My first romantic fic, takes place after Link, Medli, Tetra, the pirates and the other people leave to find Hyrule. Review!
Medli lay in her hammock, letting the ship's gentle swaying rock her to sleep. Sleep came quickly, for it was a quiet night at sea. She quickly fell into the land of dreams…
Medli tapped her toe impatiently. The chieftain had said the new boy was to be here soon. Her duty was to give him a letter for Komali. Komali… Medli had a mild crush on him. She wished that she had been selected to give the letter to Komali herself. Now that his grandmother had passed, she wasn't put to much work.
A boy ran into the room. And Medli couldn't believe it.
While she admittedly had a crush on Komali, her love for this boy made her crush seem like nothing. The boy was her height, fairly muscular and with thick black brows, his long blonde hair tousled under a green cap. She forced herself to speak.
They talked, with her speaking her piece as if it was a script. Her mind was elsewhere. The boy- Link- was so amazing that she had to meet him again.
Mustering up all of her courage, she asked him to meet her at Dragon Roost Cavern. A date… the thought almost made her lightheaded.
Link arrived at the cavern, squinting through the whirling ash. In her opinion, it only made him more adorable. But when she was about to ask him the question, her mind jammed. She quickly blurted out that she was going to talk to Valoo. The thought terrified her, but she couldn't get the courage to ask him what she really wanted to know.
And then, when she had been trapped by the monsters… Link had come to her defense, slaying them boldly. And then, when she had her chance to cover up her actions with gratitude, she gave him the Grappling Hook instead…
And in the Earth Temple, he had shown her what her destiny was to be, and fought every monster that menaced her… Medli almost couldn't understand how much he had done for her. If he didn't have feelings for her, why would he do it? So he could defeat Ganondorf. Ganondorf! The fact that he would even take on such a foe filled Medli with awe.
But who had he rescued on Outset? Tetra. Who had he brought to Hyrule? Tetra. Who had he fought Ganondorf with? Tetra, Tetra, Tetra! And it's just because she's human, thought Medli angrily. And everyone knows they're in love. If I so much as made a move, Tetra would order me off the ship. They'd maroon me somewhere… where, even if I flew off, I'd never see Link again…
Medli woke from her dream, gasping. It wasn't the first dream she'd had like this. She needed to talk to someone. Tetra was out of the question. Makar… he wouldn't understand. None of the pirates were smart enough to help her. Then who?
And the thought hit her. Who had known Link the best and the longest? Who could understand her and Link at the same time? Who could she confide in? Aryll. It was so obvious.
Medli wiggled with impatience in her bunk. It was early in the morning, and she had to wait until sunrise to talk to Aryll. Aryll did not like being woken up, but she woke early.
As the sun rose, Medli flew around the ship, looking for Aryll. She found the young girl hanging upside down from the edge of the ship, tied securely by a rope around her ankle. She was washing her hair in the ocean.
Medli flew just out of Aryll's line of sight, then popped out.
With a shriek, Aryll scrabbled wildly, trying to pull herself in. Medli laughed.
"Wasn't funny," grumbled Aryll, but her dimples were showing despite her attempt at a frown. "What do you want, Medli? It's early."
"I've got to talk to you about Link," said Medli with a deep breath.
A knowing smile came from Aryll. "All right."
"You see, I've liked him for ages," said Medli, expecting a reaction from Aryll. But the young girl took it in stride, letting the Rito girl finish. "But he obviously likes Tetra, and there's
nothing I can do about it!"
"Oh, I'm not so sure he's completely in love with Tetra," said Aryll, dripping sea water on the deck as she pulled herself back onto the ship.
"How can you say that? They're completely infatuated with each other!" hissed Medli.
"Look," said Aryll, "I don't know how much you know about the legend of the hero, but you know enough to see that the hero fell in love with the princess, Zelda. And obviously, Tetra is Zelda. In a way. And Link's the hero."
"What difference does that make? If anything, it just means they're meant for each other!" wailed Medli.
"Keep listening," said Aryll, showing remarkable patience. "Now I'm not saying this is necessarily the truth, so don't get your hopes too high up, but have you ever thought… that maybe Link's going along with it because that's what the hero did? Tetra's Zelda, but Link isn't that hero! He's his own man! But he's not going to be complete without a lady." Aryll smiled, and Medli marveled that this little girl knew so much that she didn't.
"But I can't just ask him! Tetra will be furious!"
"Good point," said Aryll thoughtfully. "Why don't I tell you about a situation I had. For a while I really admired Orca because of how he knew how to fight with swords. When I asked him to teach me, he told me I was too young. So, I thought I could make myself look older, more grown-up by pretending to have a boyfriend."
"I see…" said Medli slowly.
"So, I made friends with Joel, this kid on Outset, and I introduced him to Orca as my boyfriend. He told me that I was a lover, not a fighter, and he was the opposite." Aryll smiled at the memory.
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Medli, isn't it obvious?" sighed Aryll. "The way to attract someone- well, not the only way, but still- is to get them jealous, make them think you're an opportunity. A guy isn't going to ask out some girl who can't get a date right away! He knows he can take his time! If you want Link to like you and like you now… get him jealous. Get a boyfriend."
"But he's the one I love! And besides, how could I find anyone-" Medli stopped. Komali… she could have him be her boyfriend for Link to be jealous! And, if she remembered her old crush, she could like him just enough to keep herself from being completely bored.
"All right," she said. "I'll give it a try."
Quite a bit of time had passed since they began their conversation, and before they knew it the ship was bustling with life. A burly pirate unfurled the sail, while others cast fishing lines overboard to get breakfast. Makar chatted with Niko the swabbie as they came through a door. Aryll scurried up the ladder to the crow's nest to check ahead with her newly regained telescope. That left Link and Tetra…
Sure enough, Link's face squinted into the morning sunlight before he stepped out, already dressed. Tetra was still in her pajamas- she wasn't embarrassed, if any of her crew showed any sign of interest they would be in serious trouble- and Medli couldn't help but realize why Link might like her. Her tan was amazing, and her figure… even as a girl, Medli couldn't help but admit it was attractive. She couldn't match up to that. Tetra was throwing on her vest and pants as she yelled orders. Link was walking in a different direction. He was going to talk to the King of Red Lions, his boat. Medli sighed. It was sad, how the only person he could really talk to was the boat… Medli wished she could talk to him like he did that boat.
But Link wasn't much for chatter that morning. He whipped out his grappling hook and cruised a short distance away from the ship. With a plunge of the hook, he pulled up a piece of buried treasure.
As he crawled on board, Tetra looked expectantly at him.
Link pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal a Silver Rupee.
Cheers erupted from the pirates. They were due to reach Windfall Island soon, and the money could be well spent. Makar jumped for joy, and the King of Red Lions looked on gruffly. Tetra sidled over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
It was all Medli could do to stop herself from tearing Tetra apart. How dare she kiss Medli's love like that! But Medli's temper faded away… patience was the key here.
Breakfast was on deck that day, due to the beautiful weather. The fish were divided equally onto plates, except for Makar, who only drank forest water that Link carried in bottles. Again, Medli sighed. It was so kind of Link to do that!
She positioned herself so she sat between Link and Komali. Tetra sat on Link's other side and touched his shoulder.
"Thanks for finding that for us, Link," she purred.
"No biggie," said Link relaxedly, drawing his sword. A few of the pirates drew back, but Link only used it to cut his fish into bite-sized pieces.
"You know, when we get to Windfall you'll get a real treat," said Tetra. "After all, you found that Silver Rupee by yourself."
"No really, you don't need to buy me anything," said Link.
"You don't have to buy the kind of treat I'm talking about, Link," murmured Tetra in his ear. Nobody else heard, but Medli's hearing was excellent.
The Rito girl nearly lost all her feathers in rage. Tetra intended to take Link to Windfall Island and… It was unthinkable. As much as she loved Link, she had never thought of doing that with him. They were 13 years old, for Valoo's sake! Medli instantly knew that something had to be done.
Medli plucked one of her feathers out. It hurt, but she did it. She quickly excused herself and left the deck, retreating to the privacy of her room.
Once there, she found a piece of paper, part of a large stack that Aryll was using to make a map of the new Hyrule. Dipping the feather in ink, she quickly scrawled in her best writing:
Hey Komali,
Be at the crow's nest when the first star appears in the sky. We need to talk.
Love, Medli
She had never addressed any message to him like that before. Medli rolled the paper up in a tube, inserted the feather, and tiptoed cautiously to Komali's bunk. She hid it in his pillowcase, knowing he would find it there.
Briefly she heard voices outside. They belonged to Link and Tetra.
"Can't you use the Song of Passing, Link? Windfall's so much more festive at night." So at least they weren't talking about that. But Medli was worried. If Link used the Song of Passing, Komali probably wouldn't get her message.
"I'm not screwing with the world any more than I have to, Tetra." Medli silently applauded Link. He knew what was right.
"But please, Link?"
"Tetra, we won't get there until afternoon anyway. And then we'll need to get rooms at the inn, and dock the ship and such. It'll be fine." Footsteps could be heard as Link and Tetra walked away. Medli sighed in relief.
The Rito girl thought Aryll should be kept up-to-date, so she talked to Link's sister as soon as breakfast was finished. She also described what the letter had said.
"Great job!" approved Aryll. "I like the letter. Makes you seem… well… experienced, but not like a total bimbo."
"Good," said Medli. "But there's something more…" She told Aryll about what she had overheard at breakfast.
"WHAT?" roared Aryll, jumping up.
"Keep your voice down!"
"When I find that little pirate brat I'm gonna-"
"Aryll, calm down. You know you can't kill her…" Medli's eyes got a mischievous spark. "Unless I get to join in." Aryll laughed, but Medli could tell she was still enraged. "And if I have anything to do about it, that's not going to happen. Ever."
The rest of the day was slightly uneventful, just typical chores aboard the ship. They reached Windfall Island at around 5 in the afternoon (AN: They probably don't have a 24 hour clock but just bear with me) and got settled in the inn at about 6.
"All right," said Tetra. "There are 3 rooms, and each can fit 3 people. Makar, you don't need a full-sized bed, so we can find something that'll work for you." The Korok nodded in agreement.
"I think we should have Gonzo, Senza and Nudge in one room, Zuko, Niko and Tetra in another, and Link, Komali and I in another," said Medli. Komali looked at her in a way that told her he knew what was going on- and better yet, what she had written to him.
"I agree with Gonzo, Senza and Nudge, but I think that Link and I should sleep together, along with… say… Niko," said Tetra, her distaste toward anyone sleeping in a room with her and Link clear.
"I'll sleep with Tetra and Medli," interjected Link. Tetra began to protest, but his look silenced her. Even though he had little authority over the ship, Link could tell Tetra what to do when he needed to. Such authority… Medli sighed inwardly. She glanced out the window to see the sky darkening. The first star would be out soon.
"Uh- I have to leave for just a minute," she said, casting a significant look at Komali.
"Same with me," he said in what he imagined was a deep voice. Both stepped out of the inn.
"What is going on?" asked Komali as soon as the door closed.
"Wait until we're at the crow's nest," said Medli, and she flew off. Komali, who was still adjusting to his wings, flew after her clumsily. He almost hit the arch that marked the entrance to the town.
Medli landed gracefully on the crow's nest. Komali landed on the ladder and climbed the rest of the way. He began to speak.
"Ssshhh…" said Medli, and she reached over to kiss him.
It wasn't as hard as she'd thought at first. She kept her eyes closed the whole time, and she saw Link in front of her, lips pressed against hers… She broke away to see Komali looking as if he was in heaven. Medli looked away and could have sworn she saw Aryll urging her on through a nearby window.
She was about to speak to Komali, but he pressed a wing to her lips. "Sshhh…" he said, and kissed her. As they kissed, Medli realized that he wasn't the weak little boy he had been before Link came. He was stronger, more mature, more… She stopped. This was strictly to get Link jealous. Still, she felt slightly guilty, knowing that she would have to tell him one day it was all an act… She let that thought go and imagined it was Link rather than Komali.
"I think we've spoken enough tonight," she whispered just before she flew away.
Expect more soon… Review!