soldiers running in fear like a dog with their tails in-between their legs."

"I know…"

The gossip spread through Kakariko village like a forest fire. Both men and women pulled each other aside to whisper the story of how a ghost lived in the bottom of the well, how it has skin paler than that of a new born baby, hair the color of white clouds, and eyes dyed the color of fire that burned a hole into your soul. It went through the walls, the whispers say, and every story got wilder and wilder.

The two poor soldiers sat at the pub, drinking beer as if it was candy. A crowd has gathered around the two men, asking questions and accusing them of lies.

"Look at them!" one man cried, "Look how they chug down that liquor! No wonder they saw a ghost, as drunk as they are!" Laughter rang through the pub as the men and women snickered at the sight of the drunken men.

One soldier, a skinny man with a pointed goatee and small, beady eyes, threw his mug down on the wooden table. "I saw one, I say! A little beauty she was, but death has taken its toll on the lass. No human could possibly be so white in the face, nor have eyes redder than the face of the sun. I saw her spirit walk straight through a solid wall! Just like that, BOOM! She was gone!"

The other soldier, a bigger man with a double chin and a reclining hairline, drank from his mug before speaking up. "Yeah…hic… I saw the girl, too. Such long hair, uncut and not well kept. I saw blood on her shirt, I did! Hic… such red blood, pouring out of her heart. Hic… river of blood!"

A woman sneered at the men. "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, creating such lies to our children. What will they grow up thinking, that our town is haunted by imaginary ghosts? Shame!"

There was a mummer through the crowd as she spoke these words. One man shouted, "That's my wife! You tell them, darling!" The soldiers glanced at each other, both feeling uncomfortable. The villagers refused to believe them, no matter what they said. If this keeps up, they may not be able to keep their jobs. Swallowing hard, the skinny one turned and pointed to a young man of fifteen. He wore the armor of a soldier in training, simple chain mail covered with a plain green tunic. His blue eyes were sharp and full of awareness, and his blonde hair fell in front of them. Brushing his bangs out of his face, he shifted his heavy sword around his waist, and returned the look at his superior.

"Faren, you were there! You ain't drunk; you're not old enough! Tell these nice folks that we are speaking the truth," the soldier pleaded. Faren stared at him before sighing heavily, bringing a hand up to his face and shaking his head.

"Sir, I can't do that. You told me to stand outside the well, remember? I wasn't there." The soldier's jaw dropped with shock, and his face filled horror as the crowd's angry buzz grew louder. They drew closer to the men, so that they could feel the hot breaths of the people on the back of their necks.

The men choked up, unsure of what to say to everyone. As the crowd demanded that they leave the village, the mayor of the town made his way to the exit. He has had about enough of this fantasy nonsense, and wished to get away from it as soon as possible. As he stepped past the people, he nearly tripped over a small old man, no taller than four feet. The mayor turned to apologize to the old man, but the man held up a hand.

"Don't say a word, it's my fault for standing in your way," the old man told the mayor. The mayor blinked with surprise, then nodded. He looked curiously at the stranger; he had never seen him before around here. He didn't get a very good look, for the man had turned around and begun to walk away.

Before he got too far, he stopped and looked behind his shoulder. A hood covered his face, so that the mayor couldn't pick out any features of the man's face. The man chuckled.

"Not everything is nonsense, Mayor, or fantasy. Let me give you some advice. Send some people to search the well yourself. You may find something interesting. There are those who possess the features of red eyes," the man told the mayor, his hood moved up and down as he spoke. He turned back around and walked out, tripping over a overturned chair. "BAH! Stupid people, leaving things a mess," he mumbled. The mayor, who hadn't moved, watched the man leave the pub and disappear into the morning fog.

~Earlier~

"There's nothing in this blasted well! Nothing but a skeleton and walls!" the fat soldier known as Ike proclaimed. He stood with his hands on his hips as he glared around the gloomy well with trained eyes. Mold grew in a variety of colors on the walls, and a strange fungus dripped from the ceiling. A strong musty smell of decay and death filled the still air, and made the skinny soldier, Joe, to gag in response. Ike watched as a few spiders crawled up the brick-lined wall and into a crack in the corner. In all, the whole scene was unappealing and dull.

Ike crossed his arms and grunted. "How in the world did this well dry up? I don't see how it is possible," he questioned his companion, who was still gagging by the ladder. Trying to hold his breath, Joe answered.

"A long time ago, there was a strange storm that messed up the system. Apparently, according to the stories, the windmill is connected to the water system, and the storm messed up the windmill's turning. It made the windmill go so fast that the well simply dried up, and never was able to be fixed." Joe turned around and barfed his breakfast onto the dirty ground. Ike wrinkled his nose.

"Now the villagers will never be able to get clean water. Hold your food in, Joe, or else you will be wasting good money! Now, come on, let's explore the well." Joe nodded weakly, and followed Ike deeper into the dark depths.

They didn't walk far before they came to the end of the tunnel. More dead remains rotten in the corners, filling the hall with putrid smells. Joe was barely able to keep the rest of his breakfast contained inside his stomach. Even Ike coughed a little at the smell.

"Horrible smell," Ike muttered, reaching into his back pocket. He brought out a handkerchief, and held the cloth to his nose. Still muttering, he looked up at the ceiling in time to watch a cockroach squirm its way through the mold. Shivering, he looked back at Joe. "How ya holding up back there, Joe?"

Joe didn't reply. Ike turned completely around to stare at the soldier. "Hey, talking to you," he said. He watched as the color from Joe's face drained into the color of a white sheet, and his eyes bulged out with terror. Ike waved a hand in front of Joe's face.

"Joe, buddy. Hey, man, it looks like you are looking at a ghost." Joe raised a hand and pointed a shaky finger behind Ike. Turning around, Ike got a good look at what Joe saw.

A girl, no older than sixteen, stared back at them with horror spelled out on her face. Her long blondish-white hair hung loose around her waist, and her face was bony, but not in a unhealthy way. Her eyes shone red through the darkness, and looked redder still against her pale skin. She wore a brown, long-sleeved shirt that was badly stitched, matched with a similar style pair of pants. Her feet were bare and dirty from the muck of the well floor.

Ike froze in shock. Where did the girl come from? He could have sworn that she wasn't standing there before. Placing a hand on the hilt of his sword, he tried to smile pleasantly at her. His face was filled with yellow teeth as he pulled back his lips.

"Hello, lass. What are you doing down here in such a place like this? You're going to get hurt," he said gently, taking a step toward the girl. She didn't move; it was as if she was frozen still with terror. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes glued onto the strangers. What a beauty, Ike thought happily. Her small body shook, her hands quivered, her pointed ears stuck out through her hair. Ike could see a little round golden earring on each ear.

Another step from Ike brought her to her senses. She turned around and, without breaking a stride, ran straight through the wall behind her. Before the men could think, she disappeared into the wall, as if she was never there before.

The men stopped. Joe wet himself in fright, and Ike's legs almost gave way. A girl… just went right through… a wall.

Without even considering honor, the men screamed and tore out of the well. They stumbled over each other to scale the side of the well, trying to get out first. Faren's face, alarmed by the cries, loomed overhead, watching the men scramble up the ladder.

"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked, helping the men out of the well. The men fell to the ground, both traumatized and terrified. Faren had never seen his superiors in such a state before. He brought out a canteen of water, giving the men sips to calm them down.

"What happened?" he asked again. Ike grabbed the boy by the shoulders.

"Boy," he said," a Hylian Soldier never runs from a fight. Unless it's a fight with the living dead."

Still breathing hard, the girl watched the men scream and flee from the well. She sat down hard, recovering from the surprise. She was going out to find a puddle of water to wash her clothes that she accidently stained while cleaning, and suddenly found herself face to face with the monsters. She has never seen creatures like that before. They looked so like her, but their skin was dark, along with their hair. Their eyes were brown, a color which she has never seen in any creature before. They wore strange metal around their bodies, and carried weapons around their waists. Scary still, they did not appear female, and she has never encountered a male of her species before. What were they?

Sighing, she covered her face and moaned softly into her hands. Her mother would be ashamed of her. "Shinda, you must promise me something," her mother had said, "Please, this is important. Never, ever, let anyone who is a stranger to our home see you. You must promise me." Shinda did, of course, as she never disobeyed her mother.

She knew the men could not see her as long as she stepped past the doorway. She has learned, over time, that she could see things that others could not. While her mother had seen walls, Shinda saw doorways. Where her mother thought was solid ground, Shinda saw a gaping hole. And Shinda knew that as long as no one could see the truth, she was safe.

At least she hoped so.

Yay, chapter one is up! It's kind of short, but now that this is written the story should flow nicely. Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!

I would like to clear up some pronouncing errors for anyone. Shinda is pronouced She-n-da. She as is "She is", n as in "now or nor"(not simply N) and da as in "da-da-daa!"
Faren is pronounced Far-in. Far as in "far away" and in as in "indoors."

Please give me some feedback! I know it's kind of ok, but I would love to hear from you! :D

Thanks again!

~Maannga