*** "Papa! Papa!" A little boy ran towards a tall, bulky man as the man walks towards a door. The little boy hugs the man's leg. "I'll miss you papa. One day, when I'm bigger and stronger, I'll come help fight in the war with you!" He said, looking up at the man admiringly. "Oh, Link, you already are strong. And if you continue working harder, maybe one day soon you will come serve the royal army as I am. But I have been called, and I cannot ignore the request of King Rhoam. Goodbye Link. Take care of your sister, alright?" The man ruffles the little boy's hair. The little boy nods. "I will papa! I'll take care of her! And I'll keep working on my sword skills too! Maybe one day, I'll be just as strong as you!" The man sighs, and smiles at the little boy. "I know that you will become stronger than I can ever dream of, Link. You are meant for great things. I know you are. But now, I must say goodbye." The man leans down, and pats the boy's head. "I shall miss you too, my little soldier." A little girl runs into the room, even younger than the boy. "Goodbye, dada!" "Goodbye, little princess. Be good for Link and your Aunt, okay?" "Okay dada!" The man softly kissed the girl on the head. "Goodbye Link. Goodbye Aryll. I will be back, someday." He took one last look at his family, then walked out the door, and slowly rode away on his horse as the two little children stood there, waving to their dad as he went away. *** I jolted upright in bed, my body covered in a cold sweat. I look around, and carefully ground myself, as I was taught to do. I swing my legs out of bed, and slowly stand up. *Just another dream. But it felt so... real. Wasn't that...?* I tried to remember what happened in the dream, but it slowly faded away, until no memory of it was left in my head. I let out a slow, quiet sigh. *I shouldn't be dreaming like this... It could distract me from working as hard as possible. From becoming the best knight I can... like I promised Father.* I walked over to the lone window in my room, and pulled back the curtain slightly. The one good thing about this room in particular was that it could see the sunrise. I like watching them each morning, so I was glad to see that it hadn't started yet. I grabbed a pillow and sat there, watching as the sun slowly rose, as the sky turned from a deep midnight blue to shades of red and orange. *Sunsets are so beautiful.* I thought back to my little sister, Aryll. When I left to become a knight, like Father, she promised to wake up every morning and watch the sunrise from atop the hill near our house, as long as I did the same. Right before I left, she said that "I will watch every sunset alone, until you come back and watch them with me. Because you will come back. I know you will." It has been 10 years since I last saw her... When I was 6, I was requested to come before the King. Or at least, that is what Father said happened. Apparently, the tales of my swordmanship had traveled across the land, and reached the royal family. Or so Father said. After a demonstration, I was taken to begin training as a knight. Youngest knight ever, apparently. And so I have trained each day, working to become the knight my father would be proud of. And every morning, I sit here, watching the sunrise, hoping Aryll is doing the same. As dawn came and went, I rose from where I sat, and slowly started donning my gear. Soon, I was suited up, and ready to head down to the mess hall for breakfast. I began the long jog there, cursing how far my room was from the mess hall. *At least I can see the sunrise. Like I promised Aryll I would.* Soon I arrived at the mess hall. Like always, I was one of the first ones there. I quickly grabbed my choice of food, before going to sit at my designated table. The benefit of getting here early is that I can get my first choice of food, while it is still very hot. Today it is eggs, toast, and bacon, with a glass of milk, and some mixed fruit on the side. As a knight, it is expected that I eat healthily, although not all the knights do. *Father always told me that eating my vegetables would make me strong. Well, look at me now.* I almost laughed at that, but I stopped myself. *Knights aren't supposed to laugh. They shouldn't show emotion. It gets in the way of our duty to the kingdom.* I repeated the lesson the instructors had drilled into me and the other knights, time and time again, until we could say it in our sleep. As I finished my meal, the other knights-in-training slowly filed in. They were technically on time, but as our instructors told us, "A knight is never on time. They are early, so as to be ready early. Whether that is for training or war, a knight should always be early." Clearly, that lesson had not been drilled into the rest of the knights-in-training. Oh well. It wasn't my job to tell them. They would learn. I stood, and disposed of my trash, before
slipping out of the mess hall. Since everyone else would be eating, the training hall would be empty. I jogged over there, ready to get in some training, when I heard noise from inside. Someone was training. Or multiple someones, from the noise. I slowly opened the door so as not to distract those training, and went over to the weapons rack to grab a training sword. I looked up at the others who were in here and... *What the?!? Why are the royal guards here?* I looked around, taking in who was there. Many of them were waiting to take a turn sparring with a big, hulking man, who was currently engaged in combat with one of the guards. I watched, intrigued, as the guard slowly struggled to fight back. Eventually, the match ended, and the big man set down his weapon, a great sword. His voice boomed out across the training hall. "Everyone, take a few minutes for a break. Those of you who need to, go grab food from the chefs. Tell them I sent you." "Yes sir!" The guards all stood at attention, and saluted, before some filed out to get food, while others simply took a break. As they passed me on the way out, I heard a few whispering. "What is that kid doing here?" "I mean, it is their training hall..." "Yeah, but none of them should be here this early. They should still be eating." I carefully blocked out their messages, and started training with a dummy. As I finished a particularly powerful combo, the voice boomed from behind me. "Careful there, or you might break the training dummy." I slowly started to turn around as the man continued speaking. "And didn't I say to take a break? I don't want my royal knights pushing themselves to exhaustion." Clearly this man was my superior, so I stood at attention and saluted... until I realized who it was. *King Rhoam!* I quickly fell to one knee, and bowed to the man. King Rhoam let out a booming chuckle. "Young knight, there is no need to bow. As one of my royal guards, you should know this. Rise." I did as the King commanded, and rose to my feet. He studied me closely. "Say, I have never seen you with the rest of the royal knights during training... what is your name, knight?" I stared at him for a moment before speaking. "My name is Link sir... and that would be because I'm not a royal knight, sir. Just a normal knight-in-training, your Majesty." Understanding dawned on the King's face, before being replaced with confusion. "What is a knight-in-training do here this early? Shouldn't you be eating?" I shook my head. "Yes, sir, but I always eat early. That way, I can get in more training, sir." I stand there, looking down at my feet, feeling ashamed. "I won't do it any more, your highness, if you don't want me to." There is a brief silence, before the King responds. "No no, do as you will. A dedicated knight is a loyal one, I will say. But you are exceptionally skilled. Come with me. I wish to test you against some of my royal knights. I would like to see how skilled you really are." Thank you for reading chapter 1 of Broken Memories! I know I am starting this fanfic a little randomly, but I require it for... reasons. Also, I just really wanted to make a Botw fanfic. I hope you liked the start of this new fanfic! Let me know if you'd like a prolouge, or a chapter entirely for lore. Have a great day!
