Disclaimer – don't ask, don't own. The only thing I own is any original content I may add which isn't much

A/N Ok I know it's been a while but here's chapter 2. This has morphed from my original version and has gone through 2 different rewrites of the full story line. Since I've personally never seen it done I'll be bumping this up to Late Middle Ages tech levels. Primitive Muskets (hand canons mounted to a crossbow body) have just been adopted by some armies that can afford them, the rest use crossbows. I've gone that way because it's only a logical next step from TP or WW since both had cannons in them. Since black powder weapons already exist in Zelda this won't be much of a stretch. Seriously, Spirit Tracks had TRAINS! That's Industrial tech, almost a century after the Colonial Americas and several centuries after this tech. Also I admit the Three Musketeers, Tales of the Gun-Early Guns, History Channels The Revolution series, BBC's Weapons That Made Britain (if your interested in middle ages stuff find this 5 part series and watch), the Assassin's Creed novels Renaissance and Brotherhood, and the PBS special on The Medici were the inspirations for moving up the tech level. Also I'll be writing Link as right handed though I know he's always been a leftie. I have experience with Rapier and other European sword styles and am right handed myself so I'll have to go with what I know. Also like Prince of the West Colin and Beth are 13 and 14 respectively.

Exile

Chapter 2

Among Friends

Ordon Village

1272nd year of the 5th Era

(5E, 1272)

Link paced in the clearing outside of his home. Unlike the night before with the rain, the sun was out this morning. Its warm light drying the puddles that remained from the storm. Next to the ladder leading up to his front door sat Rusl, his wife Uli had already gone inside to tend to Zelda. A few of the children of Ordon, Colin, Talo, Malo, and Beth had gathered in the clearing as well as Links other childhood friend Illa. None of them had been told who it was that Link had found; only that he had found a girl he had known collapsed in Ordon Spring the night before.

Neither he nor Rusl had left since the previous evening, thankfully the rain had stopped just after he had brought Zelda in. Indeed both had slept sitting on firewood logs at the base of the ladder while Uli tended to the wayward princess. As Rusl sat at the base of the ladder Link continued to pace a line into the ground. Rusl was certain a few more moments and Link would begin to leave a worn track in the grass.

"Link I know you're worried but sit down before you exhaust yourself. She'll be fine"

Link stopped and looked over to where Rusl sat against the base of the ladder.

"I can't help but worry"

He was about to start his pacing again when he heard Illa speak up from where she stood next to Colin and Links horse Epona.

"Do you know her?"

Like Zelda, Link had known Illa since they were young. Unlike Zelda however, Link and Illa had grown up together as a sort of brother and sister. She had blond hair and green eyes and, were it not for the fact that she was Human and he Hyilian, could have indeed passed for his sibling. She was the mayor's daughter and Link had long been Rusl's ward. Ever since the day Rusl had found him in the forest as a baby and brought him home. Link turned to her and nodded.

"I've know her for quite a few years and we've long been friends"

As a member of the Royal Guard at Hyrule Castle, Rusl reported for his two weeks duty at the castle every three months. When he was eight years old Link accompanied him on one of his reports. During his roaming though Castle Town on his third day he encountered a girl his own age sitting next to the fountain in the town center.

After spending some time talking the pair moved off to the south gate and spent the day playing in the field at the base of the stairs which lead up to the gate. Link spent some time showing the girl his sword skills that Rusl had taught him, demonstrating on a tree with a fallen stick. That evening as the sun was setting she revealed her identity as Hyrule's Princess.

Having quickly become close over the next few trips both Link and Zelda continued to meet whenever Rusl came to Castle Town. It wasn't until his 5th report that Rusl discovered this, but said nothing. Link accompanied Rusl on his every report from then on. On the report following his twelfth birthday he received a great gift from Zelda, a simple strait bladed sword colored like hammered steel. It was about 3 feet long with a board blade and patterned like an infantry sword. It was still a bit long for him to use but the dagger that came with it was just long enough to serve the twelve year old as a short sword. Zelda had apologized for its rough appearance as she hadn't saved enough money from her allotted spending coin to get anything more ornate but Link was enthralled by the sword and dagger.

Rusl retired from the Royal Guard when Link was 15 and for the next four years he and Zelda did not see one another…not until now. Like most young men on his day and age Link carried his sword and dagger with him, sword on the left hip and dagger either on the right hip on in his boot. He would have had them with him even now but they were inside. All he had with him at the time were the cloths he wore which consisted of a pair of brown boots, black trousers, and a tan button shirt. After some time Rusl stood and stretched.

"Well there's no more we can do here, she's in good hands. Lets head down to the tavern and have some breakfast"

Link looked to Rusl and shook his head.

"I need to be here"

Rusl brushed the dirt from his trousers and straitened his own sword, which of his own make and had a single edged blade with a slight curve to it. He wore a simple pair of black boots, brown trousers, a tan shirt and brown vest. He then moved over next to Link.

"I'm sure Colin wouldn't mind waiting, come on I'll pay. I know you left your coin pouch inside"

Link glanced back to where Colin stood next to the small enclosure for his horse Epona. The boy smiled and then nodded. On his hip sat a simple wooden sword whose blade was little more than a glorified wooden dowel. Link remembered them well; Rusl had used a similar one to train him. Knowing Colin would bring any word from Uli Link nodded and followed Rusl away and back toward Ordon Village, the other children and Illa following not long after. Once everyone was gone Colin moved into the open and pulled his training blade and approached the hay and wooden dummy in the corner of the yard. The 13 year old decided he may as well practice to pass the time.

She groaned as she returned to the waking world, a splitting headache waiting to greet her. Slowly she forced her eyes to open. The bed she lay in was just big enough for two even though she lay in the center of it. The pillow behind her head was soft but nothing fancy. The sheet beneath her was smooth but again nothing fancy, probably soft cotton. The blanket draped over her was heavy wool and would keep one warm even on the coldest nights.

As her eyes adjusted to the light pouring in through the window near the bed more of the room came into focus. The bed on which she lay appeared to sit on a small platform above the main floor of the room and was ringed by a railing except for the far end neat the wall which had a ladder leading down. From where she lay the room seemed quite high and wide, like the fullness of a house with no proper walls or floors. In the center of the ceiling, which was only about 6 feet above her, was a circular opening with a set of small steps leading to it from another platform across the room. This she assumed led to an attic of some sort.

Pushing away the pounding in her head she forced her tired muscles and sat up fully. She quickly realized her mistake and pulled the blanket back over her. Where were he clothes? Where was she for that matter? She remembered the man with the fuzzy hair and the lantern he had given her. She remembered the spring and how cool its water had felt to her parched throat, then falling. The next thing she remembered was…

She closed her eyes and allowed herself a smile. Unless her memory was faulty, which she hoped it was not, it had been the very person she sought that had found her. She lay back down slowly, letting her aching body readjust to the bed beneath her. As her head meet the pillow a glint of metal caught her eye. Leaning against the wall next to the window sat a sheathed sword with a hilt colored like hammered steel.

The sight of the blade fully relaxed her. She had bought Link that very sword, now she knew for certain where she was. The fact that this was probably his bed didn't escape her. Actually it helped her relax further until a sound at the base of the ladder drew her attention. Up the ladder came a woman who appeared to be around her late 30s with blond hair and deep blue eyes. She wore a white tunic with a green sash running from shoulder to hip and green trousers. As she topped the ladder she noticed her charge was awake and moved over next to the bed. She sat the tray she was carrying down and then sat in chair next to the bed.

"We were wondering when you would wake up. You gave Link quite a scare when he found you."

Uli noticed her expression brighten slightly at the mention of his name.

"My name is Uli, my husband and I raised Link since he was an infant. I'm sure you remember Rusl. He was part of the Royal guard until a few years ago."

Zelda nodded slightly, she did indeed remember the man.

"Do you think you'll be able to bring a bit of tea. It will help you recover. I've always made it when one of my boys was sick."

Zelda nodded again and moved to sit up a bit. Uli carefully helped the wayward princess drink the herbal tea. Laying back down again Zelda managed to squeak out a 'thank you'. The Tea had indeed soothed some of the rawness in her throat.

"I'll leave this on the nightstand. If you want I can have my son go fetch Link. My husband took him down to the tavern for breakfast."

Zelda nodded and Uli climbed back down. After she had left Zelda sat up a bit and scooted back into a semi-seated position. She then reached over and took the cup of warm tea from the nightstand and sipped a bit. She thought the herbs used perhaps had some healing quality to them as her throat soother even more. Plus her energy seemed to be rapidly returning. Once Uli returned she would have to enquire about her clothes. It wouldn't do for her to meet her childhood friend again after 4 years and be unclothed would it?

Link sat back in his seat. The Onagor Tavern in Ordon was always almost empty this time of day. Currently only Link, Rusl and a few of the ranch hands occupied the space. The pair sat eating a light breakfast and discussing their plans for the week, or rather what they had been. Rusl broached the subject.

"So how's that business of yours holding?"

Link swallowed a bit of sausage and looked up from his plate.

"Were suppose to meet with the village elders at the Forest Temple in around a week's time. All I'm waiting on really is Shad and Ashei to arrive. Then we'll go over the details with the Elders."

Links business, which had no proper name, consisted of himself, Ashei who acted as the scout and tracker, and Shad who was the group researcher. The group of them were hired to enter private family tombs or, like in this case, long sealed temples and to investigate and clear out anything which could possible be within that wasn't suppose to be there. One wouldn't think they would do too well, but they were the only group offering that particular service. Link's first job of that type had come when he was 17, it had gone well enough and he had decided to continue after his initial success.

The first time he had worked with Ashei and Shad had been a year ago when the pair had cleared out the Servine Family Tomb. The Servine family, who lived in the town of Siran, which was located about 40 miles south west of Kakariko, had contacted the three separately. Shad had been doing research into the family's tomb. Ashei had been brought in after a recommendation from the local priest for her scouting ability. Then link had been brought in to assist Ashei in clearing the tomb once Shad had opened it. The creatures that had come to inhabit the tomb were mostly bats but the pair of Stalfos had required Link's expertise. Things had gone so well the trio had decided to stick together. Barely three weeks had passed since the trio had cleared out the Zora Temple in Lake Hyilia.

They had earned almost 3000 for that clearing due to the sheer amount of critters that had infested the place. Then add to the fact that their "Context Insurance" fee had been negotiated specially. Normally they would charge 200 for the fee and then remove anything that was of value to the owner of the complex they were in, clear it as thoroughly as possible, and then replace those when they had finished. For the Zora Temple replacing the items would have been a monumental undertaking. So the Zora's allowed them to keep smaller items like any coin or such but artifacts and relics had to be returned to them. The Zora's had also provided the three with Water Tunics to allow them to breath underwater and the map of the Temple. Once the job was finished the map was returned along with any keys to locked doors they found. Each key had been labeled to the corresponding door on the map. The Tunics had to also be returned. However the Zora's did leave the offer to buy them open. Should the need for them arise again it would probably be worth wild.

All in all each of them had walked away with 1733 in both coin and random trinkets. Most jobs paid that as their total sum. Being as he had a permanent home, something Ashei didn't have and as Shad was rarely at his, Link's house became the default gathering and storage spot. Both for their coin and gear they weren't using at the time. The basement, which had once been empty, was now lined wall to wall with gear, maps and other items the three could use. Their coin was kept in a chest in the far back corner of the room and the table at the center held their records and paperwork.

Link had also become sort of the default leader. As neither Ashei nor Shad, despite his learned background, had any business sense it fell to Link to keep the group's finances strait as well as their equipment needs in check. He would keep track of what items were needed for each job, the cost, and where to best acquire them from. Kakariko and Ordon were their usual supply points. Thinking about the business brought his thoughts back full circle to Zelda.

Ever since he had started out he had wondered what she would have thought of all of this. He was drug out of his thoughts as Colin burst through the door and ran over to them.

"Mom sent me; she's awake and wants to see you."

Colin needed to say no more. Link was already on his feet by the time he had finished and was out the door a moment later and running toward his house, his half eaten breakfast forgotten.

AN Yeah I'm going to end this one here and start the explanations in chapter 3. I needed this chapter to establish how things were after the short start in chapter 1. also things were added to chapter 1 so you may need to go back and scan over it, noting major just some updated language and a mention of link only occasionally helping at the ranch instead of actually working there.