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Enjoy Chapter Two!

Chapter 2: Bran

Bran did not often have nightmares of the siege, but when he did, they were vivid and terrifying. The memories of fire and blood stained his mind with dark thoughts that plagued him for days on end.

His dreams always recalled the same thing; he would be standing in the market square of Castle Town, watching a rainbow coloured kite float in the bright blue sky. Then the sky would turn bloody red and black with smoke as the buildings around him burned. He would be stood frozen to his spot, wanting to flee but unable to leave because he knew that this was the first place his siblings would come looking for him. Hylians around him were screaming in fear, chased by vile creatures that no monster book ever prepared him for. The pool inside the marble centrepiece would lose its clear blue shine to the thick crimson liquid that dripped out of slaughtered corpses until the waters ran red. A skeletal being would approach him with ghastly eyes and a rusted sword lifted above its head. Before it killed him, it would unhinge its bony jaw and let out a petrifying shriek.

It never changed. The skeleton always slit his throat and Bran always woke up screaming. Over the years, Bran learned his fears were nothing more than his overactive imagination but he could never stop crying before Voria and Elric rushed into his room. In the end, Bran just had to stop dreaming altogether. That way, he could protect himself from the terrors of the night and let his siblings get some rest. In his mind, he built himself a barrier of steel to encase his heart. It would block the darkness whispering sweet promises of death in his ear, and for the longest time, it remained impenetrable.

Alas, even the strongest of armour had cracks of vulnerability.

Bran recognised the dream even though he hadn't relived it in over two years. His heart thundered in his chest because he knew no matter how bright and beautiful the day was, when he looked up at the sky to observe his rainbow kite, it would be torn to shreds. Within seconds, a flash of lightning blinded his vision and suddenly his world turned red again. Bran couldn't move. The smiling face of the Happy Mask Shop blackened under a roaring fire and the wood crackled in the blaze. He turned his head, eyes wide as the bearded guy who usually stood the Bazaar was sliced in half by a Moblin. The smoochy-couple held each other close as they ran towards the exit. He wanted to run too. Before he knew it, he was sobbing and crying out for Elric and Voria to get him. The stinging feeling of knowing they never came left a sense of abandonment in Bran's heart. He could only watch pathetically as the magnificence of Hyrule Castle was engulfed in flame in the distance. His head glanced over his shoulder, not of his will, to the centrepiece fountain. It already ran red. A chink of metal and a sickening crack of bone made Bran's blood freeze in his veins as he became aware of the Skeleton standing merely a few yards away from him. Bran sniffled as the creature leered at him and raised its sword over his head, its jaw starting to drop—

But there was no shriek. Bran had squeezed his eyes shut and his hands flew to his neck to protect his throat but no cold blade struck him. There was a clash of metal and a grunt, and then silence. Bran dared open his hazel eyes. Before him stood a powerful figure in a green tunic; beneath his feet were a pile of bones. Bran could not speak—not even choke out a word for the Hero who saved him. Before he could reach out to even touch this mysterious being, someone screamed his name. Bran saw his older sister running towards him, face full of panic and distress.

The mere shock of being found made him burst into tears once more and he ran towards Voria without a second thought. As he ran, he turned his head back to the Hero to thank him for his courage: but he was not there. It was like he was a mirage—a phantom warrior made of smoke to finally give him peace. Before he was enveloped in Voria's warm arms, all he could remember seeing was a shadow running towards the Temple of Time and a strange orb of blue light following it with haste.

For the first time, Bran woke up from the nightmare without a single sound passing his lips. His blood still roared in his ears and his heartbeat hadn't quite gotten over the rush of adrenaline, but his mind was calm. Feeling a little hot, Bran untangled himself from his blankets and forced himself out of bed to unlock his window shutters.

The open window rolled in a fresh summer breeze and exposed his bedroom to the eerily pleasant tone of the sleeping village. Night had faded from the sky, turning darkness into swirling hues of pink and orange around the mountain top. The golden sun was hidden from plain sight but it's warm rays casted light over their rooftops and left dark shadows beneath their windows. Combined with the quiet blueness of the sky above, it made Kakariko Village look peaceful and comforting. It also made his little bedroom appear somber and depressing. However, with the break of dawn slowly starting to illuminate their home, Bran figured it wouldn't take long for his room to perk up.

One glance of the clock informed Bran that it was 6:07 in the morning. Since the cockerel crowed at eight, maybe it was a bad idea to head downstairs with everyone else still asleep—?

Before he could crawl back to bed, the sound of yelling was brought to Bran's attention. Recognising the familiar noise, he rolled his eyes. Rohan stormed through the hallway, cackling in glee as though he had accomplished some great deed. The howl of outrage that followed made Bran's ears ring and he groaned; it wasn't even sunrise and Rohan already managed to trouble someone. Now that he thought about it, the voice that yelled back sounded very much like Granny, his older sister's mentor. What was she doing here so early?

Curious, Bran gathered up his bedsheets and wrapped them around him like a cocoon. He headed to the staircase and leaned over the rail to observe the conversation below. Elric was slumped in his rocking chair yawning like an old man, as opposed to the twenty-two year old he was. Beside him, Granny was sorting out small pouches on the dinner table.

"You better watch over him, boy."

Elric yawned again. "Yeah, yeah, Vo's got it covered. So we brew him that tea and make him drink one cup every hour for two days?"

"Not the same one! My goodness, you don't pay attention! There are three types of tea. You won't remember the names so just refer to them as red bag, blue bag and green bag. Red is for his fever, blue is for relaxing his muscles and green is to numb his nerves if he starts getting pains in his head or chest. Give him the red one every hour but alternate it with the blue. The green is only if he's in pain! Got that?"

"I did!" Bran chirped from upstairs. Elric shot him a look and Granny smiled. "Hello dear. Did we wake you?" She asked kindly. Bran shook his head and smiled back at the old lady pleasantly.

Granny sighed. "Well at least one of you will remember to tell Voria which one is which. I'll be off to bed now; Goddesses forbid your sister wake me up at this unholy hour again." And with that, the old woman excused herself from their presence and left their home.

"Why are you up so early?" Elric mumbled sleepily, stretching his arms lazily over his head. "I thought you'd sleep all the way until noon."

"Nah." The dark haired teen responded, "I had a nightmare."

"I thought the nightmares stopped...you okay, kiddo?" Elric didn't look happy to hear that. Bran didn't blame him—normally the entire house heard when he had a nightmare. He was probably worried.

"Yeah. I didn't die this time."

For a moment, Bran thought Elric wanted to say 'How come?' but clearly the adult realised how inappropriate it would sound. In a less tear-triggering manner, his older brother asked if anything different happened beside that.

"It was odd. At the last second, this guy in green saved me. He cut down the monster and then Voria showed up. I ran to her but before I got a chance to thank the man he disappeared. Then I woke up."

Elric frowned. "That is pretty odd. But at least you're okay. If you got saved this time, then maybe he'll show up in your other nightmares?"

Oh, Bran hoped so. After some more brief chit-chat, Elric announced that he was going to leave early to get a head start on work. The teen debated on whether he should go downstairs for breakfast or go back to sleep to kill the time but his thoughts were disturbed by the sound of coughing.

Really bad, rough coughing.

Bran didn't do any of his previous options. Instead, he went to investigate the source of the noise and per chance see this new guest of theirs. The sound lead him across the corridor and into their spare room, a small space that used to belong to Rohan before he outgrew it. The door was wide open.

Voria was sat beside a good-looking young man who appeared to be fast asleep. What struck Bran about this man the most was his golden hair; it was just as bright as the sun outside. It was a little shocking how striking the colour was, and it potentially made Bran feel a little awkward for paying so much attention to it. But while this man was indeed handsome, he didn't look particularly radiant or healthy. He was very pale and drained. Voria didn't look any better. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a mess; something akin to a makeshift birds nest kept up with a bunch of pins.

"Morning, Bran." Voria greeted quietly. How long had she been awake?

"Morning, Vo. Who's that guy?"

"He's a swordsman."

Bran tip-toed into the room and carefully avoided stepping on the creakier floorboards. He sat next to his sister on the springy mattress and took a better look at the 'swordsman' in discussion. He looked much weaker up close. Like he could barely muster the energy to handle the rise and fall of his own chest. Something as effortless as breathing looked painful when watching him: Bran felt bad for the stranger—whoever he was.

"Do you know his name?"

"Nana told me that it was Link. Ever heard of a guy with a name like that?"

"I don't think so." Bran tried to recall the name but he could not picture a face to go with it. "Maybe I have? I have this weird feeling that I've seen him around before but I don't remember where." He couldn't explain it. Did he know this guy from somewhere?

Voria hummed in agreement. "I have that same feeling. Weird, huh?"

"Definitely." This man's identity was bothering him, so Bran playfully nudged his sisters ribs to pry for more information about their poorly guest. "So, did he come tumbling into the village or something?"

Voria rolled her eyes sardonically. "Yes Bran, he tumbled in with such haste three hours ago." She drawled. "He even had grass stains all over him."

"Seriously?"

"The grass stains part was true. A soldier found him earlier in Hyrule Field and they brought him to me, so I got Nana to check on him. She instructed me to leave him with us. Apparently, lifting a grown man takes a lot more effort than an old lady and her beautiful apprentice can possess combined."

Bran snorted. Voria shot a nasty glare at him for the unspoken insult.

"As I was saying, part of the reason he's here is because of his chest. In case you couldn't tell, sweet brother of mine, this guy's caught a chill and now he's literally a couple of symptoms off pneumonia."

"Pneumonia? Sounds gross." Poor guy.

"Not as gross as the stuff he's been coughing up." Voria's nose wrinkled in disdain. "It's this vile yellow mucus. It's making me feel queasy."

Bran pulled a sour face. "Ugh, nice to know." All he could imagine was sticky fluid and it was making him feel just as ill. "How can you stand becoming a doctor if this stuff grosses you out?"

"Well someone has to do it. Besides, it's not that bad most of the time. Blood doesn't even bother me. It's when you have to sow up a wound with bloodied guts spewing out or when you have to push a splintered bone back through someone's skin that really churns your stomach."

It was moments like this when Voria's explicit and graph detail of the human anatomy terrified him. Bran couldn't even tell if that was supposed to be a joke to get him to feel sick or if she was being dead serious. Truth or not, it was working and Bran nearly gagged at the thought of bodily damage. He was horribly squeamish and Voria abused this whenever she could. While she may be batting her eyelashes innocently at him, Bran knew his poe-of-a-sister relished at how quickly he paled. He could see the promise of mockery glimmering in her eyes.

"Oh it's not that bad, sweetie." She cooed. "Just wait until you have to amputate rotting flesh. This sickening pus oozes out and don't get me started on the smell—"

Bran was seconds away from shrieking 'STOP' when the blonde man—his new and much loved saviour—shot upright and began coughing violently. Voria's immaturity vanished instantly. She placed her hand on his back and rubbed in smooth circles, hushing the man sweetly until he hacked up something horrible into a conveniently placed tissue. Bran grimaced and moved away as she lifted the tissue back onto the bedside table. Voria placed a hand on the blonde's forehead and frowned.

"Your fever is back up again." She muttered. "I better start mixing that tea Nana gave me."

"Red one!" Bran blurted out. Both Voria and the man gave him an odd look until his sister caught on what he meant. "Thanks dear."

The stranger—Link—looked miserable. He thanked Voria quietly but she encouraged him to zip-up and sleep. 'Don't waste anymore energy.' She ordered sternly. He didn't argue with her, and within seconds, his eyes closed and his breathing was sound. Voria got up once she was sure he was okay and blew out the candles sitting on the window sill. Bran didn't even notice how much lighter it was outside with the sun up. She pressed a kiss against Bran's cheek as she walked past and mentioned something about making breakfast before she left the room.

Bran assumed she would want him to go with her but since his sister didn't urge him to leave, the teen didn't rush. The blonde's throat sounded so dry after all that coughing that Bran desperately wanted to get the man some water...not that it would help him. For a moment, Bran just stared at the blonde and focused on his face.

Link...surely he had seen him before somewhere?

Thinking about him must have triggered something off, because Link suddenly choked in his sleep again. Bran quickly stepped back, remembering with horrifying detail the vomit that flew out of the last patient's mouth when he stood too close. Fortunately, nothing happened. The blonde just covered his mouth with the back of his hand and when he was finished, he fell limp again. Bran wasn't even sure if the guy had been awake this time. Thankfully, there was no mucus—if there was, Bran would have probably been sick.

A waft of grey air swished past him slowly. Figuring that the candle smoke must be affecting him, Bran waved his hand to help disperse it. He wasn't really sure if it helped, but at least it wouldn't bother him later.

"Thank you." A soft voice spoke. "Even the dust is getting to him—not that there is much of it." It was feminine and sweet. Bran knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

There was no one in the room.

No one standing by the door way.

No one outside below their window.

His eyes scanned the entire room again but there was no one there.

"I'm here!" The voice squeaked. Bran eyes fixated on a small, glowing blue orb fluttering by his hands. The teen stared at it, mouth agape in shock. "What are you?" he asked in disbelief. It was the exact same orb from his dream!

"I'm Navi." The orb introduced itself. "I'm Link's guardian fairy and his companion on his journey." Bran's heart skipped a beat.

A fairy.

There was a real, live fairy in front of him and she was talking to him. It was only his pride as a man that stopped Bran from squealing like a little girl.

"It's nice to meet you, Navi." He whispered almost speechlessly. "I'm Bran."

The fairy looked up at the boy and giggled. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Bran!"

Navi floated onto his open palm and perched. Bran shakily lifted his hand so they were at eye level. The teen's big brown eyes stared at her for what seemed like hours. All this flattering attention was making the poor fairy fidget bashfully but he didn't realise until she squirmed. Bran immediately apologised.

"It's ok! Have you never seen a fairy before?" Navi inquired.

Bran shook his head. "No. They don't live in these parts."

"They do, actually." She corrected. "They live in fountains scattered across Hyrule. There's even one in Kakariko!"

"There is?" Bran gasped. Since when? "Where?"

Link interrupted him with a cough again, and before Bran could blink, the fairy had zoomed across the room to her sick companion. She fluttered around his face, fussing no doubt. "Oh you poor thing!" She wailed. "I should have made you get a cloak!"

"A cloak?"

"We were heading to Zora's Domain. It was freezing!" Hold on, Zora's Domain? Why would anyone go there?

He voiced his thoughts.

"We were going to see King Zora." Navi replied. Feeling a little nosey, Bran yet again asked her why.

"It's a secret." She whispered, but after looking over to her sleeping companion, she quickly added "So don't tell anyone!"

Apparently, this stranger was an adventurer who had been on a long seven year journey and he only just got back—he was also engaged to Princess Ruto of the Zoras. That's why they went to see her first.

"We had no idea that Zora's domain had been frozen over so when we got there, we panicked and decided to look around. All the Zora's were trapped under the ice and even in Zora's Fountain, Lord Jabu-Jabu was gone!" The little fairy didn't notice Bran's puzzlement over 'Lord Jabu-Jabu' but as he did not interrupt her, she continued. "We were about to leave when Link noticed that a bunch of floating icebergs were leading to this weird cavern and he insisted we go inside it. I told him no, but by then he had already hopped across and fallen in the fountain at least twice! He never listens! After some time, since balancing on icebergs isn't easy, we got there and found the entire cave smothered in ice monsters! Naturally, Link and I fought our way through, but then we discovered this really interesting thing called Blue Fire. Ever heard of it Bran?"

Bran was still processing her word spew but once he caught up, he hastily replied. "Yeah, I've heard of it. It's the coldest flame in the world. You can even touch it with your hand and it won't burn you—" He knew it because he used to play with in the apothecary"—but all it really does is melt Red Ice. Um, all I know is that some old Philosophers and Theorists in Hyrule used to really get into arguments over how it worked. I think the debate is still ongoing, but I'm not sure."

"Well done!" The fairy congratulated, "I honestly didn't think you would know about it! As we went through the cavern we noticed that it did exactly what you said, which is burn Red Ice. King Zora was covered in Red Ice so Link trapped some of the flames in a bottle for later—"

How—?

How does one trap fire in a bottle—?

"—Really, Link and I should have left once we got the flame, but he's such a stubborn boy! We found this map and there was one room we hadn't gone in and Link just had to go there! He can be so determined, so I just let him do it. Oh I really do regret that now...there was this huge White Wolfos inside and it jumped out at Link. Thankfully it didn't bite him, but it did land a few scratches. Obviously Link defeated it and we ended up finding this treasure chest with magical boots. They had iron on them and while they were light on your hands, the second you put them on, you'd become heavier than a Goron!"

"I-It sounds like quite the treasure!" Bran was only half listening but he didn't want to sound rude. This fairy spoke way too fast for him to comprehend everything!

"It wasn't worth it though." The fairy said sadly. "Link was feeling really unwell afterwards, and now he's sick. I wish we were smarter about this and got him something warm to wear."

Bran happened to glance at the bedside drawer. He spotted a blue tunic that certainly didn't belong to Elric so he immediately got up to examine the fabric. As he felt and prodded the clothing, he made an inquisitive 'Hmm' noise in his throat. The outer layer was made of scales, as far as Bran could tell. Was it for decoration? Underneath was chain mail, and underneath that was a layer of thick black fabric.

"The material feels really weird but it looks like it should have trapped at least some heat; there's three under layers. I know this sounds a bit odd but it looks like it was designed to keep body heat! I recognise the black layer! Some of the soldiers here have this kind of fabric under their armour during the winter. It's really expensive!" His sister would probably shake her head and say 'Ice water, Bran. How was it supposed to save him from that?' but Voria wasn't here to criticise his logic.

"Link wasn't wearing that one." Navi mumbled. "That's the Zora Tunic. King Zora gave it to Link as a present for his help. Link was wearing a regular green tunic when we went to the Domain."

Bran was about to respond but Navi's words suddenly hit him hard.

...Wait...what? "Did you...did you just say Link wore green?"

"Yes," Navi responded, unsurely. "It's part of the culture of the Kokiri—"

Bran didn't catch another word.

The man with the fairy had a green tunic.

Oh my gosh, that chapter was hard to write. I hope you all liked it and I'm sorry that the plot is going kind of slow! The next chapter should have some more interaction with Link and the other characters so look forward to that!

Just curious, did anyone else notice and find it strange that Voria said "A soldier found him" instead of just admitting that she was the one who discovered Link in that field? Or was that the actual truth and she lied to Nana?

...Just keep that in mind for the next few chapters—not everything you read in a particular character's point of view is the solid truth. What is said to one character could very well be a lie.

Rate and review~!