Rise of the Goddess

Chapter Five - Zariah

The rain was thick in this part of Hyrule, and the lightning terrifying. A few days had passed since they'd left Gerudo Desert, and now she and Raeden and the horses were hunched under a large rock overhang, waiting out the storm. They had just passed over the Bridge of Hylia, the Spring of Courage should be close by.

Zariah got to her feet, she was tired of sitting around, she was getting anxious from staying in the same spot for so long. She drew her sword and spun it in her fingers. As she walked out into the rain, she spread her stance and practiced her strokes, slashing through the air.

"You're the princess of Hyrule," Raeden asked behind her, distracting her, "You could have guards upon guards protecting you at all times. Why did you ever bother with training with a sword?"

She let her sword fall to her side, sighed and then turned her head, "When I was a kid I ran into my dad in the middle of training. I was in awe, watching him, and I wanted him to teach me, so he did. Back then I thought it would be nothing more than a cool trick. Then, a few years later, I had to actually use it to defend myself several times. I got Jira to teach me more, and Aadil gave me this sword," she gestured to the razor-like blade, "Ever since then, I knew that no matter how many people I had protecting me, there would always be a moment where I would have to defend myself. I've trained myself further in case of another moment like that. Being on the road alone all these years has made that skill necessary,"

"It seems like everything with you starts with him and everything that happened,"

She sighed, "Yeah, well, it changed my entire life," she turned around to him, facing him properly, "What about you? I've already told you too much about myself, but what about you?"

Raeden blinked, "You want to know about me?"

"Yeah, of course,"

"It's not very interesting, there's almost nothing to say,"

Is he trying to be difficult? "Then tell me what happened to you and your family 15 years ago," she said, getting back under the overhang, "Everyone I know has their own story of what happened, it affected everyone in Hyrule,"

He seemed taken aback, then swallowed, "I, uh, I was nine when it happened. I grew up in Castle Town, my father was a knight so me and my mom stayed nearby. I remember I was playing outside with a few of my friends when I was caught in this weird light. When I opened my eyes again, me and everyone I knew were stuck in that weird dimension he made. Me, my father, and my mom were all stuck there for what felt like weeks. Then, we were sitting together when one of my father's friends caught sight of the portal and shouted for us. The King and Queen got there almost immediately and made sure everyone got out before they did. I remember walking out with my mom, and I— I actually remember you standing there helping everyone get out of the portal, and then I remember a golden light, and then me and my mom were in Hateno Village, and my father was back at the battleground,"

He paused and took a breath, "My mom was freaking out when we appeared in Hateno Village, I don't actually remember what I was doing, but after a few hours and people stopped arriving there, all of the civilians of Castle Town started trekking back home. My mom tried to stay strong for me, but I knew she was worried sick the entire time about my father. Finally, when we got back, we found him again, I don't think I've seen either of my parents so happy to see each other as they were that day,"

Zariah listened in silence, then said, "So your father was a knight?"

Raeden nodded, "Yeah, everyone I know says I take after him in almost every way. I look just like him, I act just like him, we have the same exact mannerisms, and so on" he said, "I've always looked up to him. As soon as I could, I started trying to be a knight so I could be just like him and then one day I saved the King's life and I was promoted to be a Royal Guard. My father was so proud,"