Author's Note: I'm planning on this story being pretty long, hopefully. Once I get out of introductory material (which should be next chapter) the chapters should be longer than this one, I guess I'm just a little eager to start trouble for Hyrule ha. I'm going to try to stick as closely to canon as I can, though I'm planning on pulling some...ideas from other games in the series and playing with them a little bit. Otherwise if I make a mistake I would love for it to be pointed out so I can possibly fix it (this goes for spelling and grammar and all that great stuff as well) Just please be polite :) Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Recovery

The sun was setting over the kingdom of Hyrule, casting the land into the long shadows of twilight. It had been six months since the kingdom had seen the unnatural black curtain that Zant had brought with his invasion. The natural fleeting rays of light left by the sun were the only traces of twilight left in the kingdom now. Ganondorf had spread destruction and chaos throughout the land, but it was finally starting to repair itself. Kakariko Village had been healthily repopulated, and most of the boarded up homes and shops had been reopened. Castle Town had been hit hard by the violent destruction of Hyrule Castle, but most of the serious damage had been repaired.

The castle was now the largest reminder of Ganondorf's presence. It no longer lay in a pile of rubble; in fact it grew larger every day. When the people of the city looked up at the wooden scaffolds and growing walls however, they couldn't help but shudder. The palace had been an immovable stronghold of the country, and in an instant, it had been destroyed. The people never acknowledged the fear in their eyes when they looked up at the stone structure, but they felt it in one another. Once the shadow of the palace spires fell over the city once again, everyone would rest easier.

Ordon had gone back to running much the same as it always had, though the population soon began to grow and the little town's responsibilities began to change. Before, Ordon had been basically self-sufficient, growing only what the villagers needed and a little extra to sell to travelers or to take to market in the larger cities. With so much of the kingdom still recovering from the Twilight however, Ordon had started producing food for a larger part of the kingdom. The fields had grown, and consequently the amount of work. Thankfully the population was growing as fast as the need for field hands.

As the sun set over Ordon Village, it threw its fading light over the trees and cast long, eerie shadows over the little wooden houses. The people of the village were starting to wind down for the day. Sera had closed down her shop, and Rusl and Uli were watching Colin and their six month old daughter Lucy playing carefully in the grass. She'd just learned to crawl, and everyone in the village was having a grand time watching her try to follow her brother everywhere.

Link had just finished at Fado's for the day, the last of the goats successfully herded into their barn.

"Hey thanks buddy, I don't know what I'd do without you." Fado said, walking over and patting Epona on the neck.

"No problem Fado." Link said, dismounting and scratching Epona behind the ears, giving her some well-deserved attention. Herding goats was all the action the horse saw these days, and while it was usually hardly exercise for the powerful mare, today the goats had been especially skittish, and Link had had a hell of a time getting them to go where he wanted. Epona's flanks were actually rising and falling with force as she caught her breath, and Link realized that he needed to cool her down.

"I'm going to walk Epona out to the spring for a bit. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." Link said, taking her bridal to lead her down the path.

"Ehhh don't bother. I can handle things well enough, and that horse of yours could use tomorrow off. Besides, I think they need help out in the fields tomorrow." Fado replied as Link began walking

"Alright, just tell me if you need anything." Link said before passing through the gates that marked the beginning of the ranch.

He waved to Rusl and Uli as he passed, glad they didn't ask him to stop and talk. He was feeling run down tonight, more so than he had in awhile and he wasn't sure why. Slowly he walked with Epona to the spring just outside of town and sat down on the bank as Epona waded in and nibbled on the grass near the edge. This time of day always made him feel hollow, and he'd begun to avoid company after the sun had begun to set.

Six months, it had been six months and still he couldn't seem to reconcile everything that had happened in the past year. The land itself had begun to heal from the destruction Ganondorf had wrought, as people went back to their daily lives, rebuilding all that had been destroyed. Ordon was flourishing, providing the kingdom with a great portion of its perishable food stock. Even Castle Town, which had been decimated by the destruction of the castle had been rebuilt, the walls of the castle growing higher with every day of reconstruction. Hyrule was moving on, but Link felt trapped in what he had seen, done and lost in the battle to save the land.

Awhile back Ilia had noticed something was bothering him, and asked him about it, but her reaction when he tried to explain convinced him that it wasn't worth the trouble. He'd seen the confusion and worry in her eyes and had decided just to keep his concerns to himself. He knew she'd gone to Bo about it, because the next day the mayor had pulled him aside and talked to him about the things he'd seen and done; about how such events were more than enough to rob someone of their 'innocence' and how he understood if Link felt a little world-weary. Bo had patted him on the back and promised it would fade soon and he'd be able to settle right back into his life at Ordon village. Link was beginning to see that Bo's outlook was probably overly-optimistic.

Link heard someone approaching from behind him and he turned to look over his shoulder. Ilia was tentatively entering the spring. She smiled warmly when their eyes met, and Link did his best to break his reverie and return it.

"I thought I might find you out here." She said, sitting down next to him "What are you doing?"

"The goats wore Epona out today; I thought the spring water might do her some good." Link replied, watching his horse as she waded deeper into the water.

"She'll be as good as new once she's done." Ilia smiled

"You always have sworn by the stuff" Link replied, looking down at her with a soft smile.

"Seems like a long time since I used to bring Epona out here." Ilia said with a reflective sigh "Things are finally starting to get back to normal, but it still feels like everything's changed."

"We grew up a lot in one year. We had to." Link replied, staring out at the water so he wouldn't have to look at her. He knew she could hear the hardness enter his voice, like it did every time people brought up the past.

Link had changed, more than he knew people realized. Uli, Jaggle, Pergie, Bo, they all still expected him to be the restless, determined farm boy they had raised. He was still restless, and he was still determined, but he knew that he wasn't a ranch hand anymore; and he was beginning to realize that, though this was his home and always would be, he'd never be just a farm boy again. Link was a warrior. He was hardened and honed for fighting, adventuring, protecting; not for herding goats.

Rusl was the only one who never pestered him about his struggles against the Twilight and Ganondorf. The older man at least seemed to understand, he'd seen and done things in his younger days and Link knew he'd been a warrior in his own right. He'd been the one to teach Link how to fight, and he had a healthy respect for the veteran; Rusl had knocked Link into the dirt too many times for it not to be so. Link knew that if they sparred now, the roles may well be reversed, but he hadn't asked since he'd been home. He'd thought about it, realizing he would need to practice fighting with a weapon that wasn't the Master Sword, but he'd never been able to bring himself to it, maybe it was for the better. The Master Sword was where it belonged in the Sacred Grove, and he was where he belonged in Ordon Village, wasn't he?

"Hello earth to Link?" Ilia said, her hand suddenly shooting across Links vision and waving in front of his face, breaking his train of thought. "I asked what you were planning on doing tomorrow three times and you never answered me. A little spacey today are we?"

"Sorry, just thinking." Link said, turning to look at her with an apologetic half-smile "Fado said they could use help out in the fields tomorrow, so I figured I'd go out there and see what I can do."

"Dad says there are plenty of people all around for now. Why don't you take the day off, do something relaxing, or fun?" Ilia said, looking up at him searchingly.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Link asked suggestively, raising an eyebrow, knowing he'd embarrass her.

"Oh, oh no I didn't mean anything like that." Ilia said, blushing furiously and looking at the ground.

Link laughed, shaking his head at how easy it was to make her blush. He could imagine exactly what Midna would've said to such a comment, and it wouldn't have been nice. As soon as the thought crossed his mind he realized what he'd done.

He tried his best not to think about Ganondorf, or Zant, or Twilight, but he especially avoided thinking about her…it made the hollowness that lived inside his chest heavy and painful. He wasn't going to see her again, and he needed to accept that. With a mental shove he forced himself to look at the girl in front of him and grin.

"I know what you meant Ilia." Link chuckled "I almost died too many time this past year to want to try Bo's patience. He'd kill me. We'll go for a walk in Faron woods tomorrow. They should be nice now." He suggested

"I'd love that!" Ilia said with a wide smile

Link smiled back and looked around, realizing it was getting dark in earnest now.

"Speaking of Bo, we'd better head back before he wonders where you are. It's getting dark." Link said to her, standing and dusting himself off. He whistled and Epona trotted over to him, bumping her forehead against his shoulder.

"Yeah yeah, we're going home and then you can get some rest" Link said to the horse, patting her neck as he led her out of the spring, Ilia at his side.

When they reached his house, Link took Epona's saddle and bridle off and stored them on the post next to where she slept. He walked Ilia down the path to the edge of town as the last bit of light faded from the sky.

"I'll see you tomorrow Link." Ilia said, hesitating before pecking him on the cheek with a shy smile.

"Goodnight." Link said with a smile as she turned and walked the rest of the way to her house.

Link watched her back as she disappeared through her door then turned and wearily retraced his steps back up the path to his house. He climbed the ladder and opened the door mechanically, breathing a relieved sigh when he finally fell into bed. In minutes he was asleep, the swirling colors of dreams replacing the darkness of his room.