The New Chronicles of Hyrule: Two Suns

Liru stumbled back a few steps, gazing at the slightly older, crimson-eyed doppleganger. Much to his shock, the male looked just as surprised as Liru felt. Then it really hit him who we was looking at, and his eyes widened as he spoke, voice quiet. "..Father?"

"..I do not deserve that title, but yes, Liru.. I am Sheik." His arms crossed as Sheik gazed at his.. son. This was the first time he'd seen his offspring, and he was amazed just how much like him Liru looked. But those eyes.. his mother's eyes... Sheik thought of the last time he'd looked into Elenna's eyes, and his throat tightened. Ye gods, but he missed her. So long apart, and such a brief time together, before she was taken from him for good. Clearing his throat, Sheik gave himself a slight shake, and narrowed his eyes at Liru. "It has come to my attention that you and your sister have been hiding within the Temple. This is most unacceptable. You will cease this foolishness immediately."

Liru's momentary awe at finally meeting his father faded, and was replaced with anger. He's gone all their lives, and suddenly appears and thinks he can start ordering them around? His hands curled into fists, head shaking as he growled. "You may be our father, but there's no way you can expect us to just start doing whatever you say. You've never been around, why should we listen to you?"

Sheik was stunned, but he hid it. He should've expected this, but that didn't mean he would take it. His lips pursed as he glared at his son. "Because I am your father."

"..'Father' is the title that goes to those who have loved and raised their children.. not those that abandoned mother and children alike."

Sheik and Liru both whipped around to look for the source of the voice, and happened to look to the wall to the left of Elenna's tree just as Kura dropped down from the height, landing in a crouch. Sheik stared as the girl stood, fixing him with an enraged crimson gaze. Aside from that.. she could have been Elenna. His heart lurched, and he gasped for breath. "Kura--"

"Don't.. you.. dare." She smirked as her scathing tone took the Sheikah male by surprise, making him take an involuntary step backwards. Like a stalking cat, she continued towards him, backing him slowly around the tree. "You left Mother. You left us. We've gotten along just fine without you for eighteen years.. we don't need you! Go back to wherever it was that you went when you left us.. and stay there."

All Sheik could do was watch with wide eyes as she turned and stalked out of the small area, bristling with rage. Liru cast a final disappointed glance his way, before trotting off after his sister. Sheik slumped against the tree, taking a deep breath. "..She is right, Elenna. I failed them.. and you. I am sorry."

--

"Kura, wait!" Liru ran after his twin, finally catching her arm and pulling her around to face him as they entered the Temple antechamber. Just as he'd thought, she was crying. He frowned, wrapping Kura in a tight hug and running his fingers through her hair as she sobbed against his shoulder. "Please don't cry..."

"He finally shows up.. talks to us.. or you at least.. and he just.. acts like he doesn't even care..." Her sniffles slowly died away, until after a few moments, she lifted red-rimmed eyes to look up at her brother. He smiled down at her, and kissed her forehead, then guided her towards the passageway that led to their rooms. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. "Do you think I was too mean?"

"No. He needed to hear that." Liru shook his head, giving Kura a slight squeeze. "If anything, what you said might make him start thinking, and stop being like he has."

Though she said nothing, Kura nodded. She hoped he was right. As they came to their rooms, they stopped, and turned to face each other. In silence, Liru let his forehead rest against Kura's, looking into her eyes, a question in his own. She smiled faintly, then nodded, before pulling back and moving into her room. Liru watched her go, and chuckled as he proceeded to his own room. It was impossible to keep Kura down for long.

--

Early morning found Hyrule Castle wrapped in a comfortable cloud of quiet. The Marketplace hadn't yet opened for business, and the Castletown was still asleep. But a figure trudged up the pathway from the town to the castle gates. The two guards standing watch exchanged looks as they spotted the figure, one calling out to the person. "Halt! Who goes there?"

Brown eyes came to rest on the two guards, who gaped as they recognized one of their own. They were given no time to react, as he abruptly crumpled to the ground in a boneless heap. Within minutes, more guards came with a stretcher, and quickly bore the obviously injured guard up to the castle, and to the barracks. Zelda and Link were both summoned, rushing to see what had become of him. Kalin's abrupt disappearance had given everyone cause to worry, but his pale, rumpled appearance upon his return more than three weeks later was more than enough cause for alarm. As soon as Zelda entered the barracks, she knew something was very, very wrong. Crossing to the bunk where the drawn guard lay in silence, barely breathing, Link remained close to her side. "Kalin.. what happened?"

The guard's brown eyes drifted to the blonde Hylian woman, and he struggled for breath, his voice rasping out a response. "Forgive me.. my Queen.. he did.. horrible things.. I had to.. to tell him.. what he wanted to know..."

Zelda's blue eyes widened in dismay as Kalin suddenly convulsed with a scream of agony, tendrils of darkness roiling around his frame. "Everyone out! Go now!"

Brilliant golden light flared into life around her gloved hands as they were outstretched towards the guard, all the others bolting from the barracks in terror. Link was last to go, as he snagged his sister around the waist and darted from the area.

And then the barracks exploded.

Stone went flying, crashing into the stables and other parts of the castle, masonry crumbling and toppling over. A gaping hole now encompassed most of the northern side of the castle. Coughing as dust stirred around him, Link pushed chunks of stone away, and turned to look for his twin as blood trickled from a wound on his forehead, down next to his left eye. Zelda wiped dust from her face, staggering over piles of debris, to finally collapse next to Link. He bundled her close, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank the Goddesses you're all right."

"Link.. my worst fears appear to be reality..." She choked on dust, looking around the partially-demolished hallway as tears ran paths through the dirt and dust on her fair cheeks. "I began to suspect when the Seal remained intact despite the death of Ruto. The fight for Hyrule is not over, and whoever it is that mounted this attack.. has the Water Medallion."

Link gaped at Zelda's words, then shook his head slightly. "But that can't be. Only one chosen by the former Sage or one in the direct bloodline can be the next Sage and bear the Medallion."

Zelda sighed, hiding her face against Link's shoulder. She could hear people scrambling through the debris down the hallway, frantically calling for herself and Link. "..This means Ruto had a child. A child that is also.. a child of darkness."

His arms unconsciously tightened around her. That could only mean one thing. His blue eyes closed tightly as despair washed over him.

--

Liru stood at the doorway to the temple antechamber, looking out into the graveyard. The loud rumble from the direction of the Castletown worried him. Looking over his shoulder, he found Kura rushing up the stairs, looking concerned. He arched a brow, head tilting as he looked at her. "What are you doing?"

"You can't tell me you didn't feel and hear that. Come on, we're going to the Castle. I've got a bad feeling." The twins clasped hands and quickly melded with the shadows, reappearing just inside the castle stables. What they saw as they emerged made them both gasp, sharing troubled glances. The gaping hole in the side of the castle was an ugly wound on the beautiful stone facade, though the duo was relieved to see people moving about, trying to clear away the rubble.

Suddenly Kura stiffened, and her crimson eyes went wide, before they swung over to her brother. Liru blinked as she tugged her hand free from his and bolted towards the castle, his fingers just missing as he reached for her. "Kura? Kura!"

At first, the tread of her boots was a steady, even jog. But as she crossed the courtyard to the pile of stone where the barracks used to be, she broke into a frantic run as her gaze swept across those present, searching for one face amongst the crowd. But she didn't see it. As she spotted Link and Zelda, she darted over to them, climbing carelessly over half-decimated stonework and nearly throwing herself at the siblings. "Link! Queen Zelda!"

"Kura?" Startled blue eyes turned to the approaching Sheikah girl as Link steadied his sister, the Hero of Time looking worriedly at his sort-of niece. "What are you doing here? Where's Liru?"

"We heard an explosion and came to see. He's.. I.. I don't know. I had to..." She skidded down the far side of the rocky rubble, and almost rolled to a stop at the feet of the two, swallowing convulsively as she looked up at them. "Have you seen Tyras since the explosion?"

Zelda gasped, a hand clad in torn and dusty glove rising to cover her mouth as an expression of terror came across her features. "Tyras! And.. Kisa..." She cast a questioning glance at Link, who quickly shook his head. Well, that relieved part of her worries.. but her son... "I.. I have not seen him since breakfast."

Kura barely even waited for the words to leave the Queen's mouth before she was off, ignoring the voice of Link calling after her. She scrambled deeper into the stone-littered hallway, heading for the debris the castle denizens hadn't yet started to move and leaping onto a veritable hill of fallen masonry. Her hands, worn from years of training in different kinds of fighting, began frantically digging through rock and wood, moving what pieces she could and trying to dig around what she couldn't as she called out, her voice touched with something bordering on panic. "Tyras! Tyras!"

"Kura?"

Her breath caught as she heard the voice, muffled though it was, and her digging picked up in speed and intensity. "Tyras! I'm coming!"

Before she knew it, there were a dozen hands on all sides, helping her to pull away chunks of rock, and carefully shifting those that required more than one set of hands. A cry of relief fled from her lips as she suddenly found a large gap, her hand moving through it, to feel another grasping it tightly. As she peered down into the hole, she saw a welcome sight; Tyras's dirt-and-dust covered face looking back up at her with a lopsided grin. "You're the last person I thought I'd see here."

"You should know to expect the unexpected with me. Is there anyone else down there with you?" She attempted to clear more debris away from the hole with just one hand, the other still holding that of Tyras. When he shook his head, she nodded, and looked down to the others present. "The prince is in here!"

Immediately, there were people rushing around to help her liberate him, though she didn't let go of his hand. Within minutes, they'd cleared enough of the rubble away for Tyras to climb out, and he almost collapsed into Kura's arms once he was back on the floor. He had a cut on his left arm, and seemed to be favoring his ribs, but otherwise didn't look any worse for wear. His bright blue eyes looked down at her, searching her now-dirty face as he spoke softly. "..You picked a good time to come out of hiding."

"Tyras!" The two looked away from each other at the sound of Zelda's voice, and the prince found himself wrapped in a hug by his terrified mother, who was near unto sobbing with relief. "Thank the Goddesses you are safe!"

"It was Kura that found me, Mother." Tyras gave a wan smile, and glanced over to where Kura had been just a moment ago, only to blink when he saw she was gone. Icy hues began rapidly searching for her, and spotted her familiar silvery-grey locks as she disappeared around a corner. "Kura, wait!"

"Go on, go after her." Zelda relinquished her grip on her son, gently pushing him in the direction of the departing Sheikah girl. Tyras needed no further urging, and took off after Kura, skidding around the corner and picking up his speed as he attempted to catch up to her.

Not thinking Tyras would actually be able to escape his mother's grasp, Kura was surprised to suddenly feel his hand on her arm, pulling her around to face him. Wide eyes stared up at him, but only for a moment; suddenly, his lips were against hers, and his hands claimed a spot resting on her hips. At first, she was too stunned to react. Then her arms twined around his neck, and her crimson hues closed as she kissed him back, her slender frame molding tightly against his muscular one.

Before either could really understand what was happening, Tyras had her pressed up against the wall, and her fingers were tangled in his hair as her right leg came to curl around his hip, a breathless moan uttered into the heated liplock. And then just as abruptly as it had started, Kura was stunned to find Tyras no longer in her arms. Dazed eyes snapped open, and she gaped as she saw Liru standing in front of her, his left hand fisted in the front of Tyras's tunic, the right curled into a fist which was poised for a punch. "Liru, no!"

Angry violet hues darted over to his sister, then back to the glaring Hylian male, as Liru growled a response. "He was all over you, Kura. I should knock him into the next century."

"Did I look like I wasn't enjoying it, brother? Let him go!" Attempting to smooth her ruffled hair and clothing, she huffed irritably, aiming a glare at her over-protective twin. She breathed a sigh of relief as Liru released the prince, then looked at Tyras, giving him a faint smile. "Go get your wounds tended to, Tyras.. Liru and I will help clear away the debris."

Tyras made to object, but the look Kura gave him convinced him otherwise. So he simply spared a momentary glare at Liru, then moved back the way he'd come, to find his mother and a healer. Liru, meanwhile, turned to his twin with a frown. "..What in the name of Din was that all about?"

"It's none of your concern, Liru." She turned and started down the hallway, only to, once again, have her arm grabbed and be whirled around. She growled, yanking her arm free of her brother's grip with a growl. "You know, I'm getting really tired of people doing that."

"Like hell it isn't my concern! I'm your brother, Kura. I'm supposed to protect you." He blinked when she started laughing, and his eyes narrowed angrily.

"I don't need you to protect me from Tyras, of all people. So just let it go." Kura promptly turned on her heel and continued walking quickly down the hallway, leaving Liru to stare angrily at her departing back as he muttered.

"She's going to get herself in way over her head, if she doesn't watch it..."