Here is the revised Chapter 2. Nothing really changed, it's just much better written this time.

Chapter 2: The Raid

Link awoke in the middle of the night abruptly in a cold sweat. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a blinding light illuminating the entire living room, forcing him to shield them.

Link found this very odd as he could only remember one instance of his Triforce piece doing this, when all three of the Triforce bearers were together for the battle against Ganondorf. He tried to remember if it had done this when he first met Zelda but he couldn't remember. He was a wolf at the time and when in wolf form, his mark was on his head, not exactly a visible spot.

After a few minutes of thinking, Link reasoned that his glowing Triforce piece was probably caused by the fact that he was in the vicinity of another of the bearers, Zelda and her Triforce of Wisdom. He didn't have much to support this hypothesis but it made sense to him. It seemed to only happen when he was around anyone else with a mark. Satisfied with this answer, his thoughts then turned to the dream he had been having.

It had been about his previous journey to stop Zant and later, Ganondorf. He had arrived at Twilight Palace to confront Zant with Midna. In reality, Link had easily conquered Zant, but in his dream it was far different story. Zant had possessed Midna and was used her to attack him. Link shuttered as an image of Midna possessed flashed before his eyes, her familiar Imp form with a devilish grin and soulless red eyes. He was glad that his actual battle with Zant had not taken that turn. Ganondorf possessing Zelda during their battle was hard enough already.

As Link's eyes started to get adjusted to the lighting his Triforce piece was giving off, he started thinking about his adventure. Compared to his life in Ordon now, it seemed like a dream. Growing up he often wondered what was out there beyond Ordon's borders and all around Hyrule. However now that he had actually seen all of it, being back in Ordon was very weird. Everything was so fast-paced on his journey and everything had been interesting whether it had been trudging through snow to get to Snowpeak, traversing Gerudo Desert to get to Arbiter's Grounds or even just visiting the Gorons on Death Mountain. Here in Ordon, life was very slow and most days nothing significant happened. The day would go by, he would hang out with Ilia and Colin, maybe talk with the townspeople and do some yard work. Then the same thing would happen the next day.

Link would never admit it to anyone but he missed the adventure lifestyle. Journeying across Hyrule, discovering temples, slaying dangerous beasts and meeting new people was exciting and he would love to feel all that again. There was always so much adrenaline running through his veins, especially when locked in deep combat, such as with Zant, and Ganondorf. He missed it all, the temples, the enemies and the puzzles that really put his mind to the test.

As he thought about this, he immediately started to feel bad. Going on that journey might have spoiled him. Real life doesn't involve constantly being in danger and traversing an entire land. He mustn't expect that to happen everyday. He was lucky to have the life he did, as it could be much worse. He had great friends in Ilia and Colin, and even the village kids Talo, Malo and Beth were fun to hang out with. Princess Zelda trusted him to take care of her. He should consider himself lucky.

There was one thing in his life he wished were better though. Midna, his Twili companion for the duration of his journey was gone, having destroyed the Mirror of Twilight. He was never going to see her again. Her leaving had affected him in a big way. They were together every step of the way and her leaving felt like a part of him left. It was a little easier now that some time had passed, but he didn't think he'd ever be completely the same. Midna would always have a special place in his heart.

Link sighed and tried to fall back asleep. The glow of his Triforce piece made it challenging, but eventually he was able to close his eyes and drift off.

Link awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. He had slept peacefully after his brief awakening and pondering. As he stretched his legs, he made a mental checklist of everything he had to do today. He had several chores that needed getting done, mainly doing some landscaping in the yard and planting pumpkin seeds. Ilia said that she would help with that so he was at least glad he wouldn't have to do it by himself.

Link slowly rose from the couch and started to get dressed, having brought his clothes downstairs last night so he wouldn't disturb Zelda getting them. He put on his usual green tunic, hat, chainmail, white undershirt, and gloves and was all set to begin working on his yard when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Apparently he had caused a bigger commotion than he thought.

"Good morning Link," greeted Zelda cheerfully. She looked like she had just gotten up; she was still in a white night gown.

"Morning Zelda," replied Link. He was about to turn around and head outside when he remembered what had happened with his Triforce mark, and that he was standing next to someone who also had one. Surely if his started glowing hers must have too?

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something," Link began.

"Sure. You look troubled. Is something bothering you?" Zelda answered, her smile fading a bit.

"Last night I woke up suddenly and found that my Triforce of Courage mark was glowing. I was wondering if yours was too and if you had any idea what it meant?" asked Link.

"Yes I experienced the same thing. The mark on my hand illuminated the whole room and stayed that way for a while. As to what it means, I am not entirely sure. I've only known it to happen when Triforce bearers are in the vicinity of each other. It could merely be our markings acknowledging each other but I can't be certain. Obviously it is not a common occurrence so I'm afraid I don't have much experience in these areas," Zelda said.

She didn't say anything else and stood still with a distant expression on her face, as if she was in deep thought. Link was intrigued. He would think that Zelda, being the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, could have shed some light on the subject. If she didn't have an answer, it must be something very mysterious.

He quickly put these thoughts out of his head for the moment though as he had work to do. He walked across the room to his kitchen table and grabbed some of the pumpkin seeds he planned to plant. He then passed Princess Zelda, still in deep thought and crossed the room to the front door, opening it a little.

"Oh, are you going somewhere Link?" Zelda asked, apparently brought out of her stupor.

"No, I've just got some work to do outside. I have seeds I need to plant as well as some yard work I need to do," Link said while walking outside.

"Oh I see. Would you like some help?" Zelda asked.

"Uh, sure. If you want, I'd appreciate the help," Link answered, surprised at Zelda's willingness to help. "Just grab some seeds and we'll get planting."

"Ok. Just let me change and I'll be right out," Zelda said as she went back uptairs. Within five minutes she had put on her usual white, purple and brown Royal gown.

The two of them walked outside and headed to the small patch of land that Link used to plant pumpkin seeds. Link knelt down to begin planting some when he heard a voice.

"Hey, you didn't forget about me did you?" Ilia said as she walked over to where the two of them were standing. "Did you forget I was coming?" she asked again with a slight frown on her face.

"No, Princess Zelda just offered to lend a hand and I was showing her what to do," Link answered quickly. Ilia seemed to accept this answer and the three of them began planting seeds. Once the seeds were planted they made sure that the soil was well saturated before moving on. With the three of them working on this project, it got done fairly quickly, and the whole patch of earth was soon lined with seeds in under an hour.

"It's very quiet here isn't it?" Zelda asked as they had finished watering the last seed.

"Yeah but you get used to it after awhile," answered Link.

"It is different than other places. It must always be hectic in Castle Town," chimed in Ilia.

"Yes but I like it better this way. It's a nice change being able to actually relax and not have to stress out about something. Here I can actually hear myself think." Ilia giggled at this. Link was thinking about what else he had to do.

"Well that tree stump has been bothering me lately. I've been putting it off for awhile so while I'm out here I I'll handle it," said Link as he wiped some sweat off his brow.

"Don't worry about that Link I can handle it," Zelda replied and with a concentrated look on her face she stretched her arms out towards the stump and muttered something under her breath. The stump rose effortlessly out of the ground, hovered in the air for a few seconds and then exploded in a magical burst of fire, leaving no mess. Looking at the lawn you never would have known a stump was there. Zelda's spell had even cut the grass, leaving all of Link's chores done in a fraction of the time he thought the whole job would take.

"Wow that was amazing," exclaimed Ilia with an awed expression.

"I was expecting this stuff to take me all day. It's not even lunchtime yet. Thank you very much Zelda," Link said with a grateful smile on his face.

"No problem, I'm glad to help," Zelda responded with a smile of her own. Link, still a little surprised that he was done so early, stood around scratching his head, thinking.

"Hmm. I wonder if Colin is free. I doubt he'll say no to some sparring," Link said. He then went inside to grab his sword and shield and the three of them started to walk towards the middle of the village. The royal guard had apparently arrived while they were doing the yard work and were now scattered around the village, looking alert. There were small groups of guards stationed at every entrance to the village and a few marching about in the interior.

The three of them approached Colin's house and saw him and his dad outside, cutting down a tree that had gotten too big and was threatening to fall over. Seeing the two of them next to each other, there was no doubt they were related. Rusl had the same blond combed hair as Colin, as well as the same blue eyes and body build. He was about two heads taller and had numerous scars along his face and arms. Colin, when he saw the three of them approaching, rushed into the house excitedly.

"Hello Link, Ilia. It's a pleasure to meet you Princess Zelda," greeted Rusl when they got close. He gave a little bow.

"The pleasure is mine. I don't believe I've learned your name," said Zelda with a smile.

"My name's Rusl. I'm Colin's father and sort of a mentor for Link," Rusl answered.

"Pleased to meet you Rusl. I would say your training was quite effective," answered Zelda as she extended her hand. Link's face got a little red at this comment.

"Thank you," Rusl said as he shook Zelda's hand and shook it. He turned to look at Link.

"So Link, Ilia, Princess Zelda, what brings you here?"

"I got done with the yard work I had to do much earlier than expected and was wondering if Colin would want to have a sparring session?" Link said.

Before Rusl could answer, they heard someone bounding towards them. Colin was soon right besides them, sword and shield already in hand.

"Of course! Let's get stared!" he said excitedly.

Link took his sword out of his scabbard and walked to an open patch of land between Colin's house and the house next to it. Colin followed suit and the two of them got into their battle stances. They tipped the tips of their swords together and started inching closer to each other.

Suddenly Colin stopped and looked up to his right. Link, confused, followed his gaze but didn't see anything. He turned back to Colin.

"What's up?" Link asked.

"Do you hear that? I think I hear horses galloping towards us. They sound like they're coming from where Ordon Spring is," Colin answered, still looking towards the entrance of the village.

"That doesn't sound too good. Maybe we should check it out?" Rusl suggested.

"I think that would be a good idea. Link are you coming?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, I agree. Let's go," Link said.

Link, Zelda, Ilia, Colin and Rusl started to head towards Link's house at the edge of the village. As the five of them approached, they saw that the two Hyrulean soldiers stationed at this entrance were currently talking to three suspicious men in black cloaks. Link recognized the cloaks immediately as the same ones worn by Zelda's would-be attackers.

"What is your business here?" one of the guards asked the cloaked men.

"We're just looking for someone," one of the men said. He was looking directly at the guards but when Zelda and the others approached, all three of the men's heads snapped to look at her.

"Ahh, and it appears we've found her at last. We should go tell the others that we've found the Triforce bearers at last," one of the other men said, and without another word, they started walking back away from the village. The two soldiers turned around to address Zelda.

"Your highness, I have a bad feeling about these men. I don't think we've seen the last of them," one of them said.

"I agree. We'll have to increase security and be on constant alert," Zelda answered with a frown on her face.

"What's going on here? Is there a problem?" said a voice behind them. Everyone turned around and saw Bo walking towards them, a frown on his face as well.

"Three black cloaked men came towards the village. We stopped them from getting any closer and asked what they were here for. They said they were looking for someone but when they caught a glimpse of the princess, they left saying they had to 'tell the others'. We believe that they're going to come back," one of the soldiers said.

"I see. This is most troubling. We'll have to be careful of this lot," Bo replied with a hand under his chin. He then turned to Zelda.

"Would it be possible to get more soldiers stationed here? I know you didn't want to have too many here as to not draw attention to ourselves, but with this potential threat, I feel a stronger soldier presence here would be a good idea."

"Yes, I agree that we should strengthen our defenses in case the village is attacked. I'll send a messenger to Castle Town to request more men be sent here immediately," Zelda answered.

"Thank you. I should head back to the village so I can explain what's going on," Bo said. He bid good day to the rest of them and headed back.

"Hang on, I'll come with you. Come on Colin," Rusl said. Colin headed off after his father, leaving Link, Zelda and Ilia alone.

"I should probably get back to the house Link. I need to write the request for more men," Zelda said.

"Alright. I'll come with you, I could use a bit of relaxation. Ilia, do you want to come?" Link asked. Ilia nodded and the three of them walked the short way to Link's house and went inside. Zelda went upstairs while Link and Ilia collapsed on the couch.

"I'm worried Link. Do you think those were the same guys we stopped in Castle Town?" Ilia said after a few minutes of silence.

"Definitely. It was the same cloak and everything. I agree with Bo and Zelda, they'll be back," Link answered.

"What are we going to do if they do come back?" Ilia asked.

"Well…" Link began as he crossed his arms, "We're going to have to fight them."

Zelda's request for more men was met quickly. Within the next day, the number of soldiers stationed inside and around Ordon village nearly doubled. They were stationed at every entrance to the village keeping track of everyone who left and came in. There were also an increased number of soldiers patrolling the inside of the village, watching over its members. This increased military presence was unsetting at first, but after the first two days Link got used to it and hardly even noticed them anymore. They didn't disrupt typical Ordon life too much.

Link was standing outside on his porch enjoying a glass of water before he went over to Colin's house for the first of the day's sparring lessons. They had started to have two sparring sessions a day to help keep themselves sharp for the encounter with the cloaked men that they all knew would come.

"Link, I'm ready for our sparring session," said an excited Colin as he jogged towards the house. Link smiled and chugged the rest of his water before he set the glass down, took out his sword and walked to the open patch of grass to face Colin.

"Don't start without me you two, I want to watch this," said a familiar voice as Ilia ran towards them.

"Nor would I," said Zelda as she emerged from inside the house. The two girls sat on the porch next to each other with their eyes on Link and smiles on their faces as they prepared to watch the two boys fight.

Link and Colin had just tipped their swords together when they heard a sound that made their stomachs churn. They stopped and turned their heads to listen to the sound of horses galloping full speed towards the village.

"They're back!" Link yelled. "Colin I need you to warn your dad. Tell him to get ready! Ilia I need you to do the same!" Colin and Ilia both nodded and ran towards the center of the village to their respective houses.

"Ugh, I knew this would happen eventually, but I still don't like it. We should warn the soldiers," Link said to Zelda. She nodded and the two of them ran into the center of the village as well. They searched and found the Guard Captain chatting with a few other soldiers. When he saw the two of them approaching he stopped immediately, turned towards them and gave a salute.

"Captain, we have a situation on our hands. The village will be under attack shortly. I need you to prepare your men for battle at once and tell the villagers to get inside where they'll be safer," Zelda said.

"Right away your highness," said the captain and he immediately went to work informing the soldiers and villagers of the impending attack.

Link prepared his sword as the sea of black cloaks atop horses entered the village. Zelda stood close, a worried look on her face as each of them rode to where they were standing and stopped a few feet in front of them. Link took his fighting stance as he was anticipating a strike at any moment. He couldn't count all of the men that had arrived in the village, but a rough estimate put their numbers of around 60.

Once they all were inside the village, they dismounted from their horses and brandished their weapons. Each of them were heavily armed, with some carrying swords, others lances or axes. One of the men at the head of the pack slowly walked towards Link and Zelda. The hood of his cloak was covering his eyes but Link could clearly see the sneer etched across his face.

"You and the princes are coming with us," he said in a deep, rough sounding voice. "Do as we say and nobody has to get hurt."

"You'll never take the Princess or any of us away!" yelled a voice. Colin, Ilia, Bo and Rusl ran to join Link and Zelda, with Colin and Rusl sporting swords and shields.

"I wasn't talking to you little boy. We merely need the Princess and the green-clad one," the man said, still with a sneer.

"Well you'll have to get through me first!" Colin yelled as he prepared his sword.

"And you'll have to deal with us," said another voice behind him. The Hyrulean soldiers had mobilized and now stood behind Link, Zelda, Colin, Ilia, Rusl and Bo, ready to face the attackers.

It was Colin who made the first move. He quickly slashed his sword at the man who had spoken before and connected with his chest, sending him flying back and into the ground. Colin quickly changed direction and slashed his sword at another of the men, sending him falling to the ground as well.

Link was taken aback by the speed the Colin had showed with his sword but recovered quickly and he began the offensive as well. He targeted the cloaked man closest to him and jabbed at him with both his hands. His sword was too quick for the man to block and he pierced the man's stomach, killing him.

By now everyone had joined in the fray. Colin was holding his own against a couple of attackers, deflecting oncoming attacks, dodging and finding holes to strike with his sword. Rusl was having a little trouble with two attackers of his own, possibly because he was trying to keep an eye on Colin, but he was still holding his own. Three men had surrounded Zelda but she blew them back with magic. The Hyrulean soldiers weren't doing as well as they were having trouble taking on the men.

Link was currently occupied with three men who had targeted him. He effortlessly dodged their slow forward slashes and struck them in the chest, knocking them out. With the three men on the ground, two more took their place and it was 2 on 1. The two men moved to either side of Link both with clubs at the ready. They swung the clubs forward and all Link had to do was duck so they struck each other, knocking each other out and falling to the ground. As Link got up he let out a chuckle.

Suddenly Link heard a loud girlish scream that seemed to be coming from a few hundred feet away. He turned around and saw that Ilia had been captured. One of the hooded men had carried her off, with her struggling to get free.

Link was so shocked by this that he didn't even notice the club coming for his face. Luckily Colin did and deflected it with his sword. This knocked Link out of his stupor and he quickly took care of his attacker with a diagonal slash across his chest.

"Link, you can't stand still like that for long, you'll get killed!" Colin yelled as he ran next to Link with his shield and sword at the ready.

"Fall back! We need to get out of here!" the leader of the cloaked men yelled to his followers. He waved his hand back towards their horses and immediatey, the rest of the men, including the man holding Ilia, started to retreat.

Link attempted to run after the men but once they got on their horses, there was no way he was going to be able to catch them. As their horses galloped out of sight, he stopped and fell to the ground, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Damn!" he said and he pounded the ground in frustration. "I shouldn't have let this happen!"

"Link what's wrong?" asked Zelda as she, Rusl, Bo and Colin all came to gather around him.

"They got Ilia. She's gone," was all Link was able to get out.

"WHAT? They took her? Well what are we waiting for? We have to go after them!" said a furious Bo. Nobody said anything right away, each of them with frowns and worried looks on their faces. It was Zelda who spoke first.

"We don't know where she could be. They could have taken her anywhere," she said.

"Bo we all want to get Ilia back as much as you do. But right now we have another problem just as pressing. These bandits know where we're located, they're sure to come back again," Rusl said.

"I agree, this is a big problem. I suggest that we relocate everyone to a safer place," Zelda said.

"Relocate? Where?" Bo asked, confused.

"I think Kakariko Village would be the best option. It's closer to Castle Town, which means the soldiers could get there easily, and it's right next to Death Mountain and our Goron allies," Zelda said.

"I suppose that could work. However, it sounds like you're not even thinking about saving my little girl," Bo said.

"I promise you, as soon as we get the villagers to safety in Kakariko Village, finding Ilia will become my top priority," Zelda answered with a serious face.

"I'll look for her too and I won't stop until I find her," Link added. Bo eased up at the sound of this and sighed.

"Well I guess we'd better start making preparations to set out," he said. "I'll start letting the villagers know we plan to depart tomorrow." He bid the others good day and went off to start talking to the other villagers who had started to come out of their houses.

"Well we should get going too. We've got a lot of packing to do," Rusl said and he and Colin left as well, leaving Link and Zelda alone.

The two of them started walking back to Link's house to begin their preparations for tomorrow. Link was silent the whole trip, completely absorbed in his thoughts. Zelda noticed this and she kept glancing at him with a worried expression. He didn't even notice her, he was thinking about Ilia, about whether she'd be all right. He shook these thoughts from his head as soon as they entered; she would definitely be all right. She had to be.

When they got to Link's door, Zelda put her hand on Link's shoulder, surprising him and causing him to turn around.

"What happened to Ilia isn't your fault Link," Zelda said gently. Link turned away from her.

"I just feel like I should have been able to protect her better," he answered, not looking at her.

"You did all that you could have, Link," Zelda answered, her hand still on his shoulder. "We'll get her back, everything will be alright.

"I hope so."