The father and his son didn't stray too far from the safety of their campsite; it was too dangerous to venture off too far into the wilderness at night. Of course Caleb and his friends had ignored this rule the night before when they'd run off to party and have fun.
Many nocturnal creatures roamed the territory when the sun went down; some much more dangerous than those present during the day. This was why it was forbidden for minors to go out after sunset alone. However, Caleb and his friends had been fairly close to home; not nearly as far away as they had ventured earlier in the night. Because of this and the fact that Caleb's birthday was the next day, Avi had decided that punishment was not needed for the reckless behavior.
During his adventure with his friends, Caleb had come across something that begged unlimited questions; something that may have pertained to his past and his parents. However, Caleb had been reluctant to voice his curiosities to Avi all day. He feared that the bearded man would become angry with his actions, and ultimately refuse to answer his questions. At the same time, though, if he didn't ask, he might not ever get the opportunity to again.
The two eventually reached a small hill; one that stood past the forest and overlooked the valley below. Only several lamps remained lit in the village, indicating that many had gone to bed for the night. A handful of older men ambled around the tents, getting ready to stand the first guard shift. They appeared very small from where Avi and Caleb stood, almost like insects.
"Let's sit down, Caleb," Avi murmured, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "I want to talk with you." The pair sat on the ground, feeling the rough grass beneath them.
"What do you wanna talk about?" Caleb inquired quietly. Avi let out a long sigh before turning his gaze to the stars above.
"Many things," He began. "I know you haven't had the easiest life thus far, and I have a feeling your hardships will only escalate from here." Caleb turned to his guardian, searching his eyes for any clues to what he might be thinking. "Losing your parents at such a young age is not easy."
"Maybe not," Caleb said. "But I think I did okay." His words hung in the air for several seconds before Avi decided to meet the teenager's curious gaze.
"I'd like to think that you did." The older man finally whispered, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't you think my childhood was okay?" Caleb questioned, his expression matching the hurt in his voice. "I have friends and I'm liked by our entire tribe. Do you think somehow that I haven't had a decent upbringing?"
"No, it's not that, Caleb." Avi retorted, his large eyebrows furrowing together. "You are very accomplished in everything you pursue, and I'm confident that one day you will make a great leader to our kinsmen." The older man averted his eyes. "However, your life circumstances are more complicated than you are aware of."
"Which means?" The teenager pressed, not understanding where the conversation was going.
"I want you to be careful." Avi breathed, wrapping an arm around the boy. "More than anything, I just want you to be safe."
Caleb smiled and leaned into the older man's shoulder. He's just worried, he thought. The two sat in silence, watching the sky or the valley below. Caleb couldn't see it, but Avi's expression had grown cold and emotionless since he had begun holding the boy. He was thinking about the future, mostly in terms of the teenager beside him. Caleb was getting older, which meant he wouldn't be able to be controlled much longer. Avi would soon have little influence on the boy's decisions, a fact that the older man couldn't stand.
"Avi?" Caleb whispered after thinking for a while.
"Yes?" The older man answered in his deep tone.
"I've been wanting to talk to you about something all day." The boy began. "You know last night some other boys and I snuck out after dark?"
Avi nodded.
"Well, I'm not sure how far we went," The teen continued. "But we came across a huge stone building. It looked really old and most of it had been destroyed. It was in the middle of a courtyard I think, but I could be wrong since it was so dark. All we had for light were a few lanterns."
"How big was it?" Avi asked casually.
"It looked like it was originally the size of a castle, but the first floor was the only part that was still there." Caleb answered before proceeding with the rest of the story. "Anyway, we went inside it out of curiosity. The large wooden front doors were still there, so we were able to get in pretty easily. The interior was medieval looking, with huge columns that would have gone to the ceiling if it were still all there. Rubble was everywhere, and I ended up falling over some of it."
Avi chuckled at the image of the boy clumsily collapsing in front of his teenage friends. Caleb ignored it, wanting to get to his point.
"And when I got up, I caught a glimpse of something colorful nearby. I took one of the lanterns so I could get a better look at it. Turns out it was a tapestry, one that probably hung on a wall that no longer stands. It looked hand painted and depicted a picture of a woman. She was beautiful; with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The crown on her head looked regal, so it led me to believe she was like the princess that once lived in the castle.
After that, the boys got bored and decided they wanted to leave. I stayed behind for just a minute with the lantern and said I would catch back up to them. I just wanted a second look at that tapestry, because I felt like the young woman in it had been so familiar. When I went back and looked a second time, I noticed that the girl had pointed ears…" Caleb trailed off, as if lost in thought. When he didn't speak again, Avi became concerned and decided to talk himself.
"Is that significant?" He questioned, looking at the boy, who still was pressed against his shoulder.
"My mother had pointed ears…" Caleb whispered, almost inaudibly. Avi's chest tightened; he had forgotten about that fact. "She looked so much like her… I felt like I was seven years old again."
"Caleb…" the older man sighed.
"You've said there's things I still don't understand, but…" Caleb's voice started to choke, like the boy was beginning to get emotionally upset. "But I feel like…maybe…maybe you could tell me why I saw my m-mother's face on that tapestry."
"When, I brought you here…" Avi spoke softly, pulling the now trembling teenager closer to him. "I knew something like this would happen one day."
"S-So there are things you haven't told me…" Caleb's eyes watered the slightest bit at the thought of Avi lying to him for so long.
"I didn't tell you things to protect you, Caleb." His caregiver replied tenderly, seeing just how upset the boy was becoming. "If I'd told you about your ties to this place when you were younger, I doubt you would have been able to handle it."
Caleb pulled his knees to his chest, suddenly feeling very small. He wanted to know everything that Avi was keeping from him, but knew better than to ask.
"But perhaps…" The older man said quietly. "Perhaps, you are ready to know the truth."
The teenager's head snapped up, caught off guard by the statement. A look of astonishment crossed his face before he was able to regain some composure. Did he just say what I think he said?
"The ruins you found were indeed once a castle that was inhabited by a royal family," Avi began, looking out over the land before him. "They reigned over this territory for hundreds of years, which was called Hyrule. For as long as the kingdom had existed, there had been a long struggle to keep the balance of good and evil. Meaning there was always a dark power waiting to strike and seize the land for itself.
However, there had always been one to come and save Hyrule from this evil. He always came in the form of a young warrior, who always rose up and silenced the wickedness with his god-given ability. The warrior, the evil power, and the princess of the kingdom were all bound by the same fate; all three were chosen by the goddesses for specific reasons. They bore a mark on their hand," Avi raised his left palm in front of his face. "A symbol called the triforce; a marking only given by the gods."
The bearded man released his hold on the boy and traced three small triangles stacked on one another on the back of his left hand. "This symbolized the balance of courage, wisdom, and power." He pointed to the three corners of the triangles. "But this balance was almost never achieved in the kingdom. Power always rose up and tried to take the other two for its own; greed was the only thing on its mind.
This is why courage and wisdom were always forced to join together to save Hyrule from the threat the holder of Power posed." Avi's hand fell back around the boy next to him, who was listening intently to the story. "Long before you were born, the evil threatening to consume Hyrule had been vanquished, and the land turned to an era of peace. The princess that held Wisdom traveled to other kingdoms, and soon found true love. Although the man she cared for had been a commoner, she decided to marry him anyway. The warrior who held the mark of courage returned to his home, wanting nothing more than to live out the rest of his days in his beloved village.
Everything seemed to be at ease; that was until news of the murder of warrior who held Courage. This had never happened in history before, and soon the land fell into darkness. With no one to prevent outsiders from invading, savages were able to ransack the kingdom and do what they wished. The princess could do nothing but watch her beloved Hyrule fall to ruin. After hundreds of years of ruling, the monarchy fell, and the land succumbed to the attacks of vicious intruders.
They were followers of the dark Lord that had tried to take over only years before. However, because their leader had been killed, they didn't know what to do with their victory over Hyrule and soon left."
"What happened to the princess?" Caleb thought aloud.
"She was forced to flee with her husband," The older man whispered. "I'm sure you understand now that the princess of this fallen land was your mother. That tapestry must have been done when she had been around your age."
"So this is where I was born…" Caleb whispered.
"Indeed it is," Avi said with a smile. "Your father originally lived in a place called Altea, which is where your early childhood was spent."
"I remember the farm we lived on…mostly just me and my mother." Images skimmed through Caleb's mind as he recalled the place from so long ago.
"The day your mother died, you told me that your father stayed in the capital city for work."
"Yes…he was hardly ever around." Caleb had very few memories of his father, which was something he had hated his entire growing up. Really, the only thing he remembered about the man was that his hair had been a brilliant shade of blue, the same color as his own tresses.
"I've been told that there were many that were unhappy with your mother's decision to marry him," Avi commented. "And I don't know for sure, but I've always had a theory that your parent's murder was more based on that than anything."
"They were killed for marrying each other?" The thought seemed ludicrous to the teenager.
"People can be very prejudice, Caleb. Especially those in power." Avi met gazes momentarily with the boy. "No one knew of your birth or your mother's whereabouts for a long time. However, nothing can be hidden forever."
"So the king found out and sent those soldiers after us…"
"Exactly."
Caleb recalled that day quite vividly, probably since it was such a traumatic event in his young life. He never saw the soldiers or heard his mother's cries, but the blood that was left behind confirmed the facts enough. The picture that had sat on his mantel so long ago was still in his possession, and served as a reminder when his mother's face became sketchy in his memory.
"So now you know the truth, my son." Avi murmured. "With this knowledge, I hope you will choose to live your life of your own accord. Do not let who your parents were affect who you are now. However, forgetting them is not something I think you should do either."
"What do you mean?" Caleb inquired quietly.
"Remember your mother and father, but do not dwell on their tragic story too much. For you might find that you lose yourself in the process."
Lose myself? Caleb thought. I still don't understand. Thoughts like these ran through the boy's mind, but he consciously decided not to voice them.
After a while, Avi decided that the night was getting late and guided the teenager back to their shared tent. Caleb complied, although he wanted to know more about the mysterious past. He secretly knew that Avi wouldn't be able to answer most of the questions that plagued him, but that didn't stop him from wanting to ask.
What were his parents like before he was born? Why didn't his father just stay on the farm with them and work a labor job? Why didn't his mother tell him that she was actually royalty? Who killed the courageous warrior that Avi had talked about?
These and other unanswered questions revolved in the teenager's head as he was laid down to sleep.
A/N: Better or worse than the last chapter? I know the last one was pretty boring, but that was done on purpose! Haha! The plot thickens!
Review plez?