CHAPTER 2 - Sora and Sorella, one in the same?

  Fratello carried Sora down one long corridor of Dragon Rock Castle. Somehow, this girl knew who he was. She knew his sisters' names and how he had acted when he was a child. And she'd said we, Fratello reminded himself. Since we were children. What did she mean? Certainly this girl had purple eyes and the same name, almost as his lost sister. But could it really be her after all these years? And if so, did she still remember their secret? "Is she going to be okay?" Faylore asked. Fratello flashed her his most charming smile.

"She'll be just fine." He replied. "She's probably just tired from her journey. It may be the trip through the Wake took something out of her." "She could use some rest." Link chimed in. "Last time she didn't rest for a few days she nearly died."

"I don't think she'll die." Fratello said. "She's a spirited little bird, that's for sure."

"You seem to know here very well." Poonta stated. "And yet you just met her." "That may not be so." Fratello paused, then went on. "I believe this girl may be my lost sister. She knows who Aurelia is, and she mentioned something about when we were children."

"But Sora was raised by Sheikahs." Link reminded him. "If your sister disappeared at age 5, like you said, then Sora can't be her." "Unless someone, either her or the Sheikahs, isn't telling the truth."

Fratello said.

Link gave a short nod and continued following Fratello down the hall. He didn't trust the boy one bit. He saw no other family member so far, all though he'd seen more animals within a few minutes than he had ever seen in his life.

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Sora was dreaming once again. This time she was kneeling in the mud next to the boy named Fratello, outside a low window. Her skirts were muddy, as were her hands and knees. From the window, voices came. "Faylah, dear, it's only for a little while." The first voice spoke. "But Sammi!" A female voice complained. "I don't want to do it! Parading around disguised as one of them! I'd rather die!"

"And you might, if you don't cooperate!" The first voice shot back, his tone angry.

"Oh phoo!" Faylah whined. "At least let me kill him, when it's done."

"Faylah, will discuss this later." Sammi said.

"Okay love." Faylah giggled. "Lovey, I think there is someone listening out our window."

Fratello dragged Sora to her feet. Two figures appeared at the window. They were tall and slim, amazingly beautiful, with bright purple eyes and fire red hair. The female laughed and pointed one long nailed finger at them. There was a bright flash, and then Sora woke up.

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Sora opened her eyes. She was in a tub, her hair being scrubbed diligently. Around her, walls were covered with pictures of animals, big and small. She heard soft humming behind her. Poonta stood up from where she sat and walked over. Faylore stayed seated.

"So, you're finally awake." Poonta grinned.

"Yeah." Sora said softly, her head still spinning from her dream.

"How are you feeling, dear?" A voice asked behind her. Sora spun around.

Behind her was an aging woman, but still beautiful. She had bright purple eyes, like Fratello, and long blonde hair. Her hands were covered with soap and tinted blue. Sora's eyes widen. She reached up, pulled a strand of her hair in front of her face, and stared at it.

"M-my hair." Sora stammered. "Y-you washed it o-out." "Why yes! This cheap stuff is so bad for your hair." The woman pushed her around and continued washing her hair out. "I am Iola. I hear your name is Sora."

"Yes." Sora said, her throat dry.

"Well! I've been talking with your friends." Iola chattered on. "But they don't know much about you. Would you mind telling me?"

Sora considered a moment. She had never told her friends her past. Even now she was unsure of it herself. All the dreams she'd been having. They seemed to hint that her past was not what she thought. But something about Iola compelled Sora to tell this woman her past.

"Well, its not exactly an exciting story." Sora said. "But I suppose. The Sheikah who raised me told me that they found me. They said my parents had been killed. And so they raised me as one of their own." "That's so sad!" Iola exclaimed.

"Yeah." Sora nodded solemnly. "One thing is strange though. All the Sheikah names are written down in a book. 'Sora' isn't in there." "Well, Sora is not a Sheikah name." Iola informed her. "It originates from Sorella, which is a Pazian phrase."

"Pazian?" Sora stared at her.

"Paz. Short for Paz'zoayn." Iola explained. "It means 'loud whispers'" "That's silly." Poonta chimed in. "Whispers aren't loud." "They can be." Sora said softly. "Magic is a loud whisper." Sora paused. "I would really like to know how I knew that."

"Do you dream a lot, dear?" Iola asked.

"All the time." Sora replied softly. "It seems like they are dreams about when I was a child. But I don't even remember back that far. Everything from when I was five or younger is just a blank space." "Tell me about your dreams."

"Well, I'm always about 5 in the dreams." Sora said. Her voice was choked with tears. "A little boy is always in the dreams too. He's a little older than I am. And we have this secret, but we can't tell anyone because someone will kill us if we do."

Sora hung her head, her hair falling across her face. She lifted her eyes slowly and opened her mouth to speak, but never got the chance. Sora's eyes shut and she slumped forward, out cold. Poonta leapt to her feet and shot an accusing glare at Iola.

"What did you do to her?" Poonta demanded.

"A simple spell, my dear." Iola answered calmly. "She had to get that off her mind. Now she'll sleep for a while and she'll feel better when she wakes up." "Do you think she's your daughter?" Faylore asked. "She could be." Iola replied. "But this is Caseree Isle. Nothing here has any rhyme or reason. She could simply be receiving this memory, so she can fulfill some purpose."

"You mean like revenge?" Faylore suggested. "Maybe someone did kill your daughter and Sora is here to avenge her."

"Sora?" Poonta snorted. "I don't think so. Sora's pretty tough, but she's no warrior."

"She did a pretty good job when the Gerudos tried to take over the Castle."

Faylore pointed out.

"She whacked them on the head with a staff." Poonta crossed her arms and shook her head. "Even you could do that, Faylore." "Oh shut up!" Faylore snapped. "I tried."

"Would you two knock it off?" Iola gave a frustrated sigh. "If you're going to fight, then get out. I don't want to hear it and Sora needs her rest."

Faylore and Poonta shrugged. Faylore headed out the door, almost slamming it behind her. Poonta gave Iola an apologetic glance, then with one last look at Sora, walked out of the room as well, closing the door softly.

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"So, Your Majesty, how did you run into Sora anyway?" Fratello asked. "Quite be accident really." Link replied. "If I had known how much trouble she would be, I would have run when I had the chance." "Trouble maker, eh?" Fratello laughed. "What did she do to you that was so bad?"

"Oh, well, lets see. She dragged me up Death Mountain, got me into a fight with Lizalfos and Dodongos, got me caught by Gerudos who want to kill me for my blood and use it to bring Ganondorf back." Link ticked each one off on his fingers. "Do you want the whole list, or is that enough?" "Okay, okay!" Fratello laughed, holding up his hands. "I get the point. But if it weren't for her, you would never have met the lovely Faylore, no?" "I guess you're right." Link sighed. "But sometimes I feel as though all this might not have happened if I didn't meet her."

"So you would still be in your castle," Fratello said, "Preparing to be wed to one of the fine court ladies. You would not be here, where nothing is familiar to you. But would you be happy?"

"Ouch." Link winced. "I kinda walked right into that one, didn't I? True, I probably would be miserable. But I am anyway. At least my parents would be alive."

"Maybe." Fratello agreed. "Or maybe they wouldn't be. Maybe you'd be dead, too."

Link nodded. It was true. Maybe he would be dead, if he had never met Sora. She and Poonta had saved him. Maybe Kyrissam would have won and Hyrule would have fallen to ruin. Link shook his head and stared out over the large green meadow. He had so many questions and no answers. "We should go inside." Fratello said. "It's probably close to dinner time anyway."

"Now? But it's still light out." Link protested.

"Here we eat early." Fratello explained.

Link shrugged and followed Fratello towards the castle. The sun was beginning to set, falling behind the castle walls. Link noticed Faylore walking towards him, her long hair blowing slightly in the breeze. Link smiled. He had spent the whole day with Frat and hadn't realized how much he missed her. Faylore ran up to him and threw her arms around him. "Link!" Faylore cried. "Oh, it's so boring in there! I wished every minute that you were here!"

"Boring?" Fratello laughed. "Well then, wait until you see an exciting day."

Faylore blushed.

"You could have come with us." Link pointed out.

"Oh I know." Faylore said. "But I was worried about Sora." "You're so wonderful." Link said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You care about everybody, no matter who it is."

"I don't really." Faylore blushed again. "I was just worried, is all."

Fratello shook his head and walked off to the castle, whistling softly. He stopped several paces away and glanced back. Link and Faylore were staring into each other's eyes, as if in a trance. Frat shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. He could remember the day, so long ago, when Sorella and Link were first introduced.

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Fratello had woken up earlier than usual on that day. His parents had told him about the betrothal the night before, and he was very disturbed by it. His sister, Sorella was only 5-years-old at the time, and he was worried that she wouldn't understand what was going on. Fratello didn't think it was fair to her if she didn't know what she was getting into.

Fratello had dressed quickly, then rushed through the maze of halls to Sora's room. He hated sleeping so far away from her. She had already been awake when he burst into her room. Her hair was a tangled mess, just as it always was, and she blinked sleepily at him.

"Hey, Frat." Sora had said, throwing the covers on the floor and ambling out of bed.

"Listen, Sora." Frat sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her back to a sitting position. "I want to make sure you understand what's going on today." "What do you mean?" Sora asked, comically tilting her head to one side. "I just want to be sure you understand." Frat repeated. "You know, if you don't like this boy, you don't have to be betrothed to him. Mom and Dad won't force you."

"I know, Frat." Sora smiled, flashing her small, white baby teeth. "But I'm only five, and he's only six. I won't be able to tell much about him. He could change drastically before I see him again. It could be years before I actually do."

Frat had stared down into Sora's bright purple eyes, amazed at how wise she was at her age. Not only did she understand perfectly what was going on, but also she was willing to give this boy more than one chance. She was smarter than most adults were, because she never judged people by how they looked, or how they acted outside, but what they were like inside.

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"Frat. Hey Frat." Link interrupted his daydream. "You in there?"

Fratello blinked and glanced at his surroundings. Link and Faylore were staring at him. Fratello smiled weakly at them and motioned for them to continue walking with him. They shrugged and walked along. "You know, Link, I was thinking about when you and Sora first met." Fratello said.

"Me and Sora?" Link laughed. "What compelled you to think about that?" "I meant my sister, Sora." Fratello explained. "Sorella, her name was, but we called her Sora. She was one in a million."

"I don't remember meeting her." Link said.

"You don't, huh?" Frat chuckled. "You pulled her pony's tail and she chased you around, hitting you with a stick."

"Oh!" Link snapped his fingers. "I remember! I thought that was some weird dream."

"Enough chatter." Faylore interrupted. "It's getting cold out here."

Link nodded. He put an arm around Faylore's shoulders and walked her to the castle. Fratello dawdled behind, watching them. He had a vague sense that he knew Faylore from somewhere. Looking at her made him sick to his stomach. Frat had to keep from curling his lip up when she spoke. Something about her totally disgusted him, and he was determined to find out what.

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Sora rested in the warm, soft bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her hair had dried and she wasn't as tired as she had been earlier. Her bones no longer ached and her head no longer throbbed, but she was trying not to think and failing miserably. Sora was extremely grateful when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in." Sora called hoarsely.

The door swung up slowly. Fratello stepped into the room and shut the door softly behind him. He walked over to the bed and set a tray on the table next to it. Sora smiled weakly at him and motioned for him to sit. He sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb her.

"How are you feeling?" Fratello asked.

"I'm still a bit tired." Sora admitted. "I don't know how long I slept, but I feel better. And clean too. Now there's a strange feeling." Sora grinned. "From what Link told me, you two spend a lot of time shoving each other in the dirt." Frat laughed. "He told me you play the harp." "Yeah." Sora said. "It's over there."

Sora waved her hand lazily at the harp where it sat on a desk in one shadowy corner. Frat stood up and walked over to the desk. He ran his hands over the smooth wood of the harp, feeling a wave of emotions wash over him. He lifted it delicately and brought it back to Sora, who took and hugged it close like a lost friend.

"Where did you get that harp?" Fratello asked, sitting back down on the bed. "I've always had it." Sora replied, staring blankly down at the warm quilt that covered her legs. "The Sheikah told me my parents left it in the basket the put me in."

"Your parents put you in a basket?" Frat frowned. "Why would they do that?"

"They were in trouble." Sora explained. "They needed to make sure I was safe. So they put me in a basket and put it in the river. The Sheikah watched from a cliff ledge. They couldn't get there in time to save my parents, but they rescued me from the river. I don't remember anything about that, but I do remember a lot of water."

"Such a mystery you have brought with you to Caseree Isle, little bird." Frat said. "I always thought Caseree couldn't get any more mysterious. I guess I was wrong."

"Tell me more about the Isle." Sora said. She began to feel tired again and her eyelids drooped.

"Not now." Frat said. "I will tomorrow. I'll tell you everything you want to know. But for now, you need to sleep."

"You're gonna go?" Sora asked, pouting. "But we were having such an interesting chat."

"I really have to go." Frat sighed. "I kept you from eating dinner and now you're so tired you're nearly asleep."

"I'm not hungry anyway." Sora said quickly. "I enjoyed talking."

"You do really need to sleep." Frat said. "But I can sing to you."

Sora nodded and pushed her harp into Fratello's hands. He stared at it a moment, before her eyes caught his. She looked so much like his sister, and yet how could she be? The story she had told him of her past had made perfect sense, except for one thing. No one in Hyrule had purple eyes. Only the inhabitants of Caseree Isle had purple eyes. So that meant that her parents must've been from the Isle.

Sora cleared her throat and Frat snapped back to reality. He ran his fingers over the fine tuned strings of the harp. Sora closed her eyes and snuggled under the covers. Frat sang softly along with the melody he played. Sora's eyes flickered open and she stared at him a moment. Then she shut her eyes again. Fratello sang until her breathing became steady and he knew she was asleep. He placed the harp on the bed next to her, picked up the still full tray, and silently left the room.

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