AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! Thanks for coming back to read this chapter! I'm going to be pretty busy this week and weekend, but I will try to keep posting as regularly as I should be.

Also! The last chapter was a taste of what this fanfic is going to be like as far as how descriptive it is, so if you are uncomfortable I won't hold it against you if you leave. Don't read a story you're not enjoying, right?

This chapter is going to be about what's happening currently to catch us up- do not panic the whole story will not be written like this! This is just for this chapter, no need to worry.

Well, that's enough from me, please enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to comment, please!

(I do not own The Legend of Zelda)

A few months had passed now and Zelda had become increasingly feared. Because she had been staying true to her training of the bow and her magic, she grew immensely in this time.

The people of the kingdom couldn't have approved more of her newfound strength- believing that if their ruler was physically and mentally strong like Zelda now is, their kingdom was sure to succeed.

Some, however, that were afraid of the kingdom, started to get more desperate in their attempts to slay the princess. And even though it seemed as though she did not need a personal bodyguard any longer, Link was always there to protect her.

Even though Link had been her personal trainer, there were somethings, he said, that he couldn't teach her. Some things were just learned on the battlefield. Zelda had accepted this, but she was really amazing at combat now. She had learned every skill, nearly mastered them all, but something still lacked. And that was the real battle experience.

She had been asking Link to let her take down her assassins instead of him, but he rejected the idea harshly, stating that if anything were to ever happen to her by some common sellsword, he would never forgive himself. And although she was upset, she understood. Princess' first duties were to her kingdom and her people- the battles were for her knights and cavaliers.

Sometimes she just didn't want to be a princess, though. She didn't want to hide behind a living wall that slowly but steadily got shot down and do nothing to help. And, yes, she knew that princesses were important too, she just thought that she could help out with more than just the politics behind the kingdom. She would do anything for her people- she would put her life on the line for them, and that's exactly what she had been wanting to do before Link had talked her out of it.

That brings us to Link. The young warrior had always been Zelda's protector because he was the best of the best. But now that she was steadily becoming better than Hyrule's own best knights, they were thinking about sending him to a different post. While Zelda had strongly opposed to the idea, they did make plants to exchange him for someone with lesser value but have not yet acted on the idea.

Zelda may be the princess, but she was not of age yet- which meant that she did not have full authority and could not make major decisions. This is another reason that she had wanted to go into battle, so she could actually be doing something to help.

However, her birthday was not far away. It was going to be her eighteenth birthday, which meant that she would finally come of age and be able to start making more major decisions- although nothing too big of course.

Not wanted to take away her best friend during her birthday, they decided to leave Link as her protected until after her birthday. Once it was over, however, he was to check on kingdom nearby that they cooperated with that had sent them messages for help. They did not know much about the situation, but what they did know was that someone had burned an amount of the villages inside the kingdom down. After hearing this, and after he heard he was going to be transferred anyway, he volunteered for the journey. They accepted his request after spending little to no time thinking about it.

Zelda tried to fight against the idea but to no avail. She pleaded that having a small group of soldiers to scope out the area first would be best. They, however, wanted to help the people as soon as possible. She understood this, of course, and it wasn't like she didn't want to help them, it's just that she thought it was very idiotic to send one man to fix a kingdom's problems. A kingdom has archers and cannons, how could it not defend itself? They had heard that it was a single man with immense power that destroyed half the kingdom until he was forced to retreat. As much as she hated saying it, she didn't think that even Link could do that. Whoever was responsible for the kingdom's pain was someone that Link, or anyone, was no match for. It would be better to scope out the area to get a land advantage, then send a large group of men, possibly led by Link, to destroy the monster.

They still opposed the idea, however, and it was confirmed that Link, by himself, would be leaving the day after Zelda's birthday- which was the day after next.

(Day before Zelda's birthday)

Link had been spending extra time training and preparing Zelda for the time that he would be gone for, even though Zelda didn't really need it anymore. The common foes that she may stumble upon would be severely injured in a second by her before they even got to unsheath their blade. Link knew this full well, but he just wanted to spend time with her.

Her birthday and the responsibilities that came with it would change her to be a better and more mature leader- but he didn't want her to change. And he knew that was selfish, but he couldn't help himself. He wouldn't stop her from becoming the person that she was meant to be, that would be truly evil, and he wouldn't distract her from her responsibilities, either. He just wanted what was best for her- that's why he started training her after all.

Link was becoming more distant within their training, Zelda noticed. Every time she attacked, instead of looking faintly proud, he just looked nonchalant. It didn't look like it was to hide anything, but more like he had realized something that had made him stone-faced. It didn't really bother her, if anything, it distracted her only because it was different from what he usually did during her practice.

The daytime passed and entered the night as Link and Zelda returned to their respective rooms within the castle. Link was thinking about what would happen to Zelda if he didn't return- what would happen both physically and mentally. Would he die from this new threat? A threat that singlehandedly almost destroyed an entire kingdom with his bare hands? He honestly didn't know . . . he could only hope his ties to the people in the kingdom, including Zelda, would give him the strength that he needed.

Zelda lay awake in her bed, worried about Link. He had been off the whole day, and the day after next he would be leaving for his journey. This new enemy sounded like something from a nightmare- something implausible, horrible. How is it that something that strong could truly exist? Power does corrupt people, yes that is true, but what had led this creature to search for such power at the price of his humanity? Or many he had lost it long ago, and now only wanted to watch the world crumble before him as he slaughtered it's people. She may never know, but Link had a pretty good chance of finding out.

END NOTE: Hey, guys! Thanks for staying until the end of this chapter! I know that this one was a bit boring, but I had to create a time gap because of how long I took on Link's backstory. Next chapter will not be like this, but of something more book-like. I hope you guys stay until next chapter to see what will happen to Link- and who the mysterious warrior is! Don't forget to comment on the story and who you think it is!

Thank you all so much for reading, and I will see you all next time! Bye!