Finding a New Hyrule and Other Things
A Legend of Zelda romance story
(A/N) Hey, another story from me! And this one won't be nearly as depressing as the last one. I promise. This one-shot is a short glimpse into the relationship between Link and Tetra after the events of Wind Waker. Hope you enjoy. As always, I love feedback and I don't own the games, locations, characters, etc. They belong to Nintendo.
Three months had passed since Link sealed away Ganondorf. For three months, he and Tetra, along with her crew, had been searching the vast seas for a new land to call Hyrule.
Link had risen up the ranks onboard, if only slightly. He was higher than Niko, the eternal swabbie who only received any promotion when a new crew member came along. But as everyone knows, he was always outranked by the recruit eventually, right back at the very bottom again. Link's duties generally included analyzing situations to plan the best possible course of action or route at sea. Occasionally, he was assigned to maintenance duties to fix anything on the ship that was in need of repair or replacement.
Although Link was of only average rank onboard, Tetra reserved for him special treatment that no one else onboard ever received, regardless of rank. He would often be let off his duties earlier than others unless the matter was truly urgent and he even occasionally had the privilege of sharing Tetra's bed, albeit on separate beds. In addition, Tetra was less harsh on him than the rest of the crew. This angered some and made some jealous, but everyone shared common ground on one thing: her motives for such behavior. They all knew it was because Tetra harbored feelings for the green-clad hero, even if she refused to admit it. They also suspected that Link had feelings for their captain. However, whether he refused to act on them out of respect for his superior officer, fear of punishment, or something else entirely puzzled them. No one could figure out why the boy, who so clearly loved Tetra, would not act on his feelings.
The crew, minus the supposed couple, of course, discussed this many times. Eventually, they decided to have lowly Niko try to coax some answers out of Link.
"But I don't wanna do it," Niko whined. "Make someone else do it."
"Suck it up," they all said in unison. "You're the lowest-ranking member here so you must do the dirty work." Niko, apparently intimidated by the booming sound of their combined voices, agreed without any further protestation.
Niko found his target studying a sea chart in the quarters where he slept if not allowed to room with Tetra. It was a dingy room just like those of the rest of the crew. Link was deciding to get back to familiar waters as quickly as possible while avoiding some threats that they had to escape without fighting. The voyage was going to end soon because winter was approaching and the ship was low on food and supplies. "Hey Link, buddy, can we talk about something?"
"Sure, Niko. What's up," Link asked.
Niko paused, wondering how to best phrase his question. "So you've been with us for three months. And the guys and I have noticed that you're pretty close to Tetra. What's with that?"
Link pondered the question thoughtfully. Sure he had saved her from certain doom and sure she was his captain, as well as now a good friend, but he had never really thought about it very much. "I don't really know," he confessed. "I just feel drawn to her. I mean, I'm a hero and I like adventure. That's why I'm here, right? She's adventurous, being a pirate captain and all. I guess I feel drawn to that. Yet, we all know that Tetra can be really soft and kind too. And I like that too. Yet, there's something different. I don't know what it is, but something about her makes me feel really happy and I just like being close to that." He paused again. "Does that answer your question?"
"I guess," Niko said. "Link, you know the story, right? The story of the legendary hero?"
"Of course. Why?"
"Well, and this is a freaking pirate speaking, but it seems to people that the hero had certain feelings for the princess he saved. Feelings she returned. He wanted to be with her, but because she was royalty, they couldn't spend time together."
"So you're saying that history is repeating itself," Link asked slowly.
"I think so, yeah."
"Hmm," Link mumbled. "That's interesting."
"Well, I won't take up any more of your time. I'll let you go back to plotting a course," Niko said. "Think about this."
"Yeah, will do. I'll see ya." Niko left promptly with a nod. "Do I love Tetra," he asked himself, "who I know is really Zelda? She's the princess. I'm the hero. Niko said the hero loved the princess." Link thought about that for the rest of the day, only stopping when he went to sleep.
"Wow, Niko," Gonzo said when the swabbie reported his findings, "You sound like you actually seemed intelligent. So the hero loves the princess for being adventurous, eh?"
"That's what he made it seem like," Niko said with a shrug, ignoring the insult to his intelligence. "He didn't get very detailed beyond what I told you guys. I didn't want to make him think something was up. He seemed thoughtful. He said he'd never thought about his feelings."
The pirates began plotting ways to get the two to admit their feelings for each other.
"Well it is time to go home. If Link works his magic, we'll probably get back to Windfall in a week or so. We'll have our usual eating fest after a long voyage and maybe we can get them to get closer to each other in private," Gonzo suggested.
"Good idea," the others agreed. Lo and behold, Link did find a way to get the ship back to Windfall in a week.
The day before they docked, the pirates had a meeting. "We should leave stuff for Link to clean up. We all know Miss Tetra's the last one off," Niko said. "And we all get free time after dinner, right? They might do something romantic."
"Again with sounding intelligent," Gonzo mused. "I think Miss Tetra should finally promote you. But seriously, that's a good idea. Adjourned." Sidelong smirks were shared as their break time ended and duty time came.
As planned, the pirates found ways to leave a mess onboard when they docked. Tetra, tired as she was, let them go eat without a scolding. "Hey, Link," she said, "Would you mind cleaning this goddess-awful mess those guys left? I'd be mad if I wasn't so tired." She looked at him sweetly.
Link, who had been thinking about his feelings and finally admitted to himself that he loved the captain, gladly complied. "Of course, Tetra," he said, knowing she hated being called captain in private. He gave her a warm smile.
"You're a great person to have onboard," she said, looking at him endearingly. She knew she loved him but kept her distance. "So much better than the others." She flashed him her signature look, the cute wink.
Link blushed at the display of affection. "Oh, uh, um, t-thanks," he said nervously.
When the ship was clean and they finally walked off together, Tetra said, "You know, Link, I'm really glad I let you join my crew. It's been such a great time since you came on. I don't have to yell so much because you do things better than the others. As a treat, I'll take you out, wherever you want. It's on me." She flashed another wink his way, this one more flirtatious than usual. Link picked a seafood joint called The Golden Crab. "Great choice," she said. "I've been there. Great food and service."
When they got their table, they immediately noticed that the mood was decidedly more intimate than the rest of the restaurant. It was pretty dim at the small table aside from a lantern on a wall quite a ways away and a lone candle on the table. Tetra noticed the hero blush a bit. For the holder of the Triforce of Courage, he can be pretty timid, she thought amusedly.
They ended up sharing a seafood platter for two of assorted fishes and shellfish. Link was utterly surprised and shy when Tetra announced that she wanted the same dish he'd been considering.
They finished their meal and went for a walk around the island. As they walked, they shared stories with each other – their pasts, their dreams, everything. Link was much more reserved and preferred listening to Tetra go on and on about all the adventures she'd experienced with her crew.
"You really aren't much of a talker, are you," she asked softly.
Link shook his head. "I like listening, especially to your stories. I love hearing of your adventures. More fun and less life-threatening than mine. All I did was fight and search for stuff. You met people and did cool things, and found awesome treasure." He smiled softly as his hand when to a necklace he wore, presented privately by Tetra as a welcoming gift. It was pure gold and the pendant on it had a Hylian symbol on it, just like his shield. The best part was that there was also an emerald. Green, the color of the hero's tunic, as well as the one that represented Farore, his patron goddess.
"Hey, you got to do cool stuff too! You met Great Fairies and stuff. You killed the most evil person in the world."
"I met you," he said softly.
Tetra did a double-take as she heard his words. "W-what do you mean by that?"
"I met someone who was like me. Different. Adventurous. Awesome. And really pretty." He blushed slightly as he said the last part.
Tetra felt touched as she heard him. "Link…"
"And you know something, Tetra? Being with you all these months has been awesome. I know we'll find a new Hyrule soon enough. But first, you should know something else I've found. My feelings. For you. I've finally come to realize this." He hesitated then leaned forward and kissed her passionately. "Tetra, I love you, truly love you. I want to stay by your side through everything we encounter. I want to be yours, want you to be mine."
"Oh Link," she whispered, awestruck. She hugged him tightly and leaned close to his ear. "I love you too, Link," she finished.
As Link predicted, when the crew went on their next voyage, they sailed further and found a vast land, a continent, uninhabited, and claimed it as New Hyrule. People were informed and moved from their isolated islands to New Hyrule. And who were the rulers but Link and Tetra? Life went on happily for them and their kingdom.
(A/N) that's it for this one. I'm pretty satisfied with it but please do tell me what you think of it!