Sunday
"Are we there yet?" Clare asked Linebeck.
"No." Linebeck answered.
"When will we be there?" She asked.
"Soon. We'll be there by lunch." He said to the ninja.
"Okay, I'm going to take a nap then, wake me when we get there." Clare said, jumping down from the cabin roof to the deck then into the cabin to have a nap.
A few hours later there was the sound of small feet running across the deck.
"Uncle Linebeck!" a small voice yelled. Clare looked up at the ceiling.
"Uncle?!" She said and walked towards the stairs.
"Kid?!" Linebeck shouted.
"Linebeck?!" Another, more familiar and older voice shouted. Clare stared at the roof.
"Okay, this is weird. I somewhat recognize that voice." Clare muttered then walked into the crate that Linebeck likes to hid in.
"OUCH! LINEBECK I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO MOVE THIS STUPID CRATE!" Clare yelled. Linebeck sweat dropped. Clare climbed the stairs to see what the commotion was. Linebeck laid on his back with a thirteen year-old on his stomach and a young eight-teen year-old staring down at him. The older kid looked towards her.
"Clare?" He said.
"Link?" Clare asked.
"CLARE!" Link shouted running towards her.
"Ohh no." Clare managed to say before she was tackled by Link and they both fell back down the stairs to the cabin. The younger child tugged on Linebeck's coat.
"Are they always this weird?" She asked.
"Yup." Linebeck said as he heard Clare yelling at Link to get off of her. Then they heard a set of heavy boots running up the stairs. Link appeared, shortly followed by a frying pan and a bottle with a fairy in it.
"You missed me Clare." Link laughed then he fell over the railing and into the bay. Clare climbed up the stairs, looking somewhat angry. Clare looked at the young girl, who hide behind Linebeck. She then looked at Linebeck.
"Some introductions would be nice." She said to him.
"Right. Anni this is my navigator, Clare. Clare this is my niece Anni." Linebeck said as he stepped aside to show Clare the little girl. Clare crouched down and smiled to Anni, who hid behind Linebeck again.
"Hello, Anni. I'm Clare." Clare said smiling; she then looked up at Linebeck. "Wait. You," Clare pointed at Linebeck. "Have a niece? And you didn't tell me!" She stood up and glared at him. Linebeck shrugged his shoulders.
"You never asked." He said. Link finally climbed back out of the bay. Anni looked over at Link, "Mr. Link. When did you learn how to swim?" She asked as she tugged on Link's tunic. "And you are all wet. How do you know my uncle?" Anni asked him. Linebeck laughed and picked up his niece.
"Anni. One question at a time." He told her.
"But Uncle!" Anni whined.
"One question at a time. Or you won't get the present I brought you." Linebeck scolded.
"No fair that's blackmail." Anni complained.
"She knows what blackmail is. What have you been teaching her Linebeck?" Clare said to him.
"Hey! She works in a bar, don't blame me!" He shouted at his navigator.
"Tavern." Anni corrected. Link walked over to Clare and was about to poke her to start questioning her.
"Close enough." Linebeck said. Anni started to tug on Linebeck's coat again.
"Auntie is going to so happy you're home." She said happily. Clare looked at Linebeck with wide eyes.
"YOU'RE MARRIED!" She shouted. Linebeck took a step back and waved his hand in the air.
"No, no. She's my aunt too." He said defensively. Clare looked at him then to the shore.
"I'll believe you...for now." She said, and then she was poked in the side by Link.
"So, Clare. Where were you, and why are you working for Linebeck?" He asked her, with a serious expression.
"I'll tell you later...maybe....Wait; I see a sheath but no sword. Care to explain why?" Clare glared at Link. He backed away slowly his hands in front of him.
"Well, you see, there was this storm last night, and um....I was ship wreaked..." Link answered. Clare glared harder.
"Which ship?" She asked.
"Ummm. The king of red lions." Link said rubbing the back of his head nervously. Clare twitched.
"WHAT?!" Clare yelled and sparks started floating around her. Clare then felt someone tugging on her shorts so she looked down.
"Miss Clare. I can explain it better." Anni said. Clare took a deep breath and calmed herself down before crouching down to Anni's level.
"Okay. Shoot." Clare told the young girl.
"Okay this is really big evil thing that lives in a cave on an island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by poisonous fog. And he can make storms and he stole, Mr. Link's Master Sword thingy." Anni explained, "It's not Mr. Link's fault it Akaimara's fault." Anni finished. Clare looked at Anni.
"Akaimara?" She questioned.
"An evil shape shifting beasty thing that wants to eat me so I can't fulfill the family legend." Anni explained again.
"Oh! And this important why?" Clare questioned.
"I can light stuff on fire." Anni said happily. Clare then started tugging one of her ears and her hair.
"Along with other things I have yet to master." Anni said playing with her belt buckle. Clare hummed quietly.
"Prove it. Light Link's hat on fire." Clare whispered to the child.
"Okay." Anni said and snapped her fingers. Link looked around.
"What smells like burning wool?" He questioned. Linebeck looked at him.
"Kid your hat is on fire." He stated.
"Ah!" Link screamed, took off his hat and chucked it in the bay, before diving after it. Linebeck looked down at Anni.
"Anni, it's not nice to light people's hats on fire." He scolded.
"I'm sorry, Miss Clare told me to do it." She confessed. Linebeck glared at Clare, who turned to him.
"What? I was testing her." Clare said to him, as Link climbed back out of the water.
"Right." Linebeck said to her. Link raised his arms and looked down at himself.
"Great. I'm cold and wet again." He complained. Anni looked up at him.
"I can fix that." She offered. Link backed away slowly.
"No no, it's fine." He told her. Anni gave him the puppy dog eyes.
"Please! I promise not to light you on fire again." She added. He caved.
"Okay fine." Link said and stood still. Anni giggled cutely and swings her hand that creates a breeze. Link was quickly dried.
"Yes. I'm dry and warm." Link said hugging himself before he looked down at Anni.
"How did you do that?" He asked, Anni looked at him.
"It's my job." Anni said to him, Link then pulled out the Wind Waker.
"This is what I use to change the wind." He said holding it.
"I only have to swing my hand." Anni said smiling. Clare laughed and poked Link.
"Well anyways. Who else is here?" Clare asked Link.
"Tetra, the boys, Medli, Makar, Komali and I think that's everybody." Link said putting his hand on his chin in thought. Anni looked up at them.
"And Mr. Gonzo is kinda weird. Wait, they are all kinda weird." Anni said to them. Clare flinched when she heard Gonzo's name. Anni then looked at Linebeck.
"Oh yeah. Uncle Linebeck. Happy hour has started." She told him. Linebeck's eyes widened, he then picked up Anni and bolted for the tavern. Link looked at the dust trail left by Linebeck.
"Wow. I didn't know he could move that fast." He said. Clare laughed and started walking.
"I hid all the rum." She told him. Link laughed and walked beside her.
"I wonder if he knows that Anni's only going to give him one glass, if he's lucky." He asked.
"Maybe." Clare laughed again and turned to Link.
"Race you." She said before she started to run. Link blinked then ran past her. He heard Clare gasp followed quickly by a thud. Link turned around to see Clare on her stomach, three inches away from a big yellow fox.
"Owww...Keaton....Yay!" Clare said and hugged the yellow fox.
"Oi! Let me go...Nero! SAVE ME! Tell her to let me go!" The Keaton yelled, trying and failing to get away. Another Keaton appeared and blinked.
"I know you." He said pointing to Clare, who looked up at him.
"You do?" She asked, letting the other Keaton go, who disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Yeah...well sorta anyways. Except you were wearing a white dress and had wings." He told her. Clare tackled him.
"Do not speak of that." She told him. Link started to poke Clare in the back.
"Clare. Anni's on the road ahead." He said to her. Clare released Nero and watched him disappear in a puff of smoke.
"If you don't hurry up, there is not going to be any lunch left." She yelled down to them. Clare got up and disappeared only to reappear behind Anni.
"Someone mention food." Clare asked. Anni looks up not surprised at all.
"Yeah inside." She pointed. Clare walked calmly inside, just as Link was cresting the hill. The two outside then heard.
"Miss Clare!" BANG! Anni and Link turned and ran inside to see a dog pile of pirates and at the bottom was Clare. Anni whistled sharply, they turned to her.
"Everyone go sit down!" She commanded. They quickly scurried off to their seats saying, "Yes Miss Anni." Clare took a large gasp of air and sat up.
"Thanks Anni. Where did you learn to do that?" She questioned the young girl.
"I gotta clear the bar out somehow." Anni said. Clare smiled and sat down in between Linebeck and Link. Lunch was served and all chaos broke out. The pirates were fighting to get something that was at one end of the table and everyone else wanted what was at the other end. Clare eventually got up and walked over to Gonzo.
"Gonzo, can you pass a pork bun over, please?" She asked the pirate. Gonzo smiled widely.
"Of course Miss Clare!" He said and reached for the pork bun but his hand got smacked away by Niko. Gonzo glared and shoved Niko away and took the pork bun and put it on Clare's plate.
"There you go Miss Clare!" Gonzo said smiling to her.
"Thanks Gonzo." Clare said walking back over to her chair. Link and Linebeck gave her disbelieving looks. Anni came out then.
"Can someone help me? I can't reach the high cabinets." Anni said with her hair tied back and an apron on. Clare looked over at Link.
"Link go help her." Clare said taking a bite out of her pork bun.
"Why do I have to? I'm hungry." Link complained.
"Because I told you to." Clare said again, reaching over to grab her water.
"I'll go help her." Linebeck said standing up and walking to the kitchen, leaving that side open to Nudge, who shuffled his chair closer.
"So, Miss Clare, where have you been?" He questioned her. Anni's voice was then heard through the kitchen doors.
"Nudge, move your chair back where it belongs. Don't make me come out there." She shouted. Nudge shuffled back. Clare leaned over to Link,
"What did she do to get them to behave so well, when they aren't fighting over food?" She questioned her little brother.
"She lit Gonzo's pants on fire and threatened to do the same to everyone else if they didn't do as they were told." Link said managing to swipe a bun from Niko.
"Hey!" Niko yelled. Link licked the bun.
"Now you don't want it." Link said smiling as he bit into the bun. Niko was about to get up when a fresh bun hit him in the head that came sailing from the kitchen.
"Good throw Anni. Can't you lot behave yourselves for five minutes?" Linebeck's voice sounded.
"Ow! Bun plus head equals pain." He said, rubbing the abused spot. Anni's head appeared in the little opening.
"If you don't behave, I'll hit you in the head with a cucumber." She threatened, shaking said cucumber. Clare covered her mouth and laughed. Link laughed out loud and was nearly hit with Niko's knife when Clare's fork intercepted, before it turned and stabbed a carrot. Just then a cucumber came flying out of the kitchen hitting Niko in the side of the head.
"I warned you. Next time it's gonna be a potato." Anni yelled, while Linebeck laughed.
"Now before I leave or have to hit someone with a potato, does anyone want something to drink?" Anni said walking out of the kitchen. Several voices rang out at once, Clare sighed before she slammed her empty mug on the table, the room quieted.
"Now you scallywags one at a time. You start Tetra." Clare said calmly. Tetra blinked at Clare,
"Okay. Coffee." She stated. Anni looked over at her.
"Cream, sugar, and or mocha?" Anni questioned.
"What in Din's name is Mocha?" Tetra asked. Clare put her head on the table, getting a rather large headache.
"It is sweet, brown candy kinda thing called chocolate. Do you have chocolate?" Anni asked them.
"No but I'll try it." Tetra said, the pirates gave their order for drinks; most wanted Root Beer even though they didn't know what it was. Link ordered, apple cider (And he said it rather cheerfully), the Rito and Makar ordered water; Linebeck asked for rum and was denied bluntly. Clare asked for heated water.
"Hot water?" Anni questioned.
"Yup. Just hot water. In a teapot, just don't put tea in it." Clare said nodding her head.
"Okay then. Whatever floats your boat." Anni said, went into the kitchen and came back with the requested drinks on a very large tray. The boys chorused a "Thank you Miss Anni." When they got their drinks as did everyone else. Link and everyone, excluding Linebeck, wondered what Clare was going to do with hot water and how to open their drinks. Clare pulled out an owl feather and dipped it into the water for five seconds before pulling it out and sniffing the steam.
"Yum!" She said then poured herself the tea. They didn't expect a blue liquid to flow out of the pot. Many looked at her strange but of course, Clare ignored them. Anni then stretched and yawned.
"You lot behave yourselves while I go put Anni to bed. Clare, where is my gift?" Linebeck asked the ninja/navigator. Clare looked over at him and blinked.
"Oh, right." Clare said putting her teacup down and digging into her pocket. She then pulled out dodge ball sized blue orb then handed it to Linebeck.
"Here you go Anni!" Linebeck said smiling before picking up the little girl and taking her to bed. Anni then tossed the potato over her shoulder and hit Niko in the head...again.
"Night Mr. Link, Mr. Boys, Sir Komali, Mr. Makar, Miss Medli, Miss Tetra, and Miss Clare." Anni called to them.
"Night Anni!" Several voices chorused. After Linebeck had returned from putting the young child to bed then did the integrations start. Since Link was the closest to Clare, he poked her in the side to get her attention then started the questions, in a hushed tone.
"Where have you been for seven years?" He asked her. The others leaned in closer to listen. Clare looked at them before pouring herself another cup of tea. She took a sip before she turned her eyes to the center of the table.
"Fighting darkness for a very long time. Linebeck helped...amazingly enough. Oh and another thing, I am not originally from this time." Clare said still staring at the table. Several gasps were heard around the table. BANG, BANG, BANG!
"Keep it down!" Anni's voice yelled. Clare sighed then everyone looked up at the roof.
"How did she hear us?" Nudge asked.
"She's my boss...future boss anyways. She hears everything." Clare said taking another sip of her tea.
"What do you mean she's your boss?" Mako asked Clare.
"I am the sage of Destiny." Clare said slamming her head against the table. SLAM!
"I thought I told you to keep it down! Next time I'm coming down there!" Anni yelled. Komali looked at the roof, "Now that is just plain creepy."
"How can you be the sage of Destiny? I've seen you for three years back on Outset Island." Link whispered.
"Like I said, I'm not originally from this time." Clare whispered back.
"Then what time are you from?" Tetra whispered darkly. Clare sighed softly.
"Hyrule, 500 years ago, before it was submerged." Clare whispered and looked into her half full cup.
"You're from there!" Tetra and Link whispered. Clare nodded her head.
"What else are you that we should know about?" Tetra whispered darkly again.
"Keeper of the Triforce." Clare whispered then gently placed her head on the table. Anni then came down quietly and stood beside Clare.
"Miss Clare. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She said tugging on her shorts. Link fell off his chair at Anni's sudden appearance.
"Is that why you don't like wearing dresses?" Medli asked her.
"Wearing dresses reminds me too much of what I'm supposed to be instead of what I want to be." Clare said putting her arms around Anni's waist then pulled the miniature girl onto her lap. Anni sat calmly on the ninja's lap and looked at the teacup.
"What does it taste like?" She asked.
"Orange peppermint." Clare said smiling as she gave the cup to Anni. Link made a curious face as he sniffed the tea from the pot.
"I would like some." Linebeck said, Clare smiled and passed him the teapot. It then travelled down the table and ended with Link. Everyone else thought it tasted fabulous, so Link poured himself some and took a delicate sip before he looked down into the cup.
"It tastes magical." He said looked at it wide eyed.
"Yeah. I made it. How many times during our travels, have I said, I'm magic." Clare said pulling the teapot back to her and poured some into Anni's and her cup. Just then Clare yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I think it's time for bed." She said draining the last of her cup. Anni was already asleep on the ninja's lap and had her hands wrapped around Clare's arms. Clare picked her up gently then turned to Linebeck.
"Where is her room?" She asked. Linebeck started towards the stairs.
"Follow me." He said and led her up to the stairs to a door with no numbers on it. He opened the door and went it. Clare followed, saw a bed and put the girl down, or at least attempted to.
"Um...Linebeck? Help?" She said to him. Linebeck chuckled before poking Anni behind the left ear. Anni went limp so Clare tucked the young girl in before closing the door behind her. She turned to go back down the stairs when Linebeck grabbed her arm.
"You could sleep in the library." He said opening another door, Clare nodded and entered the library, curled up on a couch and fell asleep.
