A.N: I would just like to say thanks for all the feedback, favourites and follows. A couple of people have expressed that I may have miscategorised this by listing it as drama rather than humour, which shows that clearly, I'd done something right! I'm glad to hear that people are enjoying that side of the story and actually find it funny. I was dreadfully worried that it would all fall hideously flat.

Anyway I had suspected I may have a few people saying that (provided the humour actually worked) and had in fact been verging on categorising as humour myself. The fact though was that I knew there would be some dramatic or more serious moments in the story at some point and didn't want to fool people into thinking it was all light and humorous. I'll always try to add a bit of humour but there will be some heavier chapters.

Starting with this angsty little number. Bring on the angst, Baby!

Chapter 3 – Ordinary Ordon

Ordon – 99 days AG (after Ganondorf)

The late afternoon sun bathed Ordon ranch in a soft light that heralded imminent approach of sunset, and the time he dreaded, Twilight.

Link, clad in his green tunic and signature hat, sat at the edge of the field, a sketch pad in his lap adding the finishing touches to what must have been his hundredth goat. This was probably his tenth drawing of this particular goat, a stubborn nanny he'd nicknamed Midna for her rebellious and tempestuous nature. He couldn't quite understand what masochistic force had possessed him to add to the list of reminders of his lost twilight princess. Her departure was still an open wound, one that neither his mind or time seemed to want closed, almost for fear that, with its closure, his memories of his great friend would be lost.

Midna and her many heroic sacrifices needed and deserved to be remembered, and no one else was going to give her that honour. Well there was the other princess, Zelda, but she had her own pressures and burdens and did not deserve another burden. He just hoped that her memories of the torment she endured during the Twilight faded faster than his were. She had the seemingly impossible tasking of residing over the rebuilding of Hyrule and had made her own sacrifices too. She would be struggling with many duties already and carrying Midna's memory shouldn't be among them.

No, it was down to him as he had no duty now, nothing to do other than herd goats and carry her memory. That would be his new duty, his new curse. "After all" he muttered bitterly "I need a new one after losing my wolf form."

His adventures in Twilight had changed him irreversibly mentally but also physically. He may no longer be able to transform but it would seem his heighten wolf senses had not gone. Link could, of course, hear the sound the goats in the field but his ears could also pick up on the light breeze, the rustle of trees and chattering of birds preparing to roost all the way from Faron woods. He could also catch the faint gurgling of Faron Spring and the sound of some of the children, though he couldn't tell who, playing down in Ordon Village.

His sight was also improved and his wolf ability to understand and even communicate with animals seemed to have been retained in a limited capacity. Certainly, his partnership with his faithful stead Epona was stronger than ever, and the goats were easier to predict, except Midna!

One sense that he really didn't appreciate was smell. He never realised just how badly goats smelled, and that wasn't even considering their droppings. Link had resorted to finding ways to try and wash them, although he generally couldn't do that without taking them to the village stream, which his friends didn't particularly appreciate.

"Friends" The word seemed hollow to him, and he had to wonder if they still even saw him as such. Most of his physical changes were invisible, apart from his new gruff baritone voice, but his shifting personality, that was plain for all to see.

Where he had once been patient, calm and collected, he was now jittery, high strung and brooding with a tendency towards irrational outbursts. He was in a near constant state of agitation when he was in the village, feeling suffocated by its smallness, even coming to resent the villagers continued reliance on him, that had once brought him much pride. He hated himself for that. He had tried travelling out for short periods but that didn't seem to aid his troubled mind.

He'd become a ghost to the rest of the village, only traveling between his house and the ranch or the spring, never engaging in conversation unless spoken to. The only person he didn't avoid, his sole confidante, was Rusl, his mentor and the closest he had to a father figure. Rusl was the only one who knew the extent of his adventures and their impacts both on Hyrule and himself, and Link had made him promise to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, Rusl was an even rarer sight in Ordon than Link was nowadays, as he now worked in Castle town and the surrounding area. The resistance hadn't simply disbanded after Ganondorf's defeat as Link would have predicted but instead had morphed into a citizen's branch of Hyrule's law enforcement to help keep order while Hyrule recovered. Rusl had repeatedly tried to persuade Link to join, citing his suspected reasons as to Links feelings being grief, a lack of purpose and too much time to dwell on it. Link, while suspecting he was at least partly correct, would always politely decline, with some feeble line about Ordon being his home and his responsibility.

This would then prompt a lecture from Rusl, on the true meaning of home, fulfilment and the need to move on, dissecting every lame rebuttal Link attempted. He would also bring up how he'd met the princess, as she'd given the new resistance her Royal backing, and that she had been inquiring after Link. Rusl seemed to think that the chance to meet the Princess again would help but Link seriously doubted it. It would likely bring flashbacks of her possession or watching her life fade as she sacrificed herself for Midna. Link shuddered at the thought.

Rusl didn't know about the nightmares. No one did. How he could rarely get more than a couple of hours rest before jumping awake, racked with anxiety, covered in cold sweat and short on breath. Moments later the shame would hit him. The shame that he, the apparent barer of the tri-force of courage, could be ruled by his own nightmares. Was he even worthy of the tri-force of courage anymore?

Links brooding was cut short as he was stirred from his thoughts by repeated nuzzles from Epona. "alright, girl, alright" he sighed heavily before stumbling rather ungainly to his feet. It was approaching sunset and that meant time for the goats to return to the barn, not to mention Epona was probable hungry. Grass, to her, was all well and good but Link knew well that she much preferred a nice juicy apple or a carrot.

"Well, girl, lets to work" he said patting her neck before swinging into the saddle "when we get back I'll get you some apples, sound good." Epona gave a hearty neigh in response and had already turned towards their targets before he'd even tugged the reins. "honestly, Epona, I'm pretty sure you could easily manage this without me, I could have had another five minutes brooding time and you could have had your apples earlier" Link gibed lightly, prompting a snort from the chestnut brown mare.

With that, the duo set about the task of harrying the goats back into their pens for the night. The goats were remarkably co-operative this evening, surprisingly even Midna who usually gave them quite the run-around, headed for the barn almost without prompting. Link initially thought of it as small act of divine luck. He had beaten the sunset, although not by much and twilight was looming.

It was only as Link closed the gate to their pen when he sensed the fear. They hadn't been co-operating. They had been fleeing to safety. Then the wind changed and that was when he heard it. A sound that made his blood run cold. From the direction of the he heard the sound of many unified heavy footfalls and the clattering of metal.

What he'd feared most had come to pass. It was happening again. Another invasion! Links pulse raised and he found himself struggling for air, bracing against the gate as he fought to regain control of his body. Not again!

Links eyes locked onto the sword tied to Epona's saddlebag, the precaution he had kept since his last adventure. Without even waiting for his breath to return he ran for it, stumbling drunkenly and crashing into the saddlebag startling Epona, who whinnied in distress. Hands shaking violently, he fumbled with the harness to release the sword before frantically but erratically strapping it to his belt.

Heart pounding in his ears, he leaped onto Epona and spurred her into a gallop, jumping the ranch gate and racing off towards the village. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he fought not to hyperventilate even as the pace of the ride threatened to wind him and his ears began to ring.

The marching boots had stopped and just when he expected to start to hear screaming…

"Citizens of Ordon…" Came a voice he knew well. Commanding yet kind, crisp and clear yet with a, albeit well concealed, trace of fatigue, it could only be her… the Princess… Zelda. With every word of her address came a surprising sense of calm that he found hard to explain. His thundering pulse eased and his chest lightened. With a gentle tug of her reins, Link eased Epona into a trot. Just before he rounded the corner to the entrance of Ordon Village he stopped and dismounted, as he could sense a crowd around the mayor's house and he didn't want to cause alarm.

Rounding the bend, he sighted what looked like the entire population of the village huddled in front of the mayor's house, excitedly yet attentively listening as the princess, standing apart from what seemed to be a sizable escort of soldiers behind her, delivered her speech.

Link approached slowly, drawn like a moth to a flame by the sound of her voice, not even fully aware of his actions, certainly not considering the fact that he was carrying a sword and approaching the most heavily guarded being in the kingdom.

Several sets of eyes had locked on to him and he could vaguely hear the sound of clanking metal but he didn't react. Then Zelda turned to him and Link stopped in his tracks… and so it seems, did time.

She looked just as she had when she'd summoned the four light spirits, the brief moment of calm before the final battle. Despite the distance still between them, the rest of the world seemed to fall away as he found himself lost in her blue eyes. She had offered him trust and assurance then and from her warm gaze and just the trace of a smile she offered him peace now.

Zelda place a white gloved hand on her heart and gracefully bowed to him just as she had before and Link could almost hear her words from that fateful moment "Link… Chosen hero! Lend us the last of your power." He began to reach out as he had done then, only retreating when he was greeted with just a single word that left her lips as little more than a whisper yet carried so much emotion. "Link" came her soft dulcet tones, holding within admiration and warmth yet haunted by melancholy.

Link held her gaze but for a moment longer and noticed the weariness and regret hidden in beautiful sapphire blue. She carried herself with such grace and serenity and yet he could feel how exhausted she was behind her mask of marble perfect. Not wishing to be rude Link bowed low, albeit without much grace, and gave a hushed "Princess" in return before meeting her eyes once more. Even Epona tried her own little head nod of respect.

Then everything was still.

Despite their differences, despite barely knowing each other, they'd seemed to share a moment. He didn't know what it meant but he wanted to hold this moment, this connection for as long as possible. To draw from its strength as she had once drawn from his.

The goatherder and the princess.

A moment of calm…

And…

Suddenly the peaceful silence was rent by the wheeze of an approaching gasbag!

"How dare you address her royal highness in such an informal and disrespectful manner!" Bursting through the ranks of soldiers behind Zelda came a man whose goal in life was clearly to achieve perfect symmetry between height and width, and by his current appearance he was well on his way to succeeding. The human jelly ball waddled towards Link bellowing with a voice like a rusty iron gate and brandished an accusing finger at him "Peasant, didn't your parents teach you the proper way to address your betters!"

Pompous and grating, the man's words embedded in Links ears like grains of sand, scratching at his nerves, even as the man sought to look down his nose at Link, a tricky proposition given they were both the same height. As if his self-important manner and plum accent hadn't given away his "noble" credentials, he flushed out his already expansive stomach, in an effort to highlight the trio of medals that adorned his highly ornate, and practically bursting, tunic. Epona snorted in contempt.

Link should have been incensed, not only at such bull-headed belligerency and arrogance but particularly considering his heritage, and yet he was left merely simmering with mild outrage. It must have been Zelda's calming influence, because he had no idea how he hadn't hit this idiot let alone hold his tongue. Despite his remarkable restraint he did not wish to tempt fate so, before he saw red, he switched back to the infinitely more pleasant sight of Zelda, in the hope of gaining strength from her regal composure.

Zelda's small smile had vanished replaced by a thin dignified line as she tried not to scowl at the obnoxious nobleman. "and that Lord Halshaw…" Zelda's voice, terse yet steady, was laced with warning as she admonished him "Is no way to address the Hero of Hyrule!"

Links stomach dropped as all eyes suddenly fell on him and he heard most of the villagers, particularly the children gasped in shock. His secret was out… well almost. The princess hadn't revealed to much yet. He may be able to brush it off.

The crowd's attention was quickly diverted as Lord Halshaw let out a creaky rattly laugh, like an old cart announcing the imminent divorce from its wheels. "Your royal highness, surely you gest?!" he wheezed seemingly oblivious to said royal highness's growing displeasure. "I assure you, Lord Halshaw I am in no mood for gests" came Zelda's clipped response, the veil covering her annoyance fading as her eyes narrowed.

Lord Halshaw should have taken that as his cue to stop but he endeavoured to dig an even deeper grave for his reputation and his career. White moustache twitching and double chin flapping, he spluttered incredulously "this… this boy, this leafy twig is a hero!" Link barely restrained himself from a comment about a drunk walrus as the Lord continued "I've seen more impressive specimens at the end of one of my hunting arrows, what did he have to fight? a particularly vicious hedgerow!"

Link might have responded, had he not witnessed the storm building within the Princess. Her shoulders tensed, her hands and jaw were clenched and her farrowed brow cast a shadow over the daggers in her eyes, firmly fixed on the Lord. Her voice remained steady and controlled, however her dark tone was enough to make even Link shiver "Lord Halshaw…" She addressed coldly and with acidic bite "this "leafy twig" has achieved more for Hyrule in a matter of months than your entire noble bloodline has since it was conceived. He has made great sacrifices and endured far more than most men ever face. He has travelled the length and breadth of this land and battled many powerful beings of great evil intent. He is the reason Twilight does not cover this land and he is deserving of your absolute and upmost respect…"

Throughout Zelda's speech, Link was graced with a feeling he hadn't experienced since the end of his adventure. Pride! He greedily gorged on the sensation like a starving beggar presented with a banquet. Quickly however his feast turned sour as he suddenly became aware of many eyes watching, focused squarely on him. Then reality came crashing in as he met with the gawking stares of amazement and shock, from almost every witness, villager or soldier. His secret was out.

The princess had just opened her mouth to continue admonishing the Lord, whose bluster had been thoroughly squashed, when she caught Link's abrupt mood swing from proud to downcast and paused to collect herself. The storm cloud broke and a rainbow briefly appeared as her eyes softened and she gave Link an apologetic look. Did she know what she'd done? Taking a breath to regain some composure, seemingly shaken back to the realisation that their dispute was on public display, she turned her attention back to a fuming Lord Halshaw.

"Lord Halshaw, you may be of noble blood but that does not negate your responsibility to treat ALL Hyrule's Citizens with respect and courtesy. By publicly insulting Link, an upstanding member of his community, you have insulted the entire community. I expect this to be rectified. As such, you will start by apologising to Link and then will spend the remaining time till noon tomorrow preparing a public statement where by you will demonstrate the respect and support that this community deserves." The affronted Lord opened his mouth to protest but the princess would not allow it. "Does her royal highness make herself absolutely clear?" Crisp, dignified and stern as if scolding a disobedient child, Zelda's words went unchallenged by the noble.

With almost physical pain from the humiliation, he mumbled a feeble and insincere apology before holding out his hand for Link to shake. Link would have normally been inclined to decline such an unfelt apology, but he sensed the princess might see that as somewhat petty, so he settled for making the pompous oaf wince by "accidentally" crushing his hand.

Zelda's lips twitched for a moment but she did not comment.

After rather longer than necessary Link finally released his vice like grip and nodded with smile as insincere as his boorish nemesis' apology, only then noticing his hat, lying on the floor. He could only imagine it must have vacated his crown when he bowed to the princess. He left it there not wishing to interrupt her.

Zelda seemingly satisfied, turned to face Lord Halshaw, her mask of prim and proper princessly perfection firmly re-established. "Lord Halshaw, please see to it that your men set up camp just outside the village. We do not wish to create undue disruption" She commanded, before adding with slight amusement "oh and don't forget to plan that speech tomorrow, I await it with great expectations."

Having received his orders, the now thoroughly tarred and feathered man trudged off towards the soldiers, muttering under his breath. While his words were likely beyond Zelda's ears, they weren't beyond Links. He bristled as more bile leaked from the vile man's lips, concerning a certain "son of a whore", but to his own surprise, he was most enraged by the insults made about Zelda.

An instinct, more wolf than man, stirred in Link. A need to protect the princess, at any cost! His hands balled into fists and a feral growl was building deep in his belly, threatening to escape at any moment. Lord Halshaw had already started bellowing orders to the soldiers to move out when the feeling hijacked Link's rational brain. He was about to storm after the blaggard when yet again Zelda's soothing tones rescued him from his own demons.

"Link, I wish to offer a personal apology, both for springing this meeting on you and for the atrocious behaviour of Lord Halshaw. His manners were most disgraceful and his actions were abhorrent especially against one as honourable as you, Chosen Hero." Link was unsure how to respond to such kind words, partly as he had no knowledge in matters of etiquette regarding royalty but more importantly with the realisation that these would be his first words to her, barring his greeting, since the end of his adventure. He was taken off guard all the more when Zelda gracefully knelt down in front of him and retrieved his hat. "The Hero should not be without his hat" she stated, again with her small dignified smile.

Link was thunderstruck. Surely there was some sort of law against the princess kneeling in front of anyone for any reason, even picking up a hat. It was positively scandalous, particularly in front of an audience and they certainly had one. Never the less he knew he couldn't bring that up and he couldn't stay silent either. After some deliberation he settled on the grossly insubstantial response of "Thank you, your highness", assuming that was the correct term of address and bowed once again. There was another pause

"Would you care to accompany me, Link, as I get acquainted with your friends and fellow citizens?" Zelda asked with a hint of hope… and uncertainty.

Link was surprised and slightly taken aback at such a forward request from a member of royalty, and a beautiful lady at that. "beautiful lady" Link thought. Where did that come from? It was undeniable that she was beautiful but why did his mind need to flag it up as relevant to his current predicament. He stewed. On the one hand he got to spend his time in the company of the princess, who seemed to have an unexplainable power over his very being, while on the other had the potential danger of being completely consumed by possibly nightmare inducing questions from a villager's inquisition.

Ultimately fear won out and he was left facing the tough task of apologising to the princess having only just met her again. "Errr… I'm sorry your highness, but Epona and I have just finished a hard day on the ranch and if I don't get her home and delivery on the promise of apples and a brush then she's gonna get very grumpy" He mumbled rather awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck briefly before realising and quickly dropping his arm. As he finished his frankly lame excuse, Epona gave an indignant sounding neigh and nuzzled his face as if to say "How dare you use me as your treachery!"

However lame the excuse was, Zelda seemed to accept it, although Link could have sworn he saw a faint hint of disappointment in her expression. It lasted but for a moment and then she was graciously bidding him good evening. "I understand, every noble stead deserves a reward for their service" she remarked fondly, moving in and patting the mare on the neck before stepping back. "Goodnight, Link and Epona, until we meet again." She bowed again and so did he, making sure he didn't lose his hat this time. "Goodnight, Your Highness."

With that Zelda turned to face the crowd and elegantly glided off towards them, Mayor Bo stepping up to greet her. It was dusk now but the moon had already risen, as if to help Link on his way home. Not that he needed it as he had the best night eyesight of anyone. Link took Epona's reins once more and lead her down the path towards his house and away from the villagers thronging round Zelda. The crowd was buzzing with excitement and murmurs however not all of them, he noted, were exclusively about the princess, particularly from the children.

"Link and the Princess, Isn't it romantic?" he heard Beth say dreamily

"No it's not. It's gross" Talo objected

"How can you say that, It's the hero and the princess just like a fairy-tale"

"Fairytales, ha, I'm so much older than you! You know they're not real."

"Says the boy who thinks wolves can't look up"

"Well they can't!"

"I just want to know what Link did." Colin chimed in but was ignored as Beth and Talo were about to engage in a battle to the first cry only to be broken up by Uli.

Link shook his head at their antics and turned back to briefly glance at the crowd with a melancholy smile. He still cared for them all deeply. He just found himself unable to express it. Something was missing, and yet he suddenly felt close to finding it again… with Zelda around.

A pondered what this could mean. It certainly had nothing to do with Beth's fanciful daydreams of fairy-tale romance. They barely knew each other!

Maybe it was the tri-force, bonding them together somehow, or maybe it was some remnant of his wolf side, some bond formed from basic instinct. Whatever it was he couldn't yet say. His gaze fell on Zelda and she happened to look his way. She smiled and nodded before being escorted into Mayor Bo's

Link had the strangest feeling he'd be seeing her again, far sooner than he'd thought.

A.N: and there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it and the change of setting and tone isn't too jarring. I look forward to feedback and thanks again for reading.