A/N-Hey guys! Here is chapter two! First off I would like to thank you all so much for reading! This story pretty much takes place right where the last one let off at (just so you know. I do explain that in a bit more detail later) Let me apologize in advance for the not so great quality of the chapter. It was not coming out exactly how I wanted and I have always had issues with setting the stage. So sorry in advance if you end up screaming "get to the point already!" there were a few things I had to get out into the open before I could dive into the actual plot, there was absolutely no way I could leave them out. The last thing I would ever want would be to write one of those books that you have to get halfway through it before it even start to niggle at ones interest and start moving into excitement. I pray that I made it flow easy enough and stay interesting enough, I really did try. The good news is that after this chapter things will start moving and stay moving and Link will be back to his usual amazing Linky self.

Yami no Nokutan- yeah not a very nice return for Link, poor guy.I can't help myself, I mean who wants to get only a prologue for an update (not cool). Yes once a week is the basic plan of attack for now XP thank you for your lovely compliments they made my day. Sounds like my sister and I, except, I am probably the blue one and she is the green (my brother is definitely the red one XD.

AnimeMaster24- yes I see your point and I do agree that bulblins are sentient beings but personally I always seemed to interpret them as being very like the goblins and uruks from Lord of the Rings when it came to personalities, culture etc. King Bulblin was a special case, in that he was the first to actually speak and hold to a certain code of honor. I do not doubt that there could be more like him, but for the most part they did not strike me as the nicest of creatures. As for many of the points you made, has someone been peeking at my notebook? XD (I shall get to that this chapter and the next)

ArianandXaia- Thanks! spoileeeers…. *evil grin* I pray your computer problems abate soon, those are absolutely no fun whatsoever. One of my other tales that I was working on got deleted, not once, but twice because of a hard-drive error. I completely understand about the obsession business (I have quite a few myself)

Generala- Thank you! You have hit the nail quite on the head, as the expression goes, when it comes to the heroes' thoughts and emotions. Poor Zelda, she gets her struggling kingdom back only to run into more issues, and she about to have an even bigger one.

MiniJen- sorry about the wait O.O :'( Thank you so much for your compliments, I hope I do not disappoint. Yes I had to have some foreshadowing. ;)

Gojira Geek- The manga is actually pretty good (I liked it) It's funny, all the Links from four swords including Shadow are my five most favorite colors X)

Scarlet Curls- maybe you did maybe you didn't he he }:P you shall just have to wait and see. Yeah! Now that you mention it I do see the similarities. (Gosh I love that show) It makes since though since they are both going through about the same thing. Yes, getting myself a little bit ahead has been a habit of mine, that way I can be sure I don't do anything annoying like going on hiatus right after a cliff hanger. I like my life and don't want to lose it to angry readers XD ( though I'm pretty safe from that fate at the moment since I got ahold of that nifty golden battle axe of yours :P)

Storm Dragon Wolf Princess- heh I suppose not, if you have not played. :) That's good to hear, thank you for the compliment. Ilia gets downplayed a lot so I decided to give her some much needed love. The girl does have guts, and a very strong character. An enemy without brains is a dead enemy, I think. I did foreshadow quite a bit in that prologue and first chapter so you shall just have to wait and see.

A Goat Herder

Link sat on the crude wooden chair beside the small table in his house. His eyes flicked across the sparse furnishings and simple unadorned lines of the overall designs that made up his living quarters, before alighting at last upon the fire in the hearth. He had not been home since the incident with the Empress, and now the seasons were shifting to autumn. His gaze brushed towards the window, made opaque by the dark of night, and he smiled contentedly. It was indeed a nice feeling to come home after such a long and troubling time away.

As soon as the fires in the village had been put out, and things had become less chaotic, Link had gotten closer to the reunion that he had been looking forward to. The villagers, rejoicing over the supplies he brought, the fact that they were all still alive, and that most of their meager crops had been saved, decided to make a small feast. It was almost like a celebration for all this, his return, and the return of Rusl—who had been with him all that spring and summer and had only arrived in Ordon a few days ago himself. Link had missed everyone in, and nearly everything about, his small village. It had all been heartwarming to say the least.

His smile slowly faded. Most of the people, the mayor specifically, had made it quite clear that they were looking forward to him taking up the mantle of his pastoral life again, now that the Twilight war was over, as well as the mess he'd been in with the Empress. However, for some strange reason, he did not find himself quite pleased with that hardly subtle command—and he was not quite sure why. Coming back to his old life was what he'd wanted... wasn't it? He frowned slightly as he thought about all he'd done already for the kingdom, the princess, the Resistance, the Hyrule knights, and realized that it really wasn't what he wanted anymore.

The first time he had been caught in an adventure he had almost longed for the day it would be over and things would be back to normal. However, after this was achieved, he found that part of him had changed and would not fit back into normal—despite his best efforts. He wanted… he did not know exactly what he wanted, except that he wanted to be more, to do more. One thing was for certain, he did not want to sit around in one spot for the rest of his life, not when there was so much out there.

There was nothing he could do about it now though—at least, not for the next week or so. This was because one of his closest friends growing up, Fado, had injured his ankle during the attack and Link had been somewhat sympathetically guilted and pushed into declaring that he would take the brunt of his herding job until his injury healed. Needless to say, he was not especially looking forward to it.

Perhaps it was because the huge Bulblin had once again escaped and was probably planning another raid... then again, perhaps not. He was not quite sure of anything at the moment and the feeling of indecisiveness was frustratingly wearing on him. The other thing that was niggling at his mind, was his meeting with Ilia. She had seemed as happy to see him as anyone else, but there was certain almost hostility his sensed behind her smiles.

His musings were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Curious, he rose from his seat and went to open it. His fluctuating smile came back when he saw that it was Colin, the boy he thought of like a brother. The youth rushed forward to tackle him in a warm embrace.

"I am so glad you are back." His voice carried slightly muffled through the study fabric of Link's tunic.

"I think you have only told me that about four times today, and I'm not sure how much more my ribs can take of your bear-grips." Link said with a chuckle, returning the hug.

"Well, I missed you, a lot."

"Five times."

"Link," Colin shot him a slightly baleful look, his cheeks still flushed fractionally with pleasure.

"So, what really brings you here at this late hour?"

"I wanted to show you a new sword technique set I learned while you were gone. I was going to save it for tomorrow when it was light out again, but I couldn't wait—"

"Let me guess, it was because you missed me so much, and was so glad I was back," Link interrupted with a grin.

"True enough," Colin shot back, with the same teasing smile.

"Well, let's see your new moves."

Colin beamed and brought out his training sword while Link cleared his meager furnishings to the back wall so he would have space.

Taking a deep breath, Colin took a ready stance and began the steps and accompanying strokes to an intermediate set that he completed near flawlessly. Link cheered him for it and, emboldened, Colin's face set in determined lines and he launched into an advanced set. Link was rather impressed. The last time he had seen Colin, the boy was still learning the basic forms. Obviously, his brother had grown much in his absence.

Colin's movements were more hesitant with this harder form and his teeth were gritted with the effort of keeping up with the fast pace the moves took. Link watched his feet carefully and then the inevitable happened. He missed a step and his swing flew wide, throwing him off balance. He staggered forwards in an effort to regain it before he fell and only just managed it.

He looked up at Link. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, the small downward puckering tilt of his lips evidenced his displeasure in himself and disappointment in his failure. Link said nothing, merely stepped to his side corrected his grip on the blade. He moved his arm in the correct swinging arc and demonstrated the step he had missed at his side before stepping back.

Colin nodded once and tried again. His movements were still hesitant, but this time they were successful. The look of tentative pride in his achievement that etched its way across his face, made Link's own mouth spread in a grin.

"Thanks, Link," Colin said softly.

That one look and phrase started to settle Link's confused musings of a few minutes ago. These people were his family and this was his old life. He knew he should at least try to settle back into it for them—if only to help during this chaotic time and with the harvest.

~x~X~x~

The noontime sun came out from behind the grayish clouds to filter through the forest trees in small shifting patches of golden light. The sudden burst of light illuminated the trail Link was following, making the lines much more crisp and easy to see.

For nearly two days he had tried to dutifully settle back into the life of a herdsman. But, as much as he wanted to help the village prepare for winter, he found herding to be extremely dull work—or perhaps it was simply that he was feeling restless and uneasy.

He suddenly lost the trail he was following as it entered the dried rocky bottom of a ravine bed. He pulled his wayward thoughts in to focus on the task at hand. Herding goats was a useful skill and in his opinion it was as worthy an as honorable a charge as being a knight, but so was tracking the massive Bulblin that had attacked Ordon. He knew that the monstrous creature would not just give up after its defeat. It would go right back into its thieving murdering ways as soon as it got the chance, and he was determined to stop it. Perhaps it was this knowledge that had made him so antsy during the past couple of days, making the work seem to last three times as long.

The villagers had reported the attack to the soldiers of course, and everyone seemed content to leave it at that. Link however, had been unable to shake the inkling that the soldiers wouldn't be able to catch the bulblin as readily as he might. And, having thought that, he'd been unable to let the idea that he should do something about it go.

He peered closely at the rocks for any trace to the monster's whereabouts. As he looked, he discovered a medium sized stone that had been moved out of position. He had found the creature's trail once more. It was headed directly towards Faron field. Smiling to himself, he scrambled after it. This was taking much longer than he had suspected it would; and he knew that, by now, the village had probably realized that he was gone. They would know that he had dodged his work, left despite their cajoling words to "just let the soldiers handle it—it's their job and they'll have it well in hand".

Just let the soldiers handle it... Sighing, he looked down at his arm where a piece of cloth was securely tied just above his gauntlet. It was dusky purple silk kerchief with Hyrule's crest embroidered on it in a lighter purple. It was princess Zelda's colors. Zelda… the thought of the beautiful princess sent his mind flying into more confusion.

Zelda had given him her colors to carry as if he were her personal knight, even though she had never formally given him such a title. She, in return, wore his colors, a strip of green cloth with his Ordonian symbol embroidered on its surface: a sycamore leaf. Every family in Ordon had a different emblem that represented a certain type of tree that they adopted as their family's crest. This tradition had started long ago when Ordon was made of several different clans and the different insignias had denoted each clan.

Wearing each other's colors was more like a symbol of friendship than anything else, but when he received Zelda's, he had sworn to protect both her and the kingdom with everything he had. He had sworn to defend Hyrule and yet he was not a knight or a soldier. He honestly had no idea what he was. He was a peasant farmer, a woodsman, and a warrior, maybe even a hero... but he had not yet decided which of those paths he would choose to follow as his livelihood… or rather what he could choose follow as his livelihood. The only thing he knew for certain was that knew he would never be able to continue living life as a farmer or a herdsman. Despite the fact he had not been knighted for his deeds, if he wanted, he was certain he could probably be granted a spot in the army—even if Zelda never considered him fit to be a knight.

It had to be admitted that the whole situation was rather odd, he thought as he continued on his way. He had seen nobles knighted for much less than saving a kingdom nearly single handed. He had risked and given so much of himself for his kingdom; and it seemed, for lack of a better word, unfair? Perhaps it was because he had been born a peasant; a peasant from a mere tiny outlying province. He had thought that that did not matter to the princess, but perhaps it did. He shook his head at his ponderings.

He was not blinded by false pride or insecurity when it came to himself. He knew his strengths weakness and limits. He knew his character, both the good and the points that were less savory. In short, he knew exactly who and what he was. He didn't need to have the title of knight to be the person that he—

He suddenly sensed a presence behind him. At about the same time, he heard two pairs of approaching footfalls. He didn't bother to reach for his sword however, for the gaits of the two people were familiar to him. Sure enough, he turned just as one of the two shouted his name. Ilia and Colin were heading towards him at a jog. Surprised, he stopped and waited for them to catch up.

"How'd you manage to find me?" he asked with a smile and a wave as soon as they were close enough for comfortable speech; he hadn't actually been on any specific path after all, so their just happening upon him wasn't all that likely. It was Ilia who answered.

"When I saw you weren't with the goats this morning, I guessed that you'd be trying to go after that giant bulblin—so I found Colin and asked him to track you for me."

Link's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise as he regarded Colin, "A lot has happened since I've been away hasn't it."

Colin flushed a little at the hidden compliment in the words and nodded. Ilia, however, stiffened a little at the mention of his being away.

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one." She said shortly.

Link noticed the tone as readily as he noticed her change in posture and that slight spark of hostility he'd noticed in her eyes the day he'd first come back to Ordon. He didn't comment on that directly however—he had no desire to poke at a potential hornets' nest.

"So," he asked grinning, "you decided to follow me? I'm flattered."

Ilia rolled her eyes at that and Colin tried and failed to muffle a laugh.

"You know as well as I that that's not the reason why." Ilia said.

Link did indeed know; in fact, he suspected he had a pretty good idea as to the real reason—judging by his friend's posture and expression. Promise me you won't do anything out of your league…Just let the soldiers handle it. It came as a surprise then when she gave her reason.

"We decided to come and help you track and find the bulblin."

"Really?" he asked.

Both Colin and Ilia nodded.

"We figured three might do better than one," Colin put in.

"Well then, I'd be glad of the help," he said, his dark blue eyes searching Ilia's green ones.

A few hours later found the disappointed trio wandering about Faron field. There had been a light rainstorm in the early hours of the morning and the lack of trees in the field has caused massive bublin's trail to be whipped out. Link had spent the better part of the afternoon searching in vain for the tracks. Ilia and Colin had not had any better luck.

"I suppose we should head back," Ilia said as they regrouped, "we're wasting our time. We will never going to find the tracks at this rate." She looked hot and tired and Colin was looking little better.

Link sighed. He knew they were right, but wasn't about to admit defeat so easily.

"I think we should head towards Kakariko Village. If he traveled in a straight line from the point where we lost the trail, he would have headed straight for the canyon lands."

"That is if he headed that way and that is a big if," Ilia protested grumpily, the hint of ire that she had been concealing burst forth again. "He could have easily changed direction; he might have even doubled back for all we know."What makes you so sure he went northwest?" she demanded, highly annoyed.

"I'm not absolutely sure, it's just that I have a… well, I think he went north because I—" he started to speak but she cut him short with a silencing gesture.

"Don't tell me it's because you have a feeling that it's that way, Sensing and feelings do not really get you anywhere. We need concrete proof before I walk all the way to Kakariko. I am too tired to be walking miles for one of your silly hunches," she snapped angrily. "I think we should head back home and I, for one, am going."

He stared at her as she turned her back to leave, annoyed by her words. She expected him to follow her, but he was not going to humor her like he usually did.

"Go home if you like, but I'm going to Kakariko," he said quietly before he added, with a wolfish smile, "to follow my feelings."

He turned to start heading north. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied an uncertain Colin who had been caught in the unfortunate spot of being in the middle. He could not make up his mind who to follow. Link felt slightly bad for helping to place him in such a position, but there wasn't much he could do about it. When Ilia saw that he was not going to follow her, she whirled around furiously to give him a piece of her mind.

"You're just going to go off alone without giving it a second thought? I doubt you are even going to find the Bulblin and have you forgotten that we all ran off without permission? If we are not back soon someone is going to come searching for us. Also, winter is coming and the village needs your help. You can't go traipsing off."

"Why the sudden change of mind now?" he shot back. "If there are people in trouble and it is in my power to help them, then I will not stand idly by and do nothing."

"A reminder of my duties is what changed my mind. I am well aware of the damage a bulblin can do but, unlike you, I know that the needs of our village and families come first," she retorted. "I thought you of all people would agree. Unless helping your family isn't worthwhile or fun enough for you. Not enough of an adventure for the warrior."

Link and Colin gawked at her before she continued.

"Have you forgotten that last time you went off on an adventure you were almost killed? Only a few months ago you got yourself caught in a mess, a near fatal mess. You were banished from the kingdom for Din's sake and were constantly being hunted for ransom. Last time you went off on your own, I thought I would never see you again! It was one of the worst times, and now you are about to do it again." The anger that had been simmering under her facade of normality finally burst forth. "You are always taking it upon yourself to save Hyrule and look at what has happened to you for it. Why can't you just be satisfied with the life we used to have? Why can't things be like the way they were? Why can't you? Everyone talks of bravery but it's not, its selfish and—" she let out a soft growl, the fast tumble of her words ceasing as her mind strove to frame her thoughts.

"Selfish?" Link asked awestruck, any trace of a smile gone from his face.

"I know the kingdom needed you, but so did we… so did I. How could you just leave like that? While we were left not knowing if you were even alive while our lives crumbled around us." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she spoke. "I know you did not ask for what happened. I know none of it was your fault and that you did what you had to—and all you could to make it right. But things have been so ugly since the Twilight war. I understand why you did what you did, and in a way I am grateful," she fixed her green eyes on him and then spoke on in a much smaller voice than that of what she had previously been using. "But I'm afraid… afraid that it could happen again. I am afraid I could lose you again and that this time it might be permanent."

"Oh, so you're worried about me?" Link said, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "That's what all the scolding and insults were about?"

She blushed as if to answer in the affirmative. He might have known. She had done that before when he had been chosen as the village messenger to deliver the gift of a sword to the princess, almost two years ago. She was behaving like an overly motherly big sister again. Even though they were the same age, she had almost always acted that way towards him. Sometimes it was more than annoying but other times it was almost comforting and, although he was reluctant to admit it, sometimes even helpful.

"What brought this on?" he asked her.

She sighed, "I suppose I've been thinking about it a lot lately—about everything that's happened since the Twilight War, and the mess that was this year.

"As I recall, we had a lot of fun this year when we helped to free that beggar boy," he interjected.

Ilia chuckled at the memory, "I suppose your right, but we also had a lot of strife… I was hoping that if I helped you find the bulblin, you might feel better about coming back to Ordon—about living like we used to… but they'll always be another monster won't there? There'll always be something else."

Link didn't answer her. He didn't have to; they both knew the answer. He had changed since the Twilight War, she realized—and, if she was honest with herself, it hadn't really been a negative change. Link placed a hand on her shoulder and she gripped it. She had changed a lot too, she realized. Things would never be the same—but that didn't have to mean that it had to be worse than before. She sighed slightly as she understood that the way a person viewed change always came back to perspective—and learning to live with the differences.

"If you really think we should head towards Kakariko, I suppose we could scout it out, as long as we get back before tomorrow morning," she said by way of apology, knowing he'd understand. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she teased then.

"Why do you have to be so bossy," he teased back.

"Why do all three of us have to be so unobservant?" Colin moaned; he'd been looking towards the south, away from the two of them as they argued. "My dad has found us."

Link and Ilia whirled around to look where Colin was facing. Sure enough, Rusl's familiar sturdy figure was picking his way towards them in his usual confident gliding stride.

The three shirkers stood stalk still, and waited for the lecture to descend.

"Look what you have gotten us into," Ilia hissed at Link.

Link gave her an unserious withering glare before his mentor stopped directly in front of them. Colin hung his head.

"So it appears that I have caught up with the work dodgers. Link and Ilia, in a couple years you two will be considered adults and Colin, you are my son, I expected more from all of you."

"Dad," Colin tried, "we were just-"

"I am perfectly aware of what you were doing," Rusl all but snapped. "You three dodge your work, run off without a word to track a monster that is probably long gone and worst of all… You did not even ask if I wanted to come along," he said his voice changing from menacing authority figure to co-conspirator. "How could you three have the audacity to go without me?" he asked, his face a picture of injured dignity.

Link grinned, "We didn't know you'd be interested."

"Of course I would be; have you figured out where the beast has gone?" Rusl asked.

"I think he is headed for the canyon land—"Link stopped abruptly as Rusl's eyes widened at something.

"What is it?" he asked, whirling to look behind him. His own eyes widened.

A high plume of smoke was billowing out from the canyon lands. from the place where Kakariko village was situated.

"That village is in danger. We need to do something," Rusl cried.

Link brought out his horse call, a small whistle-like flute that Ilia had made for him, and played the melody that called for his steed. About a minute later, she galloped into the clearing. Link mounted and Rusl climbed up behind him.

"You two do what you can. Colin and I will run back to Ordon for more help," Ilia called as she grabbed Colin by the hand and raced off, back towards the south.

So how was it? I hope I didn't make them too out of character... I was just thinking, putting myself in Link's boots, if I had just come back from epic quests would I really want to become a goat herder again? What would I want to do with my life, when it had changed dramatically from what it once was? What would I do with myself when I know what is like out there, outside the small and sheltered Village of Ordon, and all the adventure that came with it? Not being able to change into a wolf when the urge hits me? IDK, I hope I did alright...

Chapter Question:

(Since I am on this topic): What do you think the Links (mostly TP Link, SS Link, OoT Link, WW Link, ST Link, FS Links, ALttP Link) would do after their life changing quests were over?