Chapter Two
“Swordplay”
The woods were quiet. A light breeze blew in from above, carrying with it a few leaves. The sunlight poured in through the upper branches. It was midday; the sky was an atmospheric orange. The ground was littered with brush and undergrowth. Logs littered a few places here and there. A little bird sings its final song of the day at the setting sun in the horizon.
There was a rustle. The sound of feet gingerly stepping over the dead leaves.
Suddenly there was a loud burst of something running through the trees. The first footsteps stop. A young ten year old boy was hiding from something. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had heard something.
He noticed something in the brush and immediately takes refuge and hides behind a nearby tree. He was breathing hard, but he tried to steady his breaths so his stalker wouldn’t hear him.
There he saw his stalker, walking out of the trees, looking around for its prey. The figure turned, revealing its back to him. This was his chance; he could make a run for it.
The boy kept his eye on the figure as he backed up. There was a loud snap that made him jump. He had stepped on a twig. He cursed as the shadowy figure turned in his direction. Their eyes met and the boy dashes away. The stalker bolts after him.
His breathing was rapid, his heart was pounding. He had to make it home. It was safe there. He gave his all, running purely on adrenaline. He bursts out of the woods and into an open field, the grass was long, it came up to his knees. He began to slow down, he was tired. In front of him was a wooden fence, it was a few yards ahead of him and was the only thing barring him from sanctuary: his house. He pushed himself forward, propelled by the hope that he’d make it in time.
His stalker was at his heels, catching up with each step.
The boy jumped the fence, but he missteps and falls facedown. He rolls over to see the figure standing menacingly above him, he whispered with disbelief, “No...”
The figure reached forward, the boy closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. His sister taps him on the forehead, out of breath, “You’re it!!!”
The boy opened his eyes, “Aw...you cheated, Sakura!”
His sister, Sakura, stuck her tongue out at him and said, “I’m just faster than you, Ken-kun!”
Ken-kun. That was her nickname for her only older brother. His name was Ken, but Sakura had heard people addressing each other with ’kun’, and decided to use it. She didn’t quite know what it meant, but the name stuck. She was eight years old. They both had blonde hair and blue eyes. They both wore pendants around their necks. The pendants were both half of the same heart; Ken’s was black, while Sakura’s was white. His was the right side, while hers was the left.
Sakura got her name when their parents escaped from Hyrule, taking refuge in this town, Katasaku. When she was born, it was Cherry Blossom season. Sakura was another name for Cherry Blossom. Her mother, Karen, loved the name and named her daughter after the beautiful pink Sakura Trees.
When Sakura asked about her name’s origin, her mother used that as the reason, except she left out the part about running from Hyrule.
Another rustle sounded behind them, before both brother and sister could turn around, two strong arms grabbed them, the two struggled as their capture laughed, “I’ve finally found you two!”
The craned their heads to see who had captured them; it was their dad, Derek. Derek was named after an Arian Prince who had saved him while he was living homeless on the streets of Hyrule. He took great pride in his name and will never forget the deed.
Sakura and Ken groaned, they were both tired from running and playing around all day, their dad was making it worst, when they started to complain about him holding them too tightly, he sighed and let go. Sakura looked up to her dad and asked, “Daddy, where’s Grandpa Trent?”
Derek shrugged, “Grandpa is at the lake as usual.” Sakura turned to go, she backed up from them and said, “I’m gonna go see him, ‘k daddy?” Derek frowned, “But don’t you want to stay and help daddy with the house?”
Sakura smiled, pretending she really wanted to help, increasing her cuteness by about eighty percent, “No, it’s ok, bye!” with that, she ran off.
Her brother, realizing that his sis had ditched him, tried to sneak away, but Derek grabs him by the collar of his shirt and yanks him back, “Where do you think you’re going?” Ken frowned.
There light was shining on the lake, the waters glimmered like glass, throwing a faint orange glow around the surrounding trees.
Sitting on the edge of the lake was Trent. He had his eyes closed, deep in thought.
He was still young, but he had grandchildren. He was an ex-Hylian knight. He was one of the elite and was involved in the whole ‘Fallen Savior’ incident. He was a friend of Link’s and had crossed blades with him a few times before the fall of Hyrule. The pain of losing his best friend was still strong in his heart, but he hid it from everyone. This lake comforted him and made him feel calm. It was pleasant here.
Little arms slowly wrapped themselves around him, he opened one eye and smiled, “Hey, Sake.” It was his nickname for Sakura. It was pronounced ‘Sah-Key’.
Sakura looked at the lake, “Watcha doing, Grandpa?” Trent sighed and stood up, Sakura had helped herself to a piggy back ride, holding on. Trent eyed Sakura and smiled, “Oh, nothing.” Sakura frowned, “That’s what you always say! Why do you wanna just sit and do nothing? It’s boring.”
Trent shrugs, “That’s because I’m a boring guy!”
Sakura tilted her head to one side and kissed him on the cheek, “No you’re not, Grandpa!”
Trent cringes from the word, “Do you have to call me ‘Grandpa’? It’s making me feel really really old.” Sakura blinked, “But, what do I call you?”
“Well...” Trent thought and sighed, “Ok, you can call me that...just don’t make it sound like you meant it.” Sakura gave him a confused look, “Huh?”
Trent shook his head and smiled at her reassuringly, “Forget it.” Sakura gave him a look. Trent raised a brow and said slowly, knowing what she wanted, “How about I get us some ice cream?” Sakura beamed, “Yay!”
The plaza was busy, but it wasn’t as crowded as it was a few hours ago. Trent and Sakura were standing in front of a little ice cream shop. Trent handed Sakura a cone, “Here you go, Sake.”
The clerk raised a brow. Trent notices this and asks, “What?” The clerk asks carefully, “Sake?” Trent nods. The Clerk says in a confused manner, “You named her after an alcoholic drink?”
Sakura tilted her head to one side, she didn’t know 'sake' was anything, she just thought it was a made up name. Trent shrugged, “It’s a nickname...So?”
As they were walking back from the plaza, Sakura tugged on Trent’s sleeve and asked, “What’s ‘sake’ mean? Can I drink it?” Trent smiled at Sakura and said, “Well...uhm...maybe when you’re older.”
Ken charged forward, swinging his wooden sword at Derek, Derek blocked it carelessly and said, “Your stance is off!”
Ken backed up and charged again, swinging at his father. Derek merely tapped the blows off target. “Come on, Ken! Come at me with all you’ve got!”
Ken takes a deep breath, letting out a battle cry and charged.
Derek merely extended his sword and Ken runs into it. The wooden point stops him in his tracks. Derek held the sword at Ken’s chest and Ken let’s out a frustrated yell, swinging blindly at Derek. Derek was out of reach, he stood there casually as Ken struggled to push back the wooden sword with his chest to get at his father.
Ken kept swinging; the sword was inches from Derek’s face. Derek sighed, “Ok, you can stop now.” Ken stopped; he had a disappointed look on his face.
Ken’s mother, Karen called out to them. It was time for dinner. Derek withdrew his sword and turned to look at her. Ken took a few breaths and smiled, this was his chance. Ken charged and jumped. He swung downwards, the sword smacks Derek on top of the head. Derek froze. Ken froze. The world froze. Karen gasped.
The tip of the sword broke, hung on for a few seconds before breaking off. Ken’s eyes widened, he had swung harder than he meant to. Derek turned slowly, with a big bump on his head.
Ken looked around quickly, looking for a really good excuse as to why he broke a wooden sword over his dad’s head. Ken tossed the broken sword away and smiled nervously, acting innocent, “Uhm...there was a fly on you?”
