Author's Notes: I just swapped this together, so don't expect it to be at my maxinimum writing level. I'll probably edit this if people like the plot so far.

Just one question for you reviewers. In TP, do you think Link looks feminine? I've seen some people say he does, others say he doesn't. Please review!

The Young Adventurer

Chapter One

Saying His Good Byes

Adventure calls to him, beckoning him. He sets out on adventures, hoping to find new things and places to explore, maybe meet some new people and slay some monsters, or save a country from danger. Adventure always calls to him, beckoning him to see its beauties. He can't resist the call...

Link had come back to Ordon, but he didn't intend to stay long. He felt like he didn't belong here, he had saved Hyrule and become the Hero. No longer was he the arrogant sixteen-year-old that he was before he left to go on his adventure. He was now much more mature and much wiser. He felt a commitment to protect and defend the world, he couldn't stay here. He wasn't a farm boy any more, no, he was the Hero, he was the Chosen One. He had endured so much, he couldn't go back to herding the goats everyday, it was impossible. He couldn't stay here, he had to protect Hyrule, and the world, from danger. Link needed adventure, he needed the thrill of slaying monsters and saving people. That is what he loved doing now: protecting people. He always enjoyed protecting people, and would do anything to help them, but now Link felt as if it was his job and duty to do it.

The only reason Link was here at all was to say good bye to his friends. Even now, he was unsure if he could do it. He couldn't leave them and hurt them. They were his friends, the people he grew up with.

Link stopped at Ordon Spring and dismounted Epona, taking her reins and walking with her into the village. He heard some noises up ahead, and glanced to see who it was. Ilia! She came barreling into him, hugging him tightly.

"I knew you'd come back!" she said. Link's heart sunk. Ilia was so happy, he couldn't bear to tell her that he was going to leave again, and might not come back for a while. "Thank you so much for helping me and the others, and the rest of the country." Link stared at her with sad eyes, faking a smile. Ilia knew something was wrong, however.

"What's wrong?" she asked, letting go of him.

"Nothing," Link said, faking another smile at her. "I'm just tired."

"Of course," Ilia said, "but could you please come into the village? Everyone's been waiting for you." She grabbed Link's hand and led him into the village, taking Epona with as well.

Link didn't know what he was going to say to the villagers, he didn't know how he was going to tell them that he wasn't staying. He didn't even know if they knew all that he'd done. It pained him to know that they would be hurt by him leaving.

"Hi Link!" Colin, Talo, Malo, and Beth shouted unanimously. Link waved as him and Ilia walked further into the village.

"Welcome back," he heard Rusl say as they walked by.

"I'm glad your okay," Sera, the shopkeeper, said. Link looked into their eyes, seeing that they were overjoyed at his return.

"Thank you for saving us, Link," Link heard Beth say. Link smiled at her. He didn't know what to say to anyone.

"If you're tired and want some rest, we understand," Rusl said, "it's getting late anyway. We'll all talk in the morning." Ilia let go of Link's hand.

"Thanks," Link said, and then turned and ran back to his house, emotions overcoming him. He was happy that they didn't know what was really wrong with him, but he was also sad that they didn't. They would wake up tomorrow, and he'd be gone. He didn't know what to say or do.

Link flopped on the bed and tried to go to sleep.

The entire night he tossed and turned, thinking about the rest of the villagers. He didn't get any sleep at all, he just lay there and thought. He thought about his adventures with Midna, the battle with Ganon, and all of the things he'd been through. There was no one, or anything, that could ever quench his thirst for adventure.

Link looked out the window to the sky: the sun was just beginning to come up, but it was still early. He decided it was time to go. Jumping off his bed, he slowly walked out the door, feeling terrible about doing this to his friends and the villagers. He climbed down the ladder and saw Epona sitting in her spot next to his house. That's where she would always lay.

"Come on girl," Link said softly, "it's time to go." Epona stood up and knowingly looked at him, as if she wanted adventure too, but knew it would hurt everyone in the village.

Link mounted Epona and they slowly trotted across the bridge, stopping at the spring. Link took one last look back and then kicked his heels against Epona, spurring her onward. Link heard Fado, the ranch owner, yelling up at his house for him to come down. He looked back as Epona began to go quicker, and saw Ilia staring out at them from the spring with sad eyes. Link's heart sunk deep, Ilia knew what was going on, Link could tell, and he knew it would hurt Fado and the rest of the villagers, especially Colin, whom admired Link. He looked back, feeling tears beginning to swell up in his eyes. He kicked his heels against Epona again, and Link and his companion sped off deeper into the woods until they came upon Hyrule Field.

Epona sped into Hyrule Field, exposing her and Link to the vast expanse of green grass, the sun now shining high in the sky. It was a warm day, as it should be in the middle of summer, and their were just the typical monsters in Hyrule Field that travelers had to fend off every now and then. However, even with all the peace, Link was sad. Of course, it was his friends' sadness that caused him this anguish, and he knew he would come back eventually, but had no clue when. Images of them flashed through his mind until he heard something hit the Hylian Shield on his back with rapid speed. He looked behind him to see a boar rider shooting arrows at him. Another arrow came flying towards him, Link barely had enough time to duck. He grabbed his Hero's Bow and shot an arrow back, hitting the archer dead in the face with his perfect aim. He smiled, he was getting the thrill he needed and almost forgot about his friends as two more boar riders came upon either side of him, swords and shields drawn. Link unsheathed his own sword, the Ordon Sword, and executed a spin attack, knocking the two riders off their mounts. Link stood on Epona and looked down at one of his foes, pointed his sword, and used his magical powers to shoot a blast of energy at his antagonist. Link then turned to the other fiend and executed the same technique. He sat back down on Epona and decided he would leave Hyrule's borders. It would take a while, however, approximately three months to reach them. He still wondered what he had not explored in Hyrule yet, however. I'll probably find things on my way out of the country, Link thought.

It had been six hours and the sun was beginning to set, causing the sky to turn an array of colors spanning red, orange, and yellow. Suddenly Link heard a yell from the distance that sounded like someone in trouble. The setting sun made made it hard to see and so he had to squint. He could just barely see what looked like two people, but Link couldn't tell for sure. His hero instincts kicked in and he kicked his heels into Epona's sides, making her speed up. As he got closer, he could see there was a person being attacked by monsters. Link thought it was a woman, but he couldn't be sure. He looked past the person and saw that there was not one monster, but seven. Link front flipped off Epona and unsheathed his sword and, with his shield attached to his right arm, charged forward, slashing the monsters. There was a heavily armored one, five of them were vulnerable to any attacks, and the last one was so armored that Link's sword couldn't cut through it.

Link swung his sword vertically, but one of the monsters with no armor blocked his attack. The monster swung its sword but Link was too quick, and blocked the technique. Link heard a monster creeping up from behind him and, just before the monster was going to attack, stepped aside and let the blade of the second monster cut into the first one. Link thrusted his shield forward on the monster and then jumped up into the air while front flipping and swung his sword, chopping the monsters head. He landed on his feet and quickly turned around, swinging his sword two more times before the monster was dead. The last three with no armor on started approaching him. Link stood there, waiting, in his battle stance. When all three of them were within range, he executed the Great Spin and simultaneously killed all of them. The heavily armored one began to approach, while the being with such thick armor that Link couldn't cut through it stayed behind and watched. Link waited for the monster to keep walking, never taking his eyes off of it for a second. Just before the monster was going to swing, Link jumped to the side, rolled behind the monster and, coming up from the roll, swung his sword at the monster's back. One of the pieces of armor fell off, and his backside was exposed and vulnerable to attacks. Link started slashing the monster's back until he was dead. Then he turned to the last one of the seven.

"Good job, Hero," the fiend said with his booming, deep voice. Link couldn't see who, or what, it was. All he knew was that the person or thing was entirely in black armor. "You have done well, but I'm afraid I can't let you live."

"Who are you?" Link demanded. "And what did you want with this young woman?" Link glanced over to his left, seeing the woman trembling in fear. The foe didn't say anything, but started advancing towards Link. He held up his hand, and a gigantic sword appeared within his grasp out of thin air.