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The Zonai tribe was in danger. Their people were slowly dying.
Mineru was barely 10 years old while Rauru , his younger brother, was 7, but both were already aware of the crisis their town was going through when they heard the discussions that the adults in their family were having.
Knowing that the Zonai were gradually disappearing and dying, Mineru was afraid of losing her family, and suddenly, her parents were dead.
Mineru and Rauru were taken by their aunt, Farosh, to the Faron region, where their grandmother lives.
Everything was happening too fast and Mineru didn't know what to think or how to feel. Was this really happening?
When they arrived at the grandmother's house, she welcomed them and invited them to see their new home; soon their other two aunts arrived: Naydra and Dinraal.
That night, they all ate dinner in silence, there wasn’t much to say, since they had recently lost two loved ones; However, sometimes a small conversation would come up that ended in nothing, Farosh also tried to cheer them up, but her attempts were in vain. In the middle of the silence, the grandmother spoke:
"Mineru, Rauru. From now on there will be changes in your lives, now I will take care of you and I’ll give you a warm and safe place to rest. I know that these kinds of changes are complicated, but soon you will get used to it" The grandma said without even turn to look at the children.
"And if you need anything, your aunts and I will be here to help" Naydra added, always so sweet. Mineru didn't have anything to say, Rauru seemed the same, so they remained silent.
At the end of dinner, Naydra and Farosh took Rauru to the room that he and Mineru would share; Mineru was also going to go with them, but the grandmother asked her to stay. They sat near the fireplace together, while Dinraal stood behind watching them.
"Mineru, I need you to promise me something" The little Zonai looked at her grandmother with sorrowful eyes.
"Our tribe is going through a difficult situation. Your parents had to leave, and one day I will too, your aunts the same, that's how the life that the goddesses gave us is. Mineru, you have the power of the spirit, which will allow you to live as long as you have a body. What I want to get at is that please, and I ask you for all our family: always take care, help and protect your brother, you need each other"
The thought of the rest of her family, including Rauru , dying, pain her a lot, but she was decided to do whatever for her brother.
"I will grandma, I promise."
The grandma nodded and gave her a 'sweet dreams' kiss on the cheek, then Dinraal took Mineru's hand and led her to her new room.
Mineru was about to lie down in her new bed when she noticed that Rauru was still awake.
"We won't see mom and dad anymore, right?"
Rauru was between the covers, looking at her with teary eyes.
"No, not anymore... But we have Naydra, Dinraal, Farosh and Grandma, they are our family and they will keep us safe" Rauru remained silent for a few seconds.
"B-but... I don't want to live here, I want to go home, I want everything to go back to normal!" Rauru began to cry, tears spilling down his little cheeks; Mineru approached him and gave him a hug, letting his brother vent. When Rauru's tears dried up, Mineru remembered the promise she made to her grandmother.
“I… would like to travel back in time and change things, but we have to accept life as it is; we still have our family, and they care about us. And besides, mom wouldn't like to see you cry, would she?" Mineru touched behind his ear, a sensitive part that she knew perfectly well it tickled Rauru.
He laughed. "No, she wouldn't," Rauru respond her. He gave her a smile that also made her smile.
"And also, I'll always be here for you" Mineru gave her little brother a big hug.
"I love you, Mineru " "I love you too, Rauru" Mineru tucked her brother in and then lay down in her own bed, now both ready for their new start.
"Sweet dreams"
"Sweet dreams"
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"But remember, that was a future where you never appeared in this world. And you are here now. Zelda… I believe there is a reason you were sent to us. It has to mean something’’
Rauru removed his hand from the shoulder of his daughter and headed to the exit, leaving Zelda alone in the room.
Being near Sonia's grave comforted him, but at the same time it overwhelmed him so much; he just wanted to get out of there.
After Zelda's warning, too many things were going through Rauru's mind, all the preparation and all his efforts were useless, tomorrow he was going to die.
As he continued his course in the Sealed Temple, he ran into the last person he wanted to see at that moment: his older sister, Mineru.
"Rauru, the sages are prepared, now we're all ready for the fight tomorrow"
"Mineru ..."
Mineru knew his brother well and knew easily when something bad happened to him (besides all the terrible things that had already happened).
"It's not too late; you have time to change your mind. Are you sure you want to continue?"
Rauru remained silent, and then sighed.
"...No...There is no time...How did it come to this?" Mineru approached him, worried. Rauru's ears were drooping.
"...The monsters became more aggressive, and there are more than ever. It was… Ganondorf. It was thanks to the secret stone. And everyone- my tribe, my people, my kingdom… They are dying and suffering" Rauru looked into her sister's eyes, Mineru noticed that they were filling with tears "It’s all my fault!"
From the moment they had buried Sonia, to when they gave the sages their secret stones, Rauru had kept calm, repressing his feelings; Even though he felt his heart breaking into pieces and despair consuming him, he forced himself not to show any emotion, any weakness. That's what a good king does.
"Our only hope for defeating Ganondorf is lost all because I was selfish and didn’t take it importance to the threat that he was! Everything Sonia and I we’ve done for Hyrule, It was all for nothing… So I am just a failure! You and Zelda… the sages… Sonia most of all… They trusted in me, and I failed them all… I’ve left them… all to die" Rauru couldn't take the pressure anymore, and he didn't could help but cry.
It had been a long time since Mineru had seen her brother in that way.
Right now she wasn’t seeing him as the King of Hyrule: elegant and imposing, she saw him as her little brother: small and defenseless. She felt the need to hug him.
These were the most difficult moments in Rauru's life: the warhad begin, the kingdom was being destroyed and his wife had been killed; Mineru hated to see his brother suffer.
" I would like to… travel back in time and change things" Rauru said as Mineru tried to calm him down, Mineru knew that her brother remembered that night as perfectly as she did. "... but we have to accept life as it is..."
" Rauru, I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but whatever it happens, I'll always be here" Mineru ran his hands over Rauru 's cheeks , wiping away his tears.
But unlike her, Rauru did know what was going to happen the next day, Zelda had just told him; but he didn't want to mortify his sister with the harsh truth, so he just held her tighter, trying to ignore that reality for now.
They stayed like that for a while longer. When they separated, still holding hands, Rauru turned to her.
"Tomorrow, during the battle, if we can't defeat the demon king, I'll give you a signal to make one last attack, which will be my final act"
"I will let the sages know. Tomorrow we will win" Mineru smiled at Rauru, trying to cheer him up; then they let go of each other's hands.
Rauru knew that Mineru would not be happy with this ‘final act’.
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Everything around was covered by gloom, Mineru and the rest of the sages had fought with all their might, but they were going to be defeated; Ganondorf was too powerful.
Mineru could not bear the pain of the injuries caused by the gloom, so she fell to the ground.
Before losing consciousness, she caught a glimpse of Rauru raising his arms: that was the signal, then, her entire vision went dark, but she could still hear her surroundings.
The sages threw their weapons and Zelda used her time powers.
"I’ve seen this before!" That was the demon king
"And now! RAURU!"
"That pride will be your downfall, Ganondorf!"
That was Rauru... What in the name of the goddess was Rauru doing?
.....
"You bind my heart and steal my magic. You plan to hold me here… What a clever way to solve your problems. But are you ready to the price for this?"
Oh no... This can’t be happening. Rauru was doing just what Mineru feared the most
"Don’t be so smug. I know exactly what it will cost me..."
Mineru felt the need to get up and stop Rauru before it's too late, but her body stopped her.
For last, she heard Zelda call out her brother's name, and then there was silence.
……….
When Mineru woke up, she was in her room in the castle; Zelda was so relieved to see that she was okay.
Mineru felt as if her body was on fire, it was likely that her wounds made out of gloom wouldn’t heal, since she had been the sage who suffered the most damage.
Once she remembered well what had happened, she despaired; she asked the sages frantically how the fight had ended: had they won? Is everything all right? Where was Rauru?
When she mention Rauru, the environment felt tense.
Neither Zelda nor the sages wanted to talk about it, but Mineru insisted that they take her to the battlefield, and she continued like this until the others agreed. Zelda, Mineru and the sages went down to the depths of the kingdom, where these terrible events happened. Then, they found them.
Mineru was speechless, there lay that horrible demon and his younger brother; they seemed to be on pause, as if they had stopped time right at the moment of the battle.
They both stayed in the same position they had at that moment, Ganondorf was looking up, while Rauru had his claws embedded in the demon's chest while imprisoning his heart with his light.
Ganondorf was frozen, Rauru was dead.
Just seeing that terrible scene, Mineru felt shivers running down her back; she felt emptiness inside her, she felt as if the most important part of her life was taken away from her, her heart broke into thousands of pieces.
Zelda and the sages watched in silence, while Mineru's cries echoed through the room.
The sages lost their king, Zelda her father figure, and Mineru her brother.
She felt so guilty. Maybe if they had talked they would have found a solution, some other way, it didn't have to end like this.
She failed to keep her promise, she failed to care, help, or protect her brother, and now she was alone. Now that Rauru was dead, Mineru lost her entire family; she was the only Zonai left.
Her worst fear had come true. She lost her little brother.