Hello all! Hope you guys are ready for some more goodness! Okay, let's jump right into it!

Chapter 2: the plot thickens!

When Link stepped through the two foot thick, twin oak doors and into the sleepy castle, he was hastily greeted in the darkness with a pull of the hair and a shimmering blade held to his throat. "Woah! Impa, It's me!" Link shouted. The grip on his hair relinquished and Impa stepped forth from her vantage behind him. "Heh, you've grown careless Link!" Impa whispered with a grin as she messed up his hair playfully.

Impa, one of the proud Sheikan warriors, was Princess Zelda's personal body guard. Zelda, having Just had her nineteenth birthday three weeks ago, no longer needed a nanny, so now, Impa spent much of the time she'd freed up beefing up castle security, or in this case, personally patrolling the halls of the castle! Impa had served the royal family for generations, and at two-hundred something years old, (She would never tell her age directly!), Impa was still a master in combat and a wise counselor. The sole determinate of her age was her hair, which had, in recent years, gone from platinum, to a metallic grey. Else wise, Impa could easily be mistaken for a mid-forties hylean woman.

"Damn it's good to see you again kid! I'd say a third of my biggest concerns have just been lain to rest." Impa told Link as they both strolled in the low, flickering candle light. "Well, first order of business, I need to give my report to the king." Link proclaimed cheerfully. "You can do that in the morning!" Impa replied hastily. "The king is asleep anyway. And besides, you look like you could use the sleep!" Impa was clearly referring the slight droop in his face. Link had ridden for two days straight to get home as fast as possible. The anticipation and adrenaline had fueled him initially, but now, he was feeling the full effect of his poor sleeping habits. "Come on." Impa said "We left your room exactly as you left it!" Before Link could respond, she grasped his arm and led the way.

The blood was freely running out of the gash on Link's head now. If he didn't finish this fast, he would bleed out. He clutched the hilt of what was left of his latest sword. He hissed on his own blood as he fiercely glared at the three Garro interceptors in front of him. This was the sixth sword he'd broken in four months. Link's fighting style was much too brutal for any sword but the Master Sword to withstand for long. How he wished he had that sacred blade now! Enough is enough, he had to conclude this. He scowled at the nearest of the three cloaked warriors, all of which were armed with countless manners of sharp unforgiving steel under their greatcoats. Link thrust himself from his haunches into the air with a powerful leap. His marred blade homed on his foe, as he neared… Then, all was muted and white…

When Zelda opened her eyes, she was staring at the floor. "Ugh" She moaned, this was the third night in a row she'd had that same dream. And once again, in the midst of it, she had rolled off the bed! Zelda stood to her feet and gave a long satisfying yawn to the morning sunshine that streamed into the bedroom. She had never been too fond of castle living, but she had to admit that little could compare to the view of the morning sunrise from the castle. Zelda stood there for a few moments staring out the window into the vastness of the countryside beyond Castle Town. "Link" She murmured. He'd been gone now for six months, two weeks and four days exactly. The thought of his jovial smile brought a little bit of warmth into her routine. As she got dressed and brushed her long golden hair, she smiled at herself in the mirror. She knew Link would not want her to mope around whenever he was away, so she stayed strong. She really wanted to prove to him that she wasn't just some dainty princess to be rescued all the time. Unfortunately, she tried so hard, that she may have started to push him away. Zelda had stopped brushing now as she stared off, lamenting. She was always trying to show Link how tough she was. So much so that she denied her desire to fall into his arms and tell him just how much she loved him. On that day he left, Zelda swore to herself that when Link returned, she would tell him just how strong her feelings for him were. She smiled to herself as she went back to brushing. "When he gets back…"

Impa rounded the corner out of the ballroom and into the hall. Link wasn't awake yet, and Zelda didn't know he was here. Impa couldn't wait to see their reunion. She had always known they had strong feelings for each other, but she kept quiet. In her own silent way, she really wanted them to hook up! So she, at times like today, tried to set them up. However this time, the time they spent apart would surly intensify their feelings towards one another! She was such a sucker for romance! When she finally stepped to the door to the king's office, she knocked twice, and then let herself in. "Good morning Impa." King Roy started through smiling teeth as he stroked his sandy brown beard. "What brings you to my office?" He asked as he sat behind his desk, still stroking the long facial hairs. "Well you know," Impa began "Link has returned to us." Roy's smile lit up as he heard the news, "Now that IS good news!" The king had great respect for Link. Not only because he was the Hero of Time, but for what Link did for his daughter. Zelda had never been able to accept life as a princess, her restless and adventurous spirit kept her in a constant state of meloncaly. That is, until Link came into her life, she'd cheered up and began to enjoy life more. Unfortunately, upon Link's departure, the king could tell that a little bit of that sadness had crept back into her life. So the news of Link's return struck him exceptionally well. "Has he seen Zelda yet?" Roy asked excitedly. "No, he was insisting to all last night, but I finally talked him into seeing her this morning. He'll be waking up soon." Impa was now nonchalantly pacing around the office. "Fabulous!" The king exclaimed as he pumped his fist a little. He then played it off as if he could contain his excitement by trying to maintain a straight face. "So" He said becoming very serious, very fast. "Is there anything new happening with our 'guest'?" Impa also dropped her smile for a look of professional detachment. "No change, he's still teetering on the edge of death. The docs don't expect him to make it another day. Roy winced. I only pray he makes it, for a kid like that to die in a strange land as a reward for his own good nature, that's just not right."

"I wonder where he's from." Impa pitched in defeatedly. "I dunno" Roy replied, "but I sure hope he pulls through, anyone who saves my daughter's life is a friend of mine."

Something fishy was going on. Zelda could feel it as she sat at the breakfast table with Impa, her father, and the six knights whom which were close friends of both hers and the family. Not only was it too quiet, but everyone kept glancing at her, then away when she caught them staring! The king and the general were talking politics, Impa was conversing with Volnut, a knight Leutenant and close friend to Link.

Volnut was a Midsized young man of twenty-one with emerald green eyes and jet black hair. Quite the oddity in Hyrule. His family was originally from one of the western countries. He and Link became fast friends when they met amongst the ranks. Link would always say it was a "brothers in arms" type of relationship, but Zelda thought it was because they were so similar. Link was the youngest member of the Knight Corps followed by Volnutt. As such, they tended to gravitate towards each other in a rivalry type relationship.

At the moment, Volnut was discussing inflation with Impa Everyone else pretty much just ate silently. "So how is that guy doing" Zelda asked, trying to start a conversation. Despite the trite use of the label "that guy", everyone knew exactly whom she was talking about. "Well the doctors say he isn't looking good." Volnutt replied bluntly. They say he has many serious injurys that predate that incident in the market place." "So he was injured before he fought those hooded guys?" Zelda questioned. "Yep, it would appear so" Roy finished.

"Enough about that!" The king exclaimed. "Zelda, I have fabulous news for you sweetheart!" Oh boy! She thought, anytime he said "fabulous" like that, it either meant that he wanted to go on some father-daughter bonding spree, or that some country had sighned some kind of agreement with Hyrule. Both of which were equally tiring to her. The king guestured towards the doors that led into the room. The doors swung open through them walked Link.

Zelda couldn't believe her eyes! She lept up from her seat, and greeted link with a warm hug. Tears rolled from her eyes as they embraced and she knew that everything was going to be alright. For the next few hours, Link and Zelda strolled hand in hand through the courtyards and gardens of the castle, filling each other in on the finest details of the time they had missed with eachother. "So that explains it!" Zelda shouted excitedly, as they talked. It turned out, she had been dreaming about something that had really happened to Link on his travels. The two finally wound up in the courtyard where they first met, embracing gingerly. "So did anything interesting happen when I was gone?" Link asked as he ran his fingers through Zelda's fine hair and across her cheek. "Well, I was attacked…" Zelda began. She felt every muscle in Link's body tense. "What! By who!" he blurted. She had been reluctant to tell him because she knew he would react like this. "Well, these hooded guys with knives came at me in the market." "Where was Impa?" Link questioned. "Well, I sort of snuck out of the castle." Zelda replied with a sheepish grin. "Anyways, this guy, he came out of nowhere and fought them off! He killed one guy, and defeated the other. The one who was neutralized pulled out this bomb from under his coat and just POW, blew himself up! But the guy who saved me got caught in the explosion. He's been in a coma ever since. I never even got his name. He's clearly from another country though. We've been keeping him here in the castle, but the doctors don't know if he'll make it or not. He apparently had some very serious injuries before he even got into that scrap." By the time Zelda finished, Link had a look of shock on his countenance. Why would Garo warriors be here, in the 1st province of Hyrule? Could it be A direct plot against the Royal Family? What was going on? Garo never show up unless something HUGE was going down. They were an elite group of warriors native to the countries in the North East. One might say they were those countries equivalent of Shiekan shadow warriors. More importantly, they were extremely potent warriors. A well situated Garro, with his lightning speed and brutal capabilities could easily overwhelm ten men. So if this guy was injured, and he fought off two of them, he must have been something else. Link had to meet this guy, maybe by doing so, he could put the pieces together, because something was definitely amiss.

Link and Zelda stood side by side in the infirmery at the bedside of the mysterious foreigner. Everyone had said that this guy was "obviously" from somewhere else, but it didn't click until Link saw him for himself. He was DEFINITELY not from Hyrule. Link had never seen anyone quite like him before. The stranger's skin was very dark, like the color of raisins, and he was tall. About six feet tall, a proposterous height for a hylian, whom which even the tall ones were mostly under 5'9". (Yes, this is Hyrule's first black guy!) His features were foreign, but link figured this guy to be no older than nineteen, but no younger than seventeen. His face was placid in his coma, but it revealed a life of strife through the hardness of it's features. His head was shaved bald, and even so was currently covered in bandages. Link gave a tacit thanks to the man that had saved his love. He really wanted this guy to survive, he wanted to thank him properly, plus he had many questions for him. Link looked at the small table that sat beside the bed. On it were what must have been this guy's belongings. There were many knick knacks the likes of which Link had never seen, but what truly drew his attention was his sword. The sword was a long bastard sword, with a rounded hilt and an exceptionally long handle. The blade must have been five feet long! But here was the catch, the blade was one huge diamond! Through the translucency of the blade, Link could see a cross made of wood suspended in the diamond of the blade. To say that it was a beautiful sword would have been the understatement of a lifetime.

Now Link REALLY wanted to meet this guy. Who was he? And why was he here? How did he sustain those injuries? What will happen next? Find out in chapter 3!

So what do you all think? I'm doing my best, please keep reading! HA Hyrule Finally has a black guy in it now! (For the record, I am black, so don't trip) Stay tuned for the next installment! Chapter 3: invasion