Fera hummed quietly to herself, turning the page of the book she was reading.
A thud on the window made her jump.
She set the book down, and opened it, sticking her head outside. “Feron, you dork! I’m trying to read,” she yelled crossly.
As soon as she closed it and turned around, another rock hit the glass.
Enough is enough.
She whispered a spell, opening the window again, and a rock flew into her hand. She promptly threw it at her brother.
“Ow!”
“Don’t give me that, you were so asking for it!”
“Get down here!” He yelled up, massaging his head. “Your boyfriend’s being stupid again, and he won’t listen to reason!”
With fire in her eyes, she shouted back, “He’s not my boyfriend!” Despite this, she came downstairs.
“Whoever he is, he thinks he can fly,” Feron said.
“What?”
“He’s up on the cliff, with a pair of papercraft wings, about to try and fly.”
“That absolute moron!”
“Call him names after he’s safely on the ground, Baby Sis!”
“We’re the same age!” She stormed off, leaving her ‘younger’ brother behind.
He stared after her, and grinned. “He’s so your boyfriend,” he muttered, before running to catch up.
...
Ferallia and Feron reached the cliff and looked to see a grinning Icarus standing on the edge with his wings. His curly red locks bouncing in the breeze.
His dorky smile widened when he noticed she had arrived. “Hey, Fera, look at me!”
“WAIT! Don’t be stupid, you are not a bird!” she shouted, rushing up the hill toward him.
“Don’t gotta to be a bird to fly,” he said smugly. He jumped off the edge.
She leaped forward, in a vain attempt to catch him. “Icarus!” She stood up, quickly pulled a stele from her pocket and wrote a few runes in the air. “Air Cushion!”
The still grinning Icarus flapped his wings to no effect, but landed with a small thud, unharmed.
The twins rushed down the hill to see if he was alright.
He was standing there, rubbing the back of his neck in an embarrassed way, his hair messed up from the fall. And his usually pale face red, he said. “That was just a practice flight.” He laughed nervously.
She marched up to him and slapped him so hard, one of his wings broke. “You absolute idiot!”
He winced, clearly embarrassed. “Yeah… I’m gonna fly sometime though, just watch me.”
“You’re going to get yourself KILLED!” she shouted, looking ready to smack him again.
“Woah, chill, Fera,” her brother interrupted. “Violence isn’t the answer to all your problems, you know,” he said slightly sarcastically. Lowering his voice, he whispered in her ear, “That’s not how you hit on someone, you know.”
She‘d been slightly calmer before his comment, but this drove her over the edge. “You little-” She tried to punch him in the chest.
He dodged easily. “You can do better than that.”
A drawling voice met their ears. “And why have you got wings, exactly?”
They both spun around, scowling.
Icarus didn’t answer, his face turning red again.
“Still trying to fly, are you?” The fair-haired boy swaggered closer to them.
“Shut it, Zen.” Ferondir II said. “You just wait. One day, he’ll manage it.”
“When he does, I’ll kiss a bear,” he laughed.
Fera scowled at him. “You won’t be laughing when you’ve got to go and do it.”
Zen opened his mouth to reply but said nothing.
“You never could outwit my sister,” Feron said, crossing his arms.
“Must I?” he said. “Even your parents didn’t bother with you, why should I?”
The normally cool-headed Feron bristled. “Our parents died with honor, while your father lives without it.”
“Fat lot of good they did. There’s nothing left of Mira.” Zen sneered, though the comment about his father had stung him.
“Mira couldn’t be saved, but if they hadn’t done what they did, there would be nothing left of Hyrule! You have no place saying ANYTHING about our parents!” Ferallia retorted.
“If they loved you, they would’ve come back. They’re not dead, you know.” Zen said, enjoying the surprise and pain on their faces. “I’m bored of this conversation.” He strutted off.
Ferallia tried to dash after him but was stopped by her brother’s arm. “Let him go, Fera, he’s not worth our time.”
Only when he’d disappeared around a corner, did Ferallia calm enough to respond. “What if he’s right?” Her words were fragile, vulnerable, and they struck her brother harder than any cry of anger could.
“He’s not-- They can’t--” he started to say.
“What if they’re still somehow alive?”
Feron looked away. “I... I just... It’s impossible. The whole village was wiped off the map. And… If they were, they would’ve stopped at nothing to come see us.” Right?
“What if they don’t lo--”
“No. Stop.” Feron stood up tall. A fierce look in his eye. “If there is one thing that I’m sure of, it’s that they cared for us. Just forget he said anything. I’d rather live knowing my family died with honor.”
Ferallia’s shoulders sagged.
All this time, Icarus had been quiet. Sometimes he felt that having two, alive, and fully human parents was a bad thing.
That night, at dinner, she spoke. “What spell did they use, Mentor?”
Yami looked over at her and his deep violet eyes twinkled knowingly.
She usually never said anything, too interested in her meal.
“Who?”
“Our parents.”
“Oh, you mean the soul seal?” He pressed his napkin briefly to his mouth. “It’s far too advanced for you, my dear.”
“What does it do, exactly?”
“I suppose I could tell you.” He set his napkin down and shifted his glass of water to one side, and the hot oil to the other. He pointed to the water. “This represents a living thing.”
He gestured to the oil. “This does not.”
He took them both and poured equal amounts onto her saucer. “What do you see?”
She looked, trying to figure out what he was getting at. “Well, they’re not mixing.”
“Exactly. Life cannot be bound to something that was never alive, just as oil refuses to fuse with water.”
“What does this have to do with the soul bind?”
“I’m getting there, Ferallia.” He now took his own saucer and held up his wine and a cup of water. “These are both living things, and so, are able to meld. The water represents the caster’s life, and the wine, the target. Understand so far?”
“I think so.”
He poured them into his saucer, where they mixed and became indistinguishable. “This is the soul bind spell. The caster forces his own soul to encase and envelope the target.”
“So... my parents became one with the monster?”
“Well, no. But yes.”
“What?”
“Didn’t I say it was too advanced for you?”
“You did, Mentor.”
“Now, finish your meal, then it’s off to bed. We’re visiting the Royal Library tomorrow, and you need your rest.”
Based on the Legend of Zelda Series by Shigeru Miyamoto
