(Author note: Hey friends, thanks for reading and leaving your lovely reviews and feedback, it truly means a lot. Makes it all worth while. I will be updating regularly so keep an eye out. This chapter is a little shorter than the first, but it will pick back up soon! Thanks.)

Chapter two, Training Day

It had been three long days since Link had last spoken to the King and his daughter, princess Zelda. Link found it hard to think about anything else.

What would training be like? he wondered. Link walked down the from the back door of his father's workshop, and down to Mrs. Tamlin's little cucco pen, as was his normal schedule. Taking care of the cuccos seemed like a boring task now, with the mean old dog gone, and the prospect of grand adventures yet to come ever present in his mind. It just isn't the same now, he remarked. Regardless, Link carried out his regular duties as caretaker. I suppose I will need to find a suitable replacement. Someone I could trust to take care of Mrs. Tamlin's animals. Maybe Ariel. Ariel was the younger sister of Link's best friend, Jonathan. She had a bit of temperament, but it was mostly aimed at her brother, whenever he would tease her, but he was gone now. Other than that, she was a young and benevolent village girl, a perfect candidate to take his place as caretaker.

He fed the cuccos, cutting back a little on Gus's portion, he is getting to fat. Link thought with a humored smile. Once that task was complete he ran a little further down the alley, to Jonathan and Ariel's home. He had been there hundreds of times, and walked right in the back door. It was a quaint little home, with a simple kitchen and dining table, with two bedrooms just up the stairs.

"Good morning Link," said Angela, Jonathan's mother, who was slaving away in the kitchen. She was making bread, she always did make some of the best bread. "I heard from you father that you are to begin training as a knight in the Kings guard."

"Yes! I could hardly believe it." Link replied.

She simply grinned at his reply, "I suppose you wish to talk to Ariel?"

"Yep. Since I'll be leaving soon for training, I need to find someone to look after Mrs. Tamlin's cuccos."

"She is upstairs, go ahead on up." Angela returned to her work, kneading away.

"Ariel?" Link said, sticking his head through the open door of the bedroom.

"Hello." Ariel said, pulling her attention from her little straw doll. She always had it with her.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Like what?" she replied, with a smile.

"As you know, since I'll be leaving to train soon, I need someone to take my place in caring for Mrs. Tamlin's cuccos. I was hoping that you would."

"I've never taken care of cuccos before." she insisted.

"That's okay, I still have a few days before I leave, I can show you what to do."

Ariel thought about it for a moment. "Okay, I'll do it." she nodded her head up and down.

"Thank you. Meet me at Mrs. Tamlin's pen tomorrow morning, I'll show you what to do."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

Perfect. That's one less thing to worry about. Link ran back downstairs, and thanked Angela, leaving through the back door.

Showing Ariel what to do was simple. All she had to do was make sure the cuccos were happy, fed, and had a clean pen to walk around in. She struggled a little to carry the heavy bucket of feed around, but she assured Link that she would be fine. Link shadowed her the next day to confirm that Ariel remembered all of her new duties, she performed well.

"Thank you again, Ariel. It means a lot to me. And to Mrs. Tamlin."

"No problem." Ariel usually kept her replies simple, she was always a late bloomer in regard to speech.

Saturday had finally come. Link barely slept the night before, but that didn't slow him down at all, he was running on adrenaline now.

"Link, I'll walk with you to the training yard, and see you off." stated Link's father.

"Okay, father!" he replied.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk to the training yard from their home, one that Link had made many times, he knew the streets like the back of his hand.

"Now, remember what I have always told you is most important, Link."

"Honesty, kindness, and courage." His father had told him countless times, Link always took it to heart.

"Yes. You must always be honest, even when it hurts, be kind, even to those who openly mock you, and most of all, you must have courage, courage to do what is right."

"I will, I promise." he replied, looking up at his father.

It wasn't long until they made it to the training yard, on the eastern side of the castle wall. Already there were other parents, and their young boys, all crowding around the yard. There was a line forming, at the start of it was a table, and there sat a stalwart looking knight.

That must be Captain Kerrigan, Link thought to himself. They waited at the back of the line, until it was their turn. Link could now see the rugged captain in much more detail. He had short brown hair, a wide nose, and a scar that ran from his left cheekbone, down to his lip.

"And what is your name?" the captain asked, looking at Link's father.

"Gerald, and this is my son, Link."

"Ah. So, you are the boy the King had told me about. I am Captain Kerrigan. Are you sure you are up to the task? You are quite a bit younger… and smaller than the rest of the recruits." As he said this, he eyed Link up and down.

"Yes sir, I'm sure of it." Link was quick and to the point.

The captain smiled to one side. "Very well, I will record your name. You may go join the other recruits in the yard, you of course may say your goodbyes first." Captain Kerrigan said these words in a tone that was not unkind, but rather more rehearsed, it was clear he had done this many time before. Link and his father stepped to the side, allowing the people behind them to continue.

"Well, I guess this is it." Link's father was knelt down. The words came hard for him, but he maintained his cool composure.

"I won't be gone forever, I'll visit as often as I can."

"I know," he sighed. "But no time like the present eh?" Link's father said in a forced cheery tone. They embraced one last time, saying their final goodbye and Link turned, running to the small crowd of young boys on the yard. They waited there silently for quite some time, as the final new recruits sauntered in. Link felt small, everyone was taller, and bigger than he was. It didn't intimidate him, but at the same time he couldn't deny the reality that he would be at a severe disadvantage, on account of his size. He recognized some of the other boys in the group, he had seen them before in his many travels about the city. They paid no attention to him.

"Listen up!" shouted Captain Kerrigan, his business now complete. "Each one of you his here for one purpose now. To train, and to earn the title of Soldiers. Some of you may even train further, and become members of the esteemed Royal Guard." He paused, walking slowly, hands behind him. "But until then, you are recruits, and you will follow my every order." His words were full of power, this wasn't a man simply throwing his weight around, this was a man made of sterner stuff, to be respected and obeyed. "In time, the King will make his appearance, and greet you as new recruits. You will show him the proper respect by forming rows and columns, and stand at attention… Now, fall in."

Fall in. Link had heard this term before. When he would watch the other trainees, the captain would yell "fall in." and they would all step into a formation, perfectly squared away, standing at attention. Link ran to the front of the group, aligning himself left-of-center of the yard, and stood at his best attempt of attention. The other boys were slow to follow, but clumsily began to achieve a formation that barely resembled a squadron. Captain Kerrigan eyed Link, squinting his eyes, simply grunting.

"A poor excuse for a formation, but we will work on that." Captain Kerrigan spent the next few minutes adjusting each recruit so that there was an arm's length between each one of them. "From now on, when I command 'fall in,' I want you to form up in this exact manner, and stand at attention, don't be looking around, or moving. You will stand as still as stone, understood?"

"Yes sir." the group replied, but not all at once, and very quiet.

"I said, do you understand!?"

"Yes sir!" This time they said it in unison, and much louder.

"Good."

The King entered the training yard on a bright white horse. He dismounted and greeted Captain Kerrigan with a firm handshake. It was apparent they were close friends. After exchanging a few words, the King turned to address the recruits.

"Good morning, recruits. As I'm sure Captain Kerrigan has already told you, today you will begin your training to become the protectors of the kingdom. This is of course a demanding responsibility, one that only the strong dare to take on. It will be no small task, but Captain Kerrigan is one of my finest leaders, and will have you shaped up in no time." He paused for a moment, looking at several recruits in the eye. He looked directly at Link, and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "I will not drag on too long, but I want to personally extend my thanks to each and every one of you, and hopefully instill a feeling of importance and purpose. Nearly one-hundred and forty years ago marked the initial attack of Calamity Ganon. That monster had utterly destroyed our kingdom. It was in this critical moment that I failed my duty as the Chosen Hero, and fell in battle; being forced to a century long slumber trapped in the Shrine of Resurrection. If it weren't for the actions of your queen, the world would have been destroyed. Thankfully, the goddess brought great fortune upon us, and we were allowed a second chance to fight back one-hundred years later. It is because of the queen's immense strength and dedication that we could finally seal the beast away, allowing our kingdom to rebuild and flourish." He paused. "Here we stand, a mere forty years after the fall of Ganon, in a young and prosperous kingdom." Link and the other recruits knew this story to their core, it was a centerpiece of pride for the Hylian people. "It is our sacred duty as watchmen of our kingdom to insure the safety of the realm. I stand before you to ask that you dedicate yourself to this cause, not for personal gain, or for glory, but for a love for this kingdom, and all of its inhabitants. For if we should fail, innocence is the first to suffer at the hands of evil." These words stirred within Link, he had never heard someone speak with such patriotism.

I will, whatever it takes. Link couldn't fully grasp this new feeling, all he knew is that he would now do anything to serve his kingdom. He felt as if something within himself was driving him to this decision, it just felt right.

"Thank you, gentlemen. I will now leave you in the capable hands of Captain Kerrigan." He turned to face the captain, and dipped his head. After mounting his horse, he returned in the direction he had come from. Captain Kerrigan resumed command.

"That speech never gets old," he chuckled. "it's about time that you are taken to the barracks, it will be home to you for the next few years, from there you will be given your uniform." Captain Kerrigan split their formation by row, sending each one to a different barrack. Link's row was first to go, they followed their appointed instructor to their new home, which was a dimly lit room, each walled lined with beds, it smelled musty. It wasn't exactly what Link thought it would be like, but he would make the best of it. After walking further down the isle of beds, Link found a one that seemed to be unclaimed. He noted its placement in the order of beds.

Fourth form the back, he counted. Shortly after, the same instructor that had escorted them to their new quarters shouted to form a single file line. He had pulled a large cart up next to the door, it seemed to have bundles of clothing in it.

"Line up, and I will give you your uniform based on size and height." shouted the instructor. Link waited patiently in line. When he reached the front the instructor simply chuckled in a condescending tone. "I don't think we have one small enough for you, you will have to make do with the smallest one we have." He scavenged his cart, pulling something from the bottom, and handed link a folded up dark blue tunic and a white shirt. Along with it came a pair of brown pants, and a small leather belt. "Change into these, and throw your old clothes in that crate over there." Link quickly ran back to his bed, putting on the new shirt, pants, and tunic.

Uh oh. Link realized something, his new pants were much too large for him, he couldn't keep them on his hips. His tunic wasn't any better either, it nearly swallowed him whole. He took the small leather belt he had been given, and cinched it down tightly. There weren't enough holes, so he simply tied the lose end around. I hope I don't lose my pants while training. In a small way, it was rather funny to him, but then considered how embarrassing it would be if did lose his pants; he was determined to prevent that from happening. As he was making his last adjustments he saw one of the other recruits looking at him, the red-haired piggish looking boy snickered a little.

"Did they really not have any smaller sizes?" he asked.

"No." the tips of his ears burned red.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but it is a little funny you have to admit," the boy waited for a response, which he didn't receive. "My name is Dan." Dan had approached Link with his hand out.

"Link, its Link." he shook his hand.

"You have the same name as the King? Is that even allowed?" Dan asked, with skepticism in his voice.

"I don't. My mother named me after the ancient Legendary Hero."

"I don't know, seems strange to me." Dan replied.

Before he could respond, the instructor shouted out, "You have five minutes to be dressed and back outside in formation."

Link ran back out into the yard, trying his best to stop his pants from sliding down. The rest of the recruits poured out, and assumed their same positions as earlier. Captain Kerrigan emerged from his office from the easternmost section of the training yard.

"Recruits, attention!" the recruits stiffened their backs, bringing their feet together. "Now, I don't know what preconceived notions you all have what your training will be like, but I assure you, you will find out shortly. But before you even think about training with weapons, you will first learn to assemble, march, and move as a well-oiled machine. You will learn to move as one, follow orders as one, and most importantly you will be a still as the grave when I tell you to be. It will not be easy, I can promise you this, but listen well, and you will find success."

Captain Kerrigan began barking orders, instructing in meticulous detail exactly how to stand at attention, to turn left and right in unison, and to march in perfect harmony. They marched around the training yard for what seemed like an eternity, without breaks. When the recruits would fail, or would fall off cadence, Captain Kerrigan would raise his voice even louder, screaming at them until they were back into order. The sun was setting by the time they stopped, its golden rays barely peaking over the outer castle wall.

"We will continue to practice your marching at a later time, it will be the first thing you will master, until it is second nature to you. For now, your dinner will be served in the dining hall, from there you will march off to your beds. We start bright and early tomorrow. You are dismissed." Link's feet hurt, but he felt well achieved. He managed to stay on beat for nearly the whole march, only stumbling twice, but regardless, he was ready to eat.

"I thought we'd never stop, I can't wait to eat, I'm starving" Dan said in a quiet voice, looking down at his grumbling stomach.

Link and the other recruits didn't say much to each other during dinner, they were all to hungry to talk, too focused on their meal. Dan had finished his faster than anyone, and asked Link if he could have any of his food that was left over.

"If you keep trying to eat my food you'll grow to fat, and your uniform will burst at the seams." Link jested, trying to keep a straight face. Dan squinted his beady little eyes for a moment, but then started to laugh.

"Then I guess I'll be too fat for my uniform, and you will never grow into yours." Dan laughed again.

"I'm sure I'll grow into it eventually." Link replied, with a mouth full of food.

The recruits marched back to their barracks first thing after dinner, and settled in for the night. Two recruits were selected at random to stand as watchmen for the night in alternating shifts, they certainly weren't happy about it, but didn't dare say so. Their barrack instructor performed a last-minute check, then left, closing the door behind him. The only light in the room was from the moon, piercing through the small windows of their barracks. Link swiftly drifted to into sleep.

I wonder if I'll see Zelda again, I would like to talk to her again.