A/N:
Here's a little oneshot from Phantom Hourglass. I had originally intended this to be a light-hearted story, but it turned out rather serious toward the end.
This came about mostly because, while cartoony Link is adorable and all, I didn't think the portrayal of his character in PH was particularly realistic. I mean honestly people, he'd already fought the King of Evil, struggled through his sister being kidnapped, been through dungeons, and sailed a foreign sea in WW. Then he lost his best friend and captain and was transported to another world, forced to work for a grumpy old seaman who thinks he knows everything. I wouldn't be a smiley, cheerful little child if it were me. Therefore, there are several satirical elements to this bit, with references to both WW and PH.

On that note, beware of unmarked spoilers. Also, I haven't played either game in a long time, so my accuracy could be very off on some details. I hope not. It's suppsosed to be a scene sometime after Link finds Tetra and the Ocean King guy promises Linebeck one wish for his help. Linebeck and Link have already launched off in their quest for the making of the Phatom sword.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Though I hope I did Linebeck's character justice. That was pretty much the goal of writing this.
Enjoy!

It was a clear, bright day on the southwestern sea. The sky was blue and there was nary a cloud in the sky or a monster on the horizon. Linebeck sighed happily on the deck of his boat after polishing off his lunch. Of course, he wasn't always in a good mood, but dreams of that wish he was to receive filled his mind with thoughts of treasure beyond his imagination. Maybe risking his life on ridiculously dangerous adventures would be worthwhile after all. Besides, though he'd never admit it out loud, the kid did most of the work anyway.

A frown creased his brow for a moment. Where was the boy anyway? It was only a bit past noon, but it had been such a pleasant day that Linebeck had decided that they take a break for lunch and anchored the ship. The kid, Link, had nodded silently and retreated, supposedly to eat below decks. Linebeck hadn't seen him since then.

Hmph, he thought to himself. Leave it to the boy to disappear, even on a boat of all places. He shook his head. The boy definitely was a strange one. He had the darkest blue eyes Linebeck had ever seen, and bright blond hair that Linebeck was convinced got in his eyes when he sailed, accounting for the hits his poor boat got when they encountered one of those monsters on the ocean. He wore the queerest green outfit, and carried a sword and shield for heaven's sake! (And while he was on the subject- which he wasn't- what kind of a name was Link?) He couldn't have been older than his early teens. What boy carries around a sword and knows how to use it? Not that Linebeck had never seen him fight, but he had seen the kid go into monster infested caves and come out in one piece, so he had to have something. Not only this, but the boy never laughed. Ever. He rarely smiled, but mostly frowned or stared with no expression at all. Linebeck himself was a grumpy person, but he'd always thought of children as annoying, giggly things.

In addition, Link wasn't a bad sailor, he grudgingly had to admit, which was also surprising for the kid's age. Then again, if you lived around an ocean, you had to learn those sorts of things. Linebeck himself had of course been a brilliant sailor at young age... Yes... of course he had... Still, Link's skill almost seemed unnatural at times.

Yes, Linebeck had noticed many strange things about the boy. Though Linebeck was very self-centered, he could be very perceptive too, which is how he noticed how well the kid guided Linebeck's ship. Link very rarely hit a snag or ran aground- practically never. Still, for some reason Linebeck remembered something very clearly about one of the first times he had the boy navigate. It was an odd thing to remember, but remember it he did.

They had been setting a course for north and had been cruising comfortably for a while when a southernly breeze came up. It was sudden and unexpected, and couldn't possibly have been avoided. Linebeck had resigned to bringing the sails down, knowing that one could never have luck too long with the winds, but Link had the strangest and most irritated look on his face, as though angry at the wind for blowing the wrong direction. Linebeck had told him, "Quit poutin'. You can't direct the wind kid," at which the boy had given an even stranger expression, but said nothing.

This strangeness wasn't all, however. Though he denied it, Linebeck was convinced that the boy talked to himself while sailing. He'd caught him at it once and laughed when it sounded like he was having a one-sided conversation with the boat. Startled, Link had jumped and then turned red, muttering "if only..." and something about a king and a lion.

Sometimes, Linebeck wondered where the boy came from. Though he'd found him on the island where the old-man-turned-ocean-king lived, Link rarely mentioned it, nonetheless spoke of it as home. As a matter of fact, he rarely spoke at all when words were unnecessary, which was fine with Linebeck. He didn't think he could stand the chattering of a child.

Still, the kid had to come from somewhere. Maybe he'd sailed from somewhere far away. It probably had something to do with that girl. Maybe they simply were good-for-nothing runaways. Not that Linebeck really cared who they were, as long as he got his treasure. However, he often caught the boy staring across the ocean, fingering a small, red telescope or clutching to his simple shield.

Linebeck scowled, brought out of his reverie by realizing just how late the kid was. He had told Link to be up on the deck in half an hour, so he should have been here fifteen minutes ago. Now vaguely irritated, he stomped off toward the hold, in the direction of the ladder that would lead him down into the bowels of his ship.

He made his way down the ladder and into the holds, tromping into the large engine room. He caught sight of the boy and entered more quietly. Link didn't notice him. He was sitting on the floor in front of the girl they had finally found, staring at her horrified expression, burned there permanently by her stone image. The sea charts and the pure metal they had finally gotten from the Gorons had been discarded in the corner. Link's lunch laid untouched at his side.

Linebeck mentally sighed. Staring at the girl wasn't going to do any good. They should be sailing, collecting the metals for that phantom sword so Link could kill Bellum and Linebeck could get his wish. Still something in him went out to the boy. For a moment, Linebeck wondered- was he going soft? ...Nah. Probably something he ate.

He harrumphed quietly to himself and walked over to the kid. "Hey, kid," he said, in a low voice. The boy's expression was empty and far away, but there was pain in his eyes. For some reason, that unnerved Linebeck. "Hey, Link! Wake up boy! There's sailing to be done!" he said, nudging the kid's head. Link blinked and came back to himself. He glared at Linebeck, startling the man. Link had never been rude or angry with Linebeck before. Linebeck had thought him too much of a coward to stand up for himself. Apparently not. Linebeck withdrew his hand and cleared his throat.

"Come on, kid. Sitting around here all day isn't going to do anything for her." Link said nothing, his face still an angry mask, but he got to his feet and slowly went to pick up the sea charts. Linebeck noticed that instead of hovering around his head, or perching in the folds of his clothes, the fairies were all floating in a corner, surprisingly (thankfully) silent for once. Linebeck frowned. That was odd.

Link sullenly unfolded the chart and checked it, apparently trying to figure out the course he should set. Linebeck watched him. His movements were slow and lethargic and he seemed not to be paying real attention to what he was doing. He had none of that determination Linebeck usually saw in his firm but eager expression. Well, he'd have to knock some sense into the kid. They couldn't stay on course if the kid was distracted, especially if one of the blasted monsters appeared.

He took a step toward the boy. One of the fairies (Linebeck was annoyed to note that it was Ciela) fluttered over to his head. "I'd leave him alone for a little while," she warned Linebeck quietly, but he absently swatted her away and she retreated to the other two fairies.

He marched up to the boy. "Link. Snap out of it, kid. We don't have all day." Link slowly raised his eyes to his. They were blank again. "Look. I know this is... tough... for you. We all go through hard times. But snap out of it! We need those metals! We all go through hard times! Why, there was one time I was-" Link cut him off.

"Shut up!" Link yelled. Shocked, Linebeck took a step back, seeing the boy's thin frame quiver with rage. "You don't know anything!" His fist clenched around the sea chart, and he made to take off to who knew where.

"Hey, wait a minute!" If Link did something to that chart, they wouldn't be able to sail.

"Navigate yourself," Link growled and threw the chart at his feet. Then he began to run out of the hold. All his fighting monsters enabled him to run quickly, even with his shorter legs, but it was a small area and Linebeck managed to grab him.

"Wait, kid!" he called, grabbing the boy's left arm. The boy yelped unexpectedly and crumpled to the floor. Linebeck released him immediately. What the-? The boy groaned and rolled onto his right side, cradling his left.

"Fool!" Ciela cried. "Can't you see he's injured?" She once again fluttered above Link and Linebeck. "It's bad enough for him... what's he's going through..." she muttered irritably, in her tiny fairy voice. She hovered helplessly above Link. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked sadly. The boy clenched his teeth and shook his head.

Link got up into a sitting position and took several deep breaths, still holding his left arm. He pulled his hand away and stared at it. It was splattered with blood. He looked at his arm and saw it was bleeding through his shirt. Instead of jumping up, shouting, or freaking out (as Linebeck himself looked on the verge of doing) the boy merely sighed unhappily.

Linebeck stared at him. How was the child taking this so coolly? He was obviously in pain, but he seemed unsurprised. "You need bandages!" announced Linebeck stupidly. Link blinked, and nodded slowly.

"I guess. Do you have any? I ran out yesterday, and you wouldn't stop at Beedle's shop." Linebeck rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. He'd been in such a hurry he'd decided not to stop for supplies, ignoring Link's feeble protest. Then he jumped into action and began tearing through his ship's stock of supplies and came out with some fresh cloth. The boy thanked him quietly and took the bandage from him. He struggled at first to roll up his sleeve and then gave up, choosing instead to shrug out of his shirt.

Linebeck frowned. The boy's arm was cut in a shallow gash from shoulder to elbow. Link removed the old, overused bandage, applied a little of a strange potion to the injury, and then wrapped it again with the ability of an experienced healer.

Linebeck watched him in surprise. He worked quietly and efficiently, as though he was used to patching himself up. How had Linebeck never noticed him doing it before? Then he saw them. The boy's body was covered in scars. Most were small and silvery, contrasting with Link's sun-tanned complexion. A couple looked as though they had been excruciatingly painful when they were inflicted in the first place. Link caught him staring.

"You... You... You've done this before?" was all the man could manage. Link gave him a dry look and began to tug his shirt back on. Linebeck had not meant just the bandaging himself up; that was obvious. Those scars were far too many in number to have all been inflicted during the short time Linebeck had known the boy. What had Link been doing before Linebeck met him?

Then something else caught Linebeck's eye, a flashing glow on the child's hand. He peered closer... and then stepped back in shock. "What in the name of spirits is that?" Linebeck burst out, mouth agape. Link froze, and then glanced at his own hand, where a small golden triangle was innocently shimmering. He shrugged a little too casually and turned away, pulling his shirt back on. Linebeck continued to stare however. "That's no ordinary mark. That's a- a-" he sputtered.

"A mark of the goddesses." Link's voice was smooth and calm, like the ocean at night. There was no note of surprise or distress, but Linebeck was shaking his head.

"That's just not normal," he said. "What are you, some sort of witch-child?" he demanded, frowning in suspicion. For the first time that Linebeck had ever seen, Link scowled in anger. Jeez, the kid was testy today.

"No," he spat out. "It means I'm the-" He stopped himself, and shook his head. "Never mind," said Link, turning to pick up the map. "I'll set a new course," he muttered. Linebeck stopped him, careful to put a gentle hand on the kid's shoulder, though he hardly knew why he bothered. However, just for an instant, he had glimpsed something horrible in the boy's eyes. Some kind of horror was reflected there, some kind of sorrow. Whatever that golden glowy thing was, it had a part in taking away this boy's innocence. Linebeck just knew it. He'd seen this kid head off onto monster infested islands without batting an eyelid, he'd watched the boy nurse bruises and brave stormy waters, he'd noticed the confident grip on a sword too big for a boy his age yet easily wielded. Yes, this child was not a child at heart.

"You can tell me kid," Linebeck said gruffly, though he almost took it back immediately. He sounded like he was about to launch into some sort of corny, mushy conversation. Yuck. He was almost relieved when Link slowly shook his head.

"Maybe someday," said the boy, blue eyes meeting the old seaman's gaze. "But only if we stop for fresh bandages next time." Linebeck snorted.

"Only if you stop lazing around and do some work around here," he said with sharp nod, but there was a grin behind the frown. Just for an instant, the boy smiled.

"Deal." Then things went back to normal, the boy who was not a boy preparing to sail again with the man who pretended not to notice, both knowing that things would never be the same.

PLEASE R&R.
MachStorm