Chapter 1
Everyone was asleep. All was darkness in the room, save the moonlight that streamed through the small window where she sat, staring out into the night. The stars shone in the inky sky above, along with the thin disk of the moon. Wispy grey clouds, the color of a dove’s wings, were scattered in patches across the sky. Just beyond the shoreline lay the sea, inkier than the ominious expanse above it.
Sweeping her chocolate brown hair behind her, the girl sighed quietly. Why did I ever have to come to this place? Why did Mom and Dad have to die in the fire that took our village? She could see the inferno again as she closed her eyes, the flame that lit up the sky that night, hear the screams of the villagers and the roar of the flames as they consumed all. That had been a little less than a year ago. She had been moved from the other small island she had been born and raised on and moved to the tiny orphanage where she now lived.
Turning, she saw the rows of beds that lined the room’s walls. The other children lay quietly asleep. She, unable to sleep, had come to sit by the window. The crashing of the waves and the sight of the night sky had always calmed her before, allowing her to go back to bed and sleep, but it simply wasn’t working tonight. Peering down at her pale, delicate fingers, she saw the ring she’d recieved from her parents for her last birthday. Set in silver, its intricate leaf designs surrounded a red jewel.. It flashed at her, winking like crimsion starlight as she slowly moved her finger back and forth.
"Beth? What are you doing up?" a voice asked. Elizabeth turned to see her brother John behind her, his hand on her shoulder. Brushing his hand away irritably, she muttered quietly, "John, go back to bed. Miss Baines will catch you up and we’re both in for it." Even as she spoke, Elizabeth could see the small, stern woman in her mind; a shrewish person dressed in grey with a sharp nose and beady eyes, the children’s caretaker. There is nothing Miss Baines enjoys more than yelling at us, Elizabeth thought. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get back to bed before she hears you and comes in!" Elizabeth whispered sharply to her brother, who still hadn’t moved. Hurt shone in the boy’s light blue eyes. He brushed some sandy hair from his forehead, then slowly retreated into the darkness. John was four years Elizabeth’s junior, and ever since the fire she had to be like his mother, which annoyed her to no end. In her opinion, he was clumsy, childish, someone to be scorned. The only reason she didn’t ignore him completely was that he was the only family she had left.
Turning back to the window, Elizabeth saw the small dock on the far side of the shore, a wooden rowboat tethered to its post. It bobbed gently in the tide. In the afternoons, it was her job to take some of the younger children in it, including John. The oars still sat on the bottom of it, and one handle stuck up in the air. She watched as it continued to move under the influence of the tide beneath it. The idea came to her as she watched it; a farfetched idea, but if it worked....
Rising, her long white nightgown trailing behind her, Elizabeth went to the bed where her brother slept. "John..." she whispered quietly, shaking him, "John, wake up. I have a plan." John groaned and turned toward her. "What is it?" he asked, his eyes still half closed, his voice choked. Elizabeth sighed in frustration. "I have a plan, John. We’re leaving this place. Tonight. Our parents told us before the fire about the place called Hyrule, right? The place where they were born?" John’s eyes grew wider as he sat up in bed. "We’re really leaving?" he asked, his voice hushed but excited. Elizabeth nodded and pulled her billowy nightgown over her head. Bending beside her bed, she retrieved her day clothes and began to put them on. Somewhat of a tomboy, she had always worn the traditional work clothes of her old home as opposed to the dresses she scorned. First, her pants, grey, and then her tunic, scarlet, went on. Then, her sturdy boots were the next thing to go on. Finally, her belt, complete with a sheath for her dagger, was situated around her waist. This is what she had worn everyday on the island where she was born. Not unusual, since boys and girls wore the same work clothes when they were outside.
Turning and running a a hand through her hair, Elizabeth saw that John still wasn’t dressed. "John, get a move on! Miss Baines will come in soon to see if anyone’s up to anything!" she hissed. John nodded, then reached under his own bed to where he’d thrown his own clothing. They were similar to Elizabeth’s, except the pants were brown and the tunic itself light blue. He dressed hurriedly, nearly forgetting to put his boots on. "How will we leave the island?" John asked quietly, as not to wake the other children. Some of them were up anyway, though, watching them with gleaming eyes in the dark. Elizabeth turned to the ones that watched and hissed, "Don’t tell anyone about this, especially Miss Baines." One of the youngest children asked, "Where are you going, Elizabeth?" Elizabeth answered, "To a place called Hyrule." "Will you ever return?" the same young child questioned. She shook her head, then murmured, "Keep quiet. Go back to sleep, or Miss Baines will surely hear, and not let us leave." The child closed his eyes obediently.
Slowly, cautiously, Elizabeth made her way to the front of the room to where the door was. Creaking it open, she peered into the dimly lit hallway beyond. Beside the door was the candle that lit the room, nearly burned out, sitting on a finely polished table. Down the small hallway lay another door, the one that would lead outside, and ultimately to their freedom. She turned and motioned to John to come forth with her. His eyes were wide with excitement and fear as he followed her. Finally, they reached the front door. Slipping a hand shaking with nerves on the knob, Elizabeth managed to open it. Outside lay the darkness and cold. Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. But just beyond also lay the freedom she yearned for. Taking her brother’s hand, she slipped outside and closed the door softly behind her.
Breaking into a run now, Elizabeth dragged John behind her until they were a few yards from the orphanage. Looking back, Elizabeth saw the small, weatherbeaten building in a new light. It was still as it was the first day she and John ahd arrived there; a squat shacklike place with the sign "Orphanage" beside its front door. The sign had once been white along with the rest of the building. Now, the sign tilted, most of its paint chipped off, and the building itself was a dingy silver from the years of wind, rain, and snow.
Turning, Elizabeth went to the dock where the boat waited. Making her way over the creaking, whining boards that made up the platform, she motioned to the boat that was tied to its post at the end of it. "Get in," she commanded John quietly, and he made his way past her and settled on the boat’s floor. She carefully stepped off the dock and into the boat. It rocked a little under the added weight until she sat down next to John. Going to her belt, she unsheathed her dagger. Its blade flashed at her as she reached up. Taking the thick rope that bound the boat to the post in her hand, Elizabeth took her dagger in the other and began to saw away at the rope. Finally, the rope fibers gave way. With one last tug, the rope snapped and the boat was set adrift.
As they started out into the dark, Elizabeth took up her oar. "Start rowing. If we keep going all night, we’ll be close to Hyrule by dawn," she told her brother. Reluctantly, he took his own oar and put it in the water. "How do you know we’ll make it that soon?" he asked, his voice quivering with fear. "You worry too much. Mom told us it’s only fifty miles or so from where we used to live to Hyrule. The orphanage isn’t that far from our old home. So, if we keep rowing, we should make it by sometime tomorrow," Elizabeth scolded. As she spoke, she rowed, her oar slicing through the dark water. "We didn’t bring anything to eat, though, or any extra clothes. And on top of that, how do we even know which way to go?" John worried. Elizabeth stilled her oar for a moment, glaring at him. "John, just shut up and row. I’ll do any of the worrying that needs to be done," she snapped.
For a time, the rowing continued on in silence. Elizabeth could hear the sounds of the crickets that had come out early this year. The water itself had thawed only a short time ago, and now Elizabeth could hear her oar moving among ice chunks as well as water. The air was a bit on the cool side, but the rowing kept them both warm. After a time, Elizabeth’s arms were tired from rowing, and she was sure that John was tired as well. However, she kept going, knowing that the more she rowed, the closer she was to that strange new land her mother had spoke of.
Dawn was coming into the sky now. Elizabeth looked up to see the bright pink and violet colors of the new day. On top of that, though, she noticed something else that had her a little worried. More clouds had come into the sky now, beginning to block out the sun’s early rays. The clouds were ominious, dark, a promise of a storm at sea. Trying not to let the cold feeling in her stomach bother her, Elizabeth began to row faster, her oar cutting through the water twice as quickly now. John, too, began to row faster, and the boat began to pick up speed.
As they continued on, Elizabeth was sure she could hear the first rumbling of thunder off in the distance. The wind had begun to pick up, making the water choppy, the small rowboat even more difficult to maneuver. She hung on, determined, as the gusts began to blow even harder and faster, making her hair stream out behind her. Sea spray rose up on either side of the tiny vessel now, and the water was getting more and more wavy. The rain began then, the first cold drops hitting them as they tried desperately to continue on. The lightning tore the blue-black sky open, and the thunder made vibrations Elizabeth could feel in her bones. "Row faster, John, we have to make out of this storm!" she shouted over the roar of the wind and waves. The waves were dangerous now, starting to come up over the sides of the boat. The salty water soaked her clothes, sending a numbing cold all the way to her bones. She struggled to keep her hands, devoid of feeling, on the oar’s handle.
The rain was coming down in sheets now, and the boat was being tossed by the fierce waves. Lightning lit up the sky, and the thunder grew louder until it was nearly deafening. The boat continued to rock dangerously from side to side. Anything they did to control it now was useless. The waves and wind had full control of the boat. Fear fluttered in Elizabeth’s chest. John was screaming in panic from beside her. Water started splashing up on the sides of the boat again, soaking her feet as well as the boat’s floor. The wind made it even more difficult for them, raking at them with icy claws.
Suddenly, Elizabeth felt the boat shift. She gave a startled cry and clung to its side, trying to hold on, totally abandoning the oar in the sea. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, determined not to let go. However, with the next shift in the boat, her numb hands failed her, and she was thrown out of the safety of the boat as it flipped over completely.. John, too, was deposited into the angry, cold water. Elizabeth surfaced, spitting salty water out and trying to swim in the direction of the boat in hopes of clinging on to it. The outraged waves continued to knock her back, and after a few attemps, she felt herself weaken. Her waning strength would not allow her to try again. Desperately, she looked for John. He was trying to keep afloat only a few feet from her. Paddling to him, she took his sleeve in her hand and began to drag him. Several miles away, she dimly spotted land. Her eyes stung from the salt, and the water was incredibly cold. She started toward the land, her body completely numb now. She was starting to feel tired now. John was a large weight behind her, slowing her down. He was still trying to paddle himself, although his attemps were becoming weaker. Finally, faced with the choice of both of them going down if she continued to hold him or maybe just one of them perishing if she let go, she released John and began to paddle harder. She felt so heavy, so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open. Her arms were hardly rising out of the water as she tried to move, and her clothes clung to her like a second skin.
Her eyes were starting to close, her body was cold and weak. She was just floating now, going with the rhythm of the black ocean around her. The sky above her growled and flashed as she peered up at it, perhaps for the last time. She wasn’t going to make it to that land alone. She hardly remembered anything now, and her mind was in a fog. She lay, waiting for the ocean to swallow her. Strangely, she didn’t feel anything any longer, not even the cold. Just the calmness that surrounded her. She gave up the battle to keep her eyes open, and slowly began to drift away with the blackness of the sea....