-1Rewrite: Chapter 1: Attacked

blah blah blah, I dont own any of the zelda characters, but I do own Jace, my character. (I put him in all my stories)

This story takes place 10 years after Ocarina of Time (Link's 20 now).

It had been a 2 years since Link banished Ganon to the dark realm, Link had gained even more renown than ever and lived in the castle with Zelda.

Link sighed, it was deep into the night and he had gotten no sleep.

"A drink, I just need a drink." He groaned.

He put on his shoes, shield, sword and shirt, then left the castle, leaving a note on his door :

"Out to town, be back whenever"

Link had gone to a small bar located between two large buildings, it was one of the few buildings that still had it's lights shining, showing that business was open.

Ever since Ganon had been sealed away by the sages, Zelda had started to worry that he would somehow escape, she worked the soldiers at the castle tirelessly and put Link in charge of training and defense. Link needed the sleep tonight, the next day was sparring day, and as Zelda would have it, it would be Link vs. Everyone till nightfall.

"Hey, you seen that new guy coming to hyrule?" A guy in a red shirt sitting at a table near Link said, "I wonder where he's from? Mean lookin' guy"

"What are you talking about?" Replied the guy sitting across the red-shirted person, he was wearing a blue shirt, "He's one of those secretive freaks, wearing that mask thing all the time, kinda like that shiekah fella, you can't even see his face!'

"Well what I meant was that you could"-

Link had passed out on the bar.

A couple of minutes later, he was awoken by the bartender, a short guy, fat, and had a bald spot right on top of his head, he fit the exact picture of a stereotypical bartender.

"Link, don't be like those drunks that come in here all the time," the bartender's voice reminded Link of sandpaper against rock, rough and scratchy.

"Yeah, I'll leave."

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that Link, sir, I just meant at least don't fall- hey! Wait!"

Link walked outside into the night air and looked around at the quiet town, then he started to walk back to the castle. Being drunk, the only sound he was hearing, his footsteps, sounded loudly in his ears,

Step- Step- Step- Ste-Step Ste-Step-

Link stopped, the extra steps continued, he looked around and found nobody. When he started to continue walking, the extra steps still followed, provoking Link to run. After 40 feet, Link abruptly stopped, and so did the footsteps.

"Heh, well at least I know it's not that fat bartender, he couldn't keep up - Oh no... I didn't pay!"

Link turned around to head back to the bar when and loud 'thunk' hit the shield on his back. He spun around to find a broken arrow on the ground. Immediately sober, he drew his sword and held his shield by his side, ready to confront the attacker.

"An assassin...?"

Out of the corner of Link's eyes, he saw a dark silhouette jump over the buildings, but the next moment, it was gone. All of a sudden, a streak of silver swung above Link, using his instincts, Link raised his sword and had barely blocked an overhead attack. At this moment, he got a clear view of his assassin, a man, he was wearing a black mask over his face, revealing only his eyes which were also a dark black, like a void.

The attacker lept away again, however, when he tried to attack Link using the same method, Link dodged and when his attacker jumped, Link had grabbed the assassin's foot and slammed him hard onto the ground. The assassin was clad in all black clothing, he bore dark blue gauntlets that went up to the elbow, wore a sleeveless shirt, and his hair was black. He had a belt that carried small throwing knives in it. There were two sword holsters on his back, but he was only using one of the swords. He was also taller than Link and much broader, Link could tell that this person was combat-worn and experienced. Link quickly stabbed down at the assassin, but missed as the attacker rolled to the side and brought his sword up, cutting a deep, red gash across Link's chest.

"Who is this guy? Most people can't even dodge my attack, let alone wound me."

The assassin brought his sword down, nicking Link in the back, Link quickly spun around and retaliated by wounding his attacker with a light cut from the shoulder to the gauntlet. For a moment, the two drew back, but then charged at each other, their swords locking. To Link's surprise, his attacker was stronger than he had expected and he was having trouble holding his ground.

Link looked into the assassin's eyes, what he saw shocked him down to the core, he had never seen such determination to kill in a pair of eyes. Even worse, Link was losing, and just before he was about to buckle, the attacker's eyes looked down towards the street and saw a whole troop of castle knights coming their way, with the short bartender in the front slowly falling behind.

In a blur, the assassin had leapt away, leaving Link a bit dazed.

"Link, sir, are you alright?" Asked one of the guards when they got to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He replied, breathing heavily.

"We'll escort you back to the castle and get those wounds treated." The same knight shouted to others, "Hey! Full patrol on the city starting now!"

Link just stood a bit shocked, he gave thanks to the bartender for calling the knights and tried to pay him for the skipped bill, but the bartender refused saying how Link had already been through enough. Link thanked him again, then was escorted back to the castle. Morning had come, and Link just got back to Zelda's room, who was sitting in bed, clearly worried but oblivious to Link's presence until he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Goddesses Link! This was just what I was afraid of! Is there ever going to be peace in this land?" Cried Zelda. Link just stood in the doorway and let Zelda hug him, "I'm so glad you're okay Link,"

"It's nothing Link, it's just because you were drunk, don't ever do that again!" Zelda cut off, looking up at him,

"Yeah, I guess so," Link didn't want to say it, but he knew that this stranger was better and could've killed Link if not for the guards, and he was certaintly not drunk.

Link was now forbidden to leave the castle, the attack on Link was immediately hushed so as to keep the soldiers' spirits high. That night, Link was in deep thought in his room,

"How could someone be so skilled with a sword? Better than the Hero of Time? This is no one ordinary person. I need help, but from who? Shiek? But I haven't seen him for years, I'm even starting to forget what he looks like, and besides him, who can be a worthy ally? Who can be equal or better than me?" He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a solid half-hour before realizing he was having more trouble sleeping.

Being prohibited from leaving the castle, he could only walk around inside, he decided to travel to the highest tower, where he could get a good view of the city below. On his way up, he passed by Zelda's room, who was also awake, and particularly distraught.

"Hey Zelda,"

"Oh, hey Link, I couldn't sleep,"

"Yeah, me neither,"

"You know Zelda, I've been thinking, this...person is quite skilled, I'll need help, do you know where shiek is?"

"No, he just about disappeared when that whole Majora's mask incident came up,"

"Well, who else should I call on for help? Who else is skilled enough with a sword to actually provide a chance with this guy?

"Uh-" Zelda cut herself off and looked toward the ground,

"What?"

"No, nothing."

"C'mon Zelda, I don't stand a chance by myself"

"...there's one person that can help..."

"Who, Zelda?"

Zelda closed her eyes, "...your double," whispered Zelda, almost inaudible,

"No way, that's impossible,"

"I know that there's no other way, but he's the only option we have."

Link stayed silent, anywhere this conversation would go, he would not like. He slowly nodded. "Ok, I'll do it, I'll leave tomorrow. I'll get some help from the zoras."

The next morning, Link was gone, leaving Zelda worried by herself in her room as she looked outside to the sunrise.

"Oh, Link..."

Yay, first chapter done! Probably a lot of spelin erors cuz I'm using wordpad and there's no spell check.