chapter one.

rhythm of the seas.

The sea. Something about the soft roll of the waves and the sound of them crashing against the beach was soothing, especially in the silence of night. There was a rhythm to the waves, just like the rhythm of the furnace as a ship puffed along the vast ocean. The waves would reach the beach with such ferocity but gently touch the sandy shore, and then retreat back to its hideout to plan another charge to the beach. Their was something about their consistency he liked. It was like the waves would stick by him no matter what happened, like only the sea knew his full potential as the captain of the S.S. Linebeck...

Linebeck gave himself a smirk as he lay restless on his bed listening to the waves in his quarters of the infamous ship. He could not sleep, even though the ship was docked at Zauz Island on a calm night. Most captains dream of such a peaceful night to rest their eyes, so why couldn't he sleep? The brave captain needed his beauty sleep, especially with all the adventure he had partook in the last few weeks. Ever since he had met this little blonde kid with the green hat he had been dragged all over the high seas battling every monster imaginable along the way. The dark circles under his eyes were growing darker and ruining his handsome image for Goddess's sake! With all these trials facing him everyday, why couldn't he fall asleep at the first break he had in forever?

As the waves washed over the sand of the island Linebeck let his thoughts wash over him. He thought back to the events of the day, to the showdown Link had with Jolene. It was a fearsome battle that he recalled bravely witnessing from the wooden crate, with Jolene losing and getting a right whopping from the kid.

Ah Jolene, the she-pirate that would stop and nothing to slit his throat. Even the thought of her ruthlessness made the captain want to crawl and hide in the nearest crate. For years Jolene had followed Linebeck to every corner of the world out for his blood, but even still he couldn't fully understand why. Okay maybe stealing her treasure when he left was not the best move, even Linebeck could admit to that. He half wished that he had never stoled it from her in the first place if it was going to cause him all this grief.

"But that was just it!" Linebeck muttered to himself in the dark, "it wasn't even worth anything, just some useless trinkets." In fact they were so useless the sea captain had to haggle to have the pieces taken off his hands. It was mostly random findings such as Helmaroc plume feathers and pieces of pink coral, hardly a treasure for a so called "pirate."

There was one piece of the treasure though that he couldn't give away, not that he would of got anything for it anyways. Remembering that he still had this piece stashed away the captain jumped out of bed and thrust his arm under the mattress. He felt around until he pulled out some pieces of paper from under the bed. They weren't just pieces of paper, they were letters. Linebeck had an odd habit of never throwing letters away, perhaps because he hardly received any letters to begin with. He had been on his own for so long he didn't need people in his life, and when you don't need anyone mail is more of a scarcity. The letters hailed from different people in different walks of life, some from Jolene herself, but that wasn't what he was looking for. Feeling around some more his fingers grazed a piece of paper that was more weighty than the letters. There it was, the last piece of Jolene's treasure. Pulling it out Linebeck got up from kneeling on the floor and lit a lamp perched upon his impressive captain desk. He sat down and let his eyes wash over the piece of paper, the memories it held rushing to his mind and flooding him with an array of emotions.

It was a picture, an old picture to say the least. It was taken with a simple pictograph box at a festival Linebeck and Jolene attended on Mercay Island in honor of the Ocean King. Of course this was many years before Linebeck knew that the Ocean King was just an old man that liked to yell at him, but back then things seemed to be simpler. Linebeck still remembered that festival fondly. It had been filled with delicious foods and games for all to enjoy during a night of celebration. That was Linebeck's first Ocean King Festival, and spending it with Jolene had made it even more memorable. She had of course talked him into stealing all kinds of foods that they heartily enjoyed, but one of her more tender moments was the desire to take a picture together. She had said it would be a funny way to remember their dastardly deeds for years to come. Linebeck had to agree with her, though he didn't so much remember their pirate crimes as much as all the fun they had together that night. Looking at the picture now he could even see the enjoyment written all over their faces. They were both much younger then; the captain didn't even adorn his admiral coat yet and was attired in just a simple white shirt and vest. His hair was also shorter then and the bags under his eyes were not as dark as they were now. Jolene also look much different. She sported less makeup back then and her hair was down, making her look as wild as the sea. The she-pirate held Linebeck in a sort of headlock with a soft smile on her face, and even he had his trademark smirk as he glanced at her in the picture.

Linebeck looked deep into the eyes of his younger self. He looked happy. He was happy, if he recalled correctly. However it was like he had told Link and the fluff ball earlier, the pirate and the captain were from different worlds. Jolene was too much for him. She was all about the swashbuckling, thieving, and playing pirate dress-up constantly. It was fun but it grew too tiresome for the wayfarer. It came to the point of after dancing around it for months he finally ended it. But that couldn't of been why Jolene had been tracking him down for so long, right? I mean come on, they both knew it was going no where. They were too different, nothing in common, she would of eventually killed him if they kept it up...

And then it was as if a cold wave crashed down over Captain Linebeck as he sat there staring at the withered picture. The look in her eyes. Her wry smile. The way she use to treat him, tough but with a sort of softness not normally seen in pretend pirates.

She... loved him?

Linebeck shook his head as if to free it from such an absurd thought. "Of course not! I mean sure we had our romantic fling, but that happens when you spend long days on the sea. It wasn't anything serious it was just..."

Suddenly Ciela's words echoed clearly through is thoughts. "Oh...Linebeck. You really are dense, aren't you?"

That was it. She did love him. No denying it, Linebeck now saw the truth. It all fit into place. All her actions, the way she was impressed by how he had artfully slay the monster that had attacked her ship when they first met, how after he had run off and taken what meaningful trinkets she possessed she spent all her efforts chasing him down in revenge.

The color rushed up to his shallow cheeks. Love. It seemed such a foreign word to the lonesome captain. I mean sure he had used it for many great treasures he had unearthed in his quests, but never had he used it for another human being.

A churning feeling starting developing in the pit of his stomach. It was like the first time he stepped on the open sea and his breakfast didn't agree with him. Or when he had more than his fair share of drink at the tavern, which happened often. The thought of Jolene's feelings made him queasy and depressed at the same time. What was it called... guilt? Yeah that sounded right, it sounded like he felt guilty for everything he had done. He felt guilty for not realizing her feelings sooner, for ignoring the truth so he could do what he wanted, for leaving her high and dry while making off with her treasure.

"Wow, Ciela is right... I am a jerk."

Linebeck felt lost and claustrophobic at the same time. What was he to do? More importantly, how did he feel? Did he feel the same way towards her? Or was it just guilt?

The questions spun around in his mind until it made him dizzy, causing him to steady himself by grasping the back of the chair. He felt like his head was going to explode, that everything he believed in was wrong. He wasn't a great captain, he was nothing but a coward. Everything wrong, everything wrong, everything...

Then suddenly the noise in his head stopped. And the sound of the waves outside dominated again.

Linebeck then knew what he needed to do. Grabbing some paper and an ink jar, he took his pen and set to work with only the tempo of the waves to keep him company.

Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my first Zelda fanfic, and of course I fall in love with one of the most random couples in the series... but it makes for a good story. I've actually had half of this story written out for over a year and a half now, but I wanted to make sure I could finish it before I posted it here. I hope you like it so far, please read and review!