It would start as a peaceful dream. Rena "Ren" Link, age 15, winning the Archery tournament at Hyrule Castle later this year. As she'd straighten her half-unkempt blonde bangs, she'd face the crowd with brilliant green eyes and wave. "I'd like to dedicate this to my family, especially my mother, may she rest in peace," the lanky teen would proclaim. "Thank you, Hyrule!"
And the cheering would be so tumultuous. The first Hyrulian girl to ever accomplish such a feat...

That is, until some shuffling noises abruptly ended that dream.
Groggily, she tossed and turned under her sheet and sat up, her short blonde hair in disarray. "Do you have ANY idea what time it is, Brother?!" she croaked angrily, climbing out of bed and straightening her gown. "Unless something's happened like someone running off to the castle in the middle of the night, then--"

Rena suddenly stopped speaking as her brother's head appeared in her doorway with the most grave of expressions. Any anger that had been etched on her face had dissolved. Fear took its hold on her now; her voice shook as she spoke.

"Hiro... what's going on?"

OOC: Wow, I haven't done this in a while. But this one looks like it should run longer than the other one, so as soon as I get a character I'll post my IC. ^^

"Do you have ANY idea what time it is, Brother?!" came the retort of his sister from her own bed. Great, he was worrying about waking someone and BAM! it happened. Just perfect. He had already changed from his general green-colored and rough sleeping clothes and placed on some more practical clothes. No need going out in his underwear in a sense. It was odd as he heard her voice and had placed on his general gear followed by his cloak. Then again it was wet, dark and cold. Whatever. He sighed heavily as he went over to her doorway, already apparent that she had gotten up.

"By the name of Din, this isn't going to end up well." he muttered. His sister was known to lecture him often, despite the age difference.

"Hiro... what's going on?" she asked, her voice shaking with her own worry and most definitely fear. He mustered enough, he couldn't lie or leave her in the dark of this. She had a right to know... he took another light breath.

(End OOC)

"B-but why? There can't be any reason for him... No one in their right mind would go out like that, right? I mean, he will be back, right?" Rena's gaze fell to the lantern.

"And you're going out there, too? You're crazy! You know it's past curfew, you can't go out there! What if a guard catches you, or worse? You can't go out there, I won't let you!"

She made a grab for the lantern, but Hiro jerked it out of her reach and held it high above his head. There was no way to get it now, her brother was much taller than she was despite being only one year apart.

Rena gritted her teeth as she again attempted to wrestle the lantern away from him, but it was no use. Frustrated, she turned her back to him, crossing her arms. "FINE. Go do what you want," the girl said bitterly. "Just don't... come crying back to me... when..."

She trailed off, trying not to look as though she were crying, though her trembling shoulders gave her away. How dare he, reducing her to tears like that. Hiro knew she hated being alone, and yet that just what he was going to do!

"Don't come crawling back here with arrows sticking out of you back, then!" she shouted loudly. "Go on, get going!"

"If that's how it is, then I'm coming, too."

Rena turned to face him. "Don't try telling me otherwise! I'm not delicate you know," she said defiantly, pointing a finger at her brother, much to his annoyance. That last statement in particular was one she would say often, to "prove" she was just as "tough" as any guy in an effort to be more independent.

"Don't try running off without me either," the girl continued as she moved towards the door. "Because I will find you. And you'll be in a world of hurt, you hear me?"

He sighed. "Then get dressed before it makes it even more tougher to track the old man." he really didn't want to get her as involved but it was a bit too late now. He lowered the lantern and shook his head. Now he had to worry about her getting hurt in this whole escapade now.

What a predicament.

"And you're planning to leave me behind?" came a small but defiant voice from the door of the bedroom.

It wasn't like anyone would have been able to sleep through the siblings' bickering, and Kerel, Draiden's youngest son at 11, wasn't about to be left out of anything, despite his age. "If Father's gone, and you're going too, then don't think I'm going to stay."

He had already dressed when he had first heard Hiro explain the situation to Rena, and was determined not to let his siblings go out on what he had decided in his mind, despite their father's disappearance, could very well be a grand adventure. Eying his brother and sister defiantly with blue eyes, he shook back his shoulder-length hair, brown lightening to blonde near the ends, and stepped forward. Kerel wasn't about to let his older siblings get all the excitement.

Hiro rose his hand to his forehead and his typical tone came to his voice to Rena. "Now look at what you did! You gone and woke Kerel up!" he sighed. Just what he needed; two younger siblings running along after him. To him this was just getting more dangerous and just wasting time.

(End OOC)

"Now look what you did! You gone and woke Kerel up!" He scoffed at his older brother's words, marching up to the older boy and glaring up at him; Hiro was nearly a head taller than him.

"I would've had to come after you eventually," Kerel sniffed derisively. "It's not you'd have gotten very far without me." He knew he sounded a bit like a spoiled brat, for his swordsmanship was not that good, not nearly as good as Hiro's, and he was too small to wield a regular sword and shield, using instead smaller versions of the equipment that weren't nearly as effective. But on his back he carried another device with which he was much more proficient: a large boomerang, almost as big as he, which he never left the house without and was stunningly accurate with. It wasn't much, and he didn't know how useful it would be in the coming rescue, but he knew it was one unique skill he could offer his brother and sister. Hopefully it'd be enough to let him come along.

OOC: There, boomerang covered. =D

Not gotten far without him tagging along, maybe. Hiro mentally groaned at the whole event of this. He should of just took off and left the house, not going to check on Rena and potentially waking up Kerel. It was going to be a big headache. He sighed, lightly as he looked to them both. "Whatever." he managed as he turned tail and began walking for the door. If he followed him, that'd their- no, it would be his problem.

Damn, by the name of the goddesses, this was trouble.

Smiling truimphantly with his small victory, Kerel moved quickly after Hiro, making sure the older boy didn't get too far ahead. Just wait; he'd prove his usefulness to the older children, and make them glad that Kerel was with them.

Just wait.

Rena sighed. She should have known Kerel would be included in this whole mess, even if she were somewhat responsible. Watching Kerel run off after Hiro, she quickly slammed the bedroom door. Oh, those two definitely weren't going to go off without her, all right.

She quickly dressed into a hand-me-down men's tunic she'd fixed up herself some months ago, tights, and boots then quickly located the quiver with her arrows and her bow sitting in a corner of the room. There was no way she was walking around in the rain in a stupid dress, it'd get all wet and dirty. Slinging the quiver's strap over her shoulder, she swung open her bedroom door and took off after her brothers.

No way she going to be left alone. Not while it was storming just outside her window. Not a chance.

It was cold and wet. As he drew up the hood to his cloak his eyes darted to the watery but still apparent footprints of his father.

He wasn't thinking completely spot on, himself. Hiro sighed with the lantern in his hand, he opened the door and went off into the night, with his tracking knowledge in mind due to hunting experiences beforehand near Lake Hylia.. he began to follow what seemed to be the spotty footprints of his father.... heading off north. But the only thing north was the river and the.... castle? Why in the name of Din would his father go off, armed with his old gear in the middle of the night to Hyrule Castle? He didn't get that.

He began to move a little faster, the castle's silhouette in the distance.

"Oi! You forgetting somebody?"

Rena was scrambling through the rain to catch up with Hiro, her blonde hair matted to her head from the rain. She simply brushed it from in front of her eyes so she could see. At her heels was Kerel, his expression highly indignant.

"Whaddaya mean, 'somebody?' I'm here, too!"

"Whatever..." Rena sighed, looking at the horizon, barely visible in the dismal weather.

No, he really wasn't. He didn't really want them to come to be honest. He retorted like he usually did to Rena, despite the situation causing him some worry. "Will you shut that big trap of yours, Rena? I'm trying to think." he said with a sigh, looking ahead and keeping moving. It was all like a bad feeling in his gut. But he had no idea.... what was laying ahead for him. The sound of thunder shattered through the sky and the rain dripped heavily on his hooded cloak. By the way all this footing looked.... his father definitely did take off to the castle, armed. There was no doubt. This only made him more full of concern, really. With his left hand holding the lantern by his side he wiped his nose with his other hand.

Rena made no attempt to argue, she was already to wet and too cold. She'd forgotten her own cloak trying to catch up with her brothers as they snuck out past curfew, and now she was paying for it.

And if Hiro was heading where she thought he was, the last thing she would want is to be noticed. As the elder brother moved along quietly, she followed suit while keeping a firm grip on an annoyed Kerel, who was trying to take a closer look at the guard.

Dread started brewing within her, there was definitely something wrong with those guards, and she'd only seen glimpses of them when they visited home once when she was younger, or when she'd catch Hiro running from the castle.

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, as though the tiniest peep of her voice would alert every patrol around the castle. Instead, she simply nodded as Hiro headed for the statue, making sure Kerel's arm was still firmly grasped.

"Stop dragging me around," Kerel couldn't help but mutter, even as the dark sillhouette of the heavily armoured guard sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm not a little kid. I can walk by myself!"

More than anything else he wanted to run over and inspect the creepy looking guard, find out what made it seem so different than any other soldier he'd seen at the castle, but Rena's grip was iron on his arm, and Hiro seemed intent on inspecting the statue of the king up ahead, which had been there for as long as Kerel could remember.

"What's so exciting about a boring old statue?" he muttered grumpily to himself, half-considering protesting to Hiro about the distinct lack of excitement in this adventure. But then the older boy's words came back to him, and it hit him how worried his brother sounded.

"Try not to make us get noticed." And despite himself, Kerel resolved to do his best.

The guards seemed to be closer to the castle itself and as he kept onward he found himself near the statue in a few good moments. His eyes widened a tad as the footprints ended and he saw..... a secret entrance clear in front of the statue? Wait... what? He felt something in his head tell him not to go down there. The stone ladder was apparent and he got even more worried if his dad even knew about this secret entrance.

"...great." he'd mutter. He glanced to his siblings to see their own initial emotions.

"Do you think he actually went down there?"

Rena was sounding increasingly worried, and for good reason. Her grip on Kerel finally loosened, and the youth had wrenched his arm away from his elder sister.

"He did, didn't he?"

"Of course he did," Kerel huffed, finally escaping from his sister's grasp and moving away, disgruntled look on his face. "Where else would you go secretly in the middle of the night, but to a top-secret underground entrance?" Hesitating for a moment, he let a small smile creep to his lips. "And we can't let him have all the excitement, can we?" He moved to the ladder, waiting for the others to follow.

"And we can't let him have all the excitement, can we?"

"Something bad is happening."

Rena simply nodded, her face almost pale now. Slowly, she stepped towards the ladder and looked down into the darkness. All of a sudden, she wasn't so sure she should have left home, but at the same time, she had to know just what was going on.

"Let's just go," she whispered. "We won't know anything if we just stand here."

"That's what I said." Glowering at his brother and sister, Kerel tried to swallow the unease that was welling up in his own throat. He knew that something was terribly wrong, could feel it just as well as his older siblings, but if he allowed himself to give into it he knew he'd never make it down that dark hole. So he forced himself to believe it was an adventure, something fun and exciting, even if only to give him the strength to move forward.

"Are we going or what?"

"Well, you can stand there all you want, but I'm going ahead." Rena, trying to put on a brave face, stepped towards the ladder and stared down into the darkness.

No need to get scared now. You've gotten this far. Her mind told her. Someone's got to go forward, after all.

Taking a deep breath, she started to climb down, not caring whether her brothers looked on or not. She had to admit, her fear was starting to get the better of her, but she wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her afraid. Perhaps it was because of their mother's death a long time ago, or her own father and her brothers, but she had always been determined to prove herself, to be independent, even in the face of danger (though she usually got in trouble).

Before Hiro could say anything, his sister seemed to think it was the best idea to go first anyway. Great. He crouched by the hole to give her some light for the ladder departure at the time. He waved to his brother to go on while the light was making the hole much more apparent so he could, too, climb the ladder easily. A chill was falling down his neck and it worried him but he lost the worry from his face despite his hesitation. As this occured, Rena would descend and soon touch the floor and the sound of heavy breathing and something thick and wet on the surface would be apparent.

The figure of a person not too far off from where the ladder initially ended.

As soon as her boot had stepped in something wet, she froze. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her surroundings were starting to become more discernable...

The floor was stained in something dark... possibly crimson... blood.

The figure slumped against the wall not even thirty feet away from where she stood... it was most likely...

Cautiously, she stepped forward, careful not to make a sound, just as Kerel had reached the stone floor. As she got closer, her heart beat that much more quickly. She reached her hand out towards the figure, stopping just couple of feet away. Her eyes widened with fright and tears streaming down her face.

She had to know it was him there, and yet, she still asked the question before she could stop herself.

"F-father..? Is that you...?"

Her question made the downed figure chuckle i nmid-cough but respond lightly. "I thought I told you to not..." he coughed again, "...leave the house."

As he spoke that Hiro would slowly begin his descent with the ladder, giving the two younger siblings time to absorb the shock.

Rena shook her head, sinking to her knees. "Father, I... we... were worried about you. We couldn't just sit there not knowing where you were or what happened to you..."

She fell silent, hearing Kerel's running footsteps right behind her.

"So we came looking for you."

"You expected us to stay in bed, after you left like that?" Kerel bit his lip, trying to hide his increasing fear and unease. They should have found their father beating up some bad guys in the dark tunnel, gotten a stern talking to for not staying in the house, and then gone off merrily together, looking for more adventure. There wasn't supposed to be blood. Father wasn't supposed to be bleeding.

He managed the next question shakily, though his voice broke at the end and he had to look down to hide his upset. "Wh-what happened to you?"

He looked to Kerel, a bit miffed that he was following Rena at that. Hiro must of been behind them. He coughed, some blood leaving him. "Tainted guards." he said in mid-glance back to Rena. "Princess Zelda is in danger.... you must make sure she doesn't get sacrificed for this hell....." he coughed again. "Castle mage planning on raising darkness...." he managed.

"Don't... you don't have to say anymore, Father," said Rena softly, wiping the tears off her face with one arm. "We... will make sure to get the princess to safety..."

In truth, she wanted to break down and scream at the top of her lungs. Say that there was no way her father could lay here dying, that she and her brothers could get him out the castle and treat his wounds...

But she knew, and she knew her brothers must have realized this as well, that there was nothing she could do to help their father. Just like their mother, they were going to lose him.

"Y-yeah, we'll save her...no problem..." With one sigh, Kerel felt all his bravado leaving him. Their father was dying, their kingdom was in danger, and suddenly it seemed like they were the only ones that could do anything about it. Why them? And why did it have to take their father in the process...?

"Where is she?" he asked dully, hoping at least that part of this nightmare would be somewhat simplistic. "Do you know?"

Hiro had dismounted the ladder sometime ago, but was letting his siblings let it hit them. He kept his emotion inside, to tear at him but show his status strongly. He would take a light breath as his lantern illuminated the hallway. But then his father spoke again and he closed his eyes for a sole second.

Hiro would nod a bit as he felt his fathers eyes gaze to him. "Hiro.... here, take this, protect them as you do what I ask." he coughed, his arm stretching out, his grip lightly on his long sword which in a moment Hiro firmly grasped and took from that hand. A few secodns later the hand went back to its place. There was another cough.