The hero, the broken, the saviour
Disclaimer:Promptly explodes: For the last time…they aren't mine.
Now, onto a brief outline of the story: We will be beginning in the Wind-waker universe. I will naturally be adding a few other characters, as I am wont to do. Then, we will progress to the universe of Link, the Hero of Time, after the events of Hyrule and Termina. If I tell you much more than that, it's going to give the plot away. However, I will say that I've decided to call the main character from Wind-waker 'Rufus', because, well, he just isn't 'Link' in my eyes. I'm awkward, I know…
Well, here we go. First person (surprise, surprise!) Thoughts, are naturally, in italics, thoughts in : single colons :
Rufus: The Outset
:I can't believe I managed to forget it was my birthday: I thought in amazement as I hurried down the ladder from the lookout, to the quay below. Aryll's giggles at my forgetfulness drifted down after me, and I grinned. It was a pretty stupid thing to do, come to think of it! It wasn't as if anything much ever happened on Outset that could have made me forget… Maybe my mind tried to make me forget, so that I wouldn't be home in time to be given the special coming-of-age clothes I was going to have to wear. How many other islands would consider you a man at thirteen anyway? I couldn't think of any off of the top of my head, and whilst I was dreading wearing them, at least it was only for one day – and I still had my party to look forward to, at least.
I ran along the sun-bleached wood of the quay and back onto the smaller of the two islands that made up the home I'd known all my life – on the other island, I could see the merchant, Beedle, tying up his boat, and settling down for his usual rest of two or three days. Every six months, he'd come and barter at Outset, and he always had interesting things to sell. Maybe after I'd seen Grandma, I could go and see what he had to sell – I had a few rupees that I'd saved up that I could buy things with.
But, for now, I had to hurry, or Grandma might begin to get worried about me. I hopped onto the bridge between the two islands, and Joel came running over to me. :Oh Gods, what does he want this time: I wondered, as I smiled down at the kid. :Lucky – you've got a good few years before you have to go through what I'm about to go through: I thought with annoyance. "Hello Joel," I said, smiling slightly, and bending my knees to slouch down to his level.
"Hi Rufus! Happy birthday! Me and mom and dad and Zill got you a present – but, mom's still wrapping it, so I guess we'll have to give it to you later at the party, huh, huh?" He spoke so quickly (like always) that it took me a few seconds to figure out what he had said.
"Oh, right. Well, thank you in advance for the gift then!" I stood up straight again, and was about to carry on across the bridge when he tugged on my shirt. "Yeah?"
"I was just wondering if you could reach that rock out there," Joel said, and he looked at the stack of rock that was poking out of the water on the left of the bridge. "You see, 'cos Zill and I were playing, and then he knocked me, and my slingshot kinda landed over there," he pointed, and then looked down guiltily at the ground. "And mom would be mad if she knew…" he trailed off, and then looked at me hopefully.
:Ever the hero to the rescue, hey Rufus old boy: my mind thought with a smirk. It certainly did seem that way recently. However, as I didn't want Joel's mom to tell him off (because, well, she's pretty scary), I agreed to get the slingshot for him. "Sure, I'll be right back." And then, I jumped easily across to the stack, and threw the slingshot back to him – he caught it fumblingly, and I returned to the bridge. :Well, that was easy.:
"Rufus! Oh Rufus!" I turned around to see Zill running towards me, his nose as unpleasant as always. He didn't seem able to stop, and I backed up in a panic – only to fall right off of the bridge!
I came back up to the surface and drew a huge breath, and then glared at Zill, who was looking terrified. Instead of yelling at him, I just swam to shore. At least I wouldn't have to wear these wet clothes for long… I made my way up the beach, the sand sticking to the soaking wet bottoms of my trousers.
Sadly, it didn't seem like people were going to let me alone today. Sue-Belle hailed me, "Hoy, Rufus!" she hurried over, the pot on her head swaying slightly. I smiled up at her, and blushed slightly when she returned my smile with a pretty one of her own.
"Yeah Sue-Belle? What is it?"
"I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, of course! I'll be seeing you at the party later, but I have to get going with this water now – Sturgeon needs it for one of his latest experiments."
"What is it this time?" I asked with a grin. Sturgeon was always trying some crazy experiment or other.
"Only the Gods know!" she laughed, and then started to hurry off to Sturgeon and Orca's house. "See you later Rufus!"
"See you!" I waved after her, and then turned around – I walked up the path from the beach, and then climbed up the steps onto our porch. Turning around, I could see dozens of seagulls all around the lookout, so I knew that Aryll must still be up there. I wrung out the front of my shirt, and my trousers, so that I wouldn't leave too much water on the floor when I went inside, and took one last look at Outset, in the glorious sunshine, before turning around to our front door to go and face my doom. :Girls are so lucky…:
I pushed the door open, and seeing that Grandma wasn't downstairs, I went over to the ladder that led to my and Aryll's room upstairs. "Grandma, are you up here?" I called.
"Yes Rufus, I'm here. Where have you been dear? Oh my!" she exclaimed as I reached the top of the ladder. "I did wonder why you'd been so long – did you go for a swim in your clothes?" she smiled, and I grinned.
"Sort of."
"Oh well, you're lucky you've got these to change into, aren't you?" I made a grunt, and noticing that she looked a little putout, I quickly smiled, and took the green woollen clothes she held out for me. "Time certainly flies... I can't believe you're already old enough to wear these clothes."
"They look really…nice," I said, and Grandma beamed. That made me feel a bit better. It was only for a day after all, and if it would make her happy, I wouldn't mind wearing the clothes so much. "I'll just go and get changed, all right?"
"Of course dear one – oh, hang on, I almost forgot." She hurried over to the wardrobe that Aryll kept her clothes in, and opened the door. "Beedle gave this to me the last time he stopped by Outset, since he wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it back in time for your birthday or not." She came back with a parcel wrapped up in brown paper, and tied with a bit of bright red string.
"Wow…I'll have to thank him when I go back out later!" I exclaimed, lowering my arms so that she could put the package on top of my new clothes. "I'll be right back then." I went over to the door in the corner of the room, which led to the bathroom, and shut it behind me. Once inside, I dropped the package and clothes onto the floor, and got rid of my wet ones – I threw them over the towel rail so that they could dry for tomorrow, and then picked up the clothes Grandma had just given me.
:Tights: I thought in horror. I'd forgotten the tights. However, remembering Grandma's smiling face, I knew this was something I'd have to endure. :This is going to be interesting.:
"Are you all right in there, Rufus?" Grandma knocked on the door and called through five minutes later – I'd been struggling with the tights for a while now, but I seemed to be winning at last.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just taking my time."
"Oh, all right. Well, just so you know, I'm going to go back downstairs and start cooking up some soup for later."
"Is it my favourite?" I asked.
"Of course, chicken like always!" she laughed, and I smiled. I loved her chicken soup – it was always so creamy and rich. "Do come down and show me when you're done, won't you?"
"Yes Grandma." I succeeded in getting my second leg into the tights, and had at last pulled them on over my underwear. Next was the green woollen tunic. I picked it up, and held it out, seeing that there were loops for a belt; when I jiggled the tunic around a bit, sure enough, a thick brown belt fell out. The tunic was easy enough to put on, and I spent a few seconds looping the belt through, before putting it through the buckle, and ending up on the third smallest notch. It came down to my knees (for which I was grateful – I'd seen pictures of Mesa's coming-of-age day, and his tunic had been more like a shirt!) I stuffed my feet hurriedly into the brown leather ankle boots that went with the tunic, and tied up the laces.
The last thing was a hat of the same, bright green as the tunic. I picked it up, and plunked it down onto my head – looking in the mirror, I saw that it was a bit too big for me, and I had to pull it back so that it didn't fall over my eyes quite so much. Frowning, I bent down and picked up the package from Beedle. :I wish I didn't have to wear this: I left the bathroom, and went back out into mine and Aryll's bedroom. I went over to my bed, and sat down on it to undo the package.
What fell out was a pinkish skin colour, and when it flopped down from my knee onto the covers, I moved back, thinking it was alive. Poking it, however, I found out that it wasn't. I picked it up, and looked at it – and then I realised what it was. "Oh wow!" I breathed, looking at the pig-face design on the small leather bag. It was a bait bag; I'd seen them in books, and knew that they were the kind of bags that really good fishermen used. And, well, growing up on Outset, you couldn't really not love fishing – it was always so relaxing, and I could have competitions with the other kids on the island.
Remembering that I'd promised to show Grandma when I was done, I used the drawstring ties on the bag to tie it to my belt-loops, and then climbed down to the first floor. "Grandma, I'm done." She turned around from the stove, and her face cracked into one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen!
"Oh, Rufus, they suit you perfectly! A perfect fit as well!" I had to agree with her there – they did fit snugly, and they weren't as warm as I feared they would be.
"Thank you Grandma, they're lovely," I bent down and hugged her. "Shall I go and get Aryll for you, so she can help you with the preparations?" I winked, and she nodded, still smiling broadly.
"That'd be lovely dear! Go off and play for a little while, and I'll call you when we're all ready."
"Bye Grandma!" I left our house, and stepped out onto the porch. Since there were still loads and loads of seagulls around the lookout, I knew Aryll was still there. But, seeing Beedle sitting on the top of his boat, and sunbathing, I decided on a detour. "Hey, Beedle!" I called across to him, and he jumped slightly, before turning around to look at me.
"Oh, hello there Rufus!" he bared his few remaining teeth at me in what I supposed was meant to be a smile. "Happy birthday – a young man now, is it?" I just nodded. "Did you get that gift I left with your Grandma?"
"Yeah, I did thanks. It's really good, thank you so much!"
"You do realise that you're going to need some bait to go in that bag though, don't you?" he hopped off of the roof of his boat, and stepped from the worn wood onto the sand next to me. "I'll give you a few portions for free, but, when you run out, you'll have to buy some more. I can't give out free stuff to everyone all the time, after all!" he ducked into his floating shop, and was out again almost immediately, with a handful of some brown, odd-smelling pellets. "Here you are – some premium bait!"
I held out the bait-bag, with the neck open, and he thrust the handful of bait inside. "Thanks!"
"Don't mention it. I'll be seeing you later at the party, if I'm invited that is…"
"Of course you're invited! Everybody is – I'll see you there. But, I have to go and get my sister now, so I'd better hurry."
"Of course, of course. See you later lad."
"Bye." I walked back up the beach, so that I could walk on the proper path again – it was quite difficult to walk on sand in my new boots. As I walked past Sturgeon and Orca's house, Orca waved at me, and I waved back with a smile. They may have been brothers, but the two men were about as alike as a bird and a fish! Sturgeon was always carrying out experiments, or reading, or stargazing or something, and Orca was always practicing his sword-skills. He'd given me a few lessons actually, but Grandma didn't really want me to have a sword, so he wouldn't give me one.
Luckily, Joel and Zill weren't still out on the bridge, so I didn't have to fear falling into the sea again, or either one of them trying to act all 'cool' and 'grownup' around me. :Sometimes it really sucks being the oldest kid here… I wish we could live on Windfall Island; then there'd be lots of other kids.: It was just a fleeting thought though – I'd never even left Outset, and the idea was sort of scary! And, there was apparently a school on Windfall island as well – Abe and Mesa had both been sent away to school there, and apparently it wasn't much fun, so I was glad I didn't have to go to school at least.
I made my way back across the quay that I had only just left about half an hour ago, and started to climb the ladder. When I reached the top, it was to find Aryll sitting on the ground, with a very large seagull sitting in front of her, and another one eating bread out of her hand. As soon as I set foot on the platform, the boots I was wearing made a loud sound, and all of the seagulls rose up into the air, startled. Aryll jumped up. "Sorry," I said, "I didn't mean to scare them off."
"That's all right," my sister smiled in that sweet way she always did. "Ah – well, hoy there anyway," she giggled. "Did Grandma make that outfit for you then?" I nodded,
"Yup."
"Aren't they a little hot?" she arched an eyebrow.
"Uh – well, actually, they're not that bad," I said, surprised at the discovery of this fact.
"Neat! Oh…well, anyway, close your eyes and hold out your hands!" I looked at her cautiously. "Oh, go on, I'm not going to do anything bad – I just want to give you your present." Warily, I closed my eyes, and stuck out my hands. "This is just for one day mind," she shoved something cool and cylindrical into my hands. "Open your eyes – happy birthday!" I opened my eyes, and looked down amazed.
"Your telescope! Are you sure Aryll? I mean, it's your favourite thing since – well, ever!" She just giggled.
"Of course I'm sure! You're my big brother after all, so you get to borrow my special gift – just promise to be careful with it!" As soon as she said this, I pretended to drop it, and she scowled, and tapped her foot on the wood of the platform. "Don't be silly big brother! Now, why don't you try it out? I'll tell you how to work it and zoom in and things!" I walked over to where she was now standing by the railings, and then put the telescope up to my eye.
"Now, point it over to the house – hey, look at that postman – he looks sort of weird, doesn't he?" I looked down at the post-box, and sure enough, there was a strange looking man taking letters out, and carrying a delivery bag over his shoulder. I fumbled with the controls, and managed to zoom in. :He has wings: "Aaah! Rufus! The sky, look at the sky!" I quickly whipped the telescope up, and managed to catch the shadow of some huge creature overhead. Zooming out a bit, I managed to see that it was a huge, black bird! And, what was worse, was that it was holding a girl in its claws!
"Oh Gods!" I breathed, watching as the bird circled above – suddenly, a cannonball came out of nowhere, followed by another one. I turned the telescope, and saw that a ship was coming towards Outset – and it was flying a pirate banner. I gulped, and looked back up at the bird.
One of the cannonballs managed to hit, and the bird squawked in pain, letting go of the girl; right over the forest! "Oh no, this is terrible! She fell right into the forest! She needs help Rufus…but it's too dangerous to go in the forest!" Aryll dug her fingers into my shoulder, and stood on her tiptoes to try and get a better look at the forest. "If only you had something to defend yourself with…" I took the telescope away from my eye, and then stuff it into my belt, so I wouldn't lose it.
"That's just given me an idea, little sister," I said, thinking very hard. "Do you think Orca might give me a sword if I tell him what's happened?" She bit her lip,
"I don't know – but, whatever you do, I think you should hurry, or that girl might get hurt!" I took her advice, and after giving her a quick hug, went over to the ladder. Since things were so urgent, I didn't bother with the rungs, and instead slid down the ladder by just holding onto the sides, going a few feet at a time to make sure I didn't go too fast. Then, as soon as I was at the bottom, I turned around, and began to run back to the bridge, and the other island, as fast as I could.
"Hoy Rufus!" Orca called as I rushed up the path towards his house. "What's wrong lad?" he asked, as soon as I was close enough for him to see my face. "Has something bad happened? Whatever it is, I can tell it's no laughing matter – what by the Gods has happened?" By that time, I was standing right in front of him, and after a few deep breaths in order to get my breath back after running all the way there, I told him what had happened. After I was done, he let out a long, low whistle.
"I know that you'll want to be going straight away, but you'll need to have some instruction before I can just let you go off with a sword into the forest alone!"
"But, that girl could be really badly hurt!" I protested, even as Orca steered me inside, and onto the training circle that took up most of his front room. "I can't waste time here, I need to go, and quickly!"
"Don't worry Rufus, this will only take a couple of minutes at most." He took the usual sword he let me practice with from the wall, and handed it to me. "Go through all of the sword swings I've shown you. Don't worry, I'm quite ready," he assured me, taking up his own staff and crouching down into a fighting position. Sighing, I went through all the moves he had taught me as quickly as I could.
Horizontal slice. Vertical slice. Thrust. Jump attack. The complicated spin attack (which I managed to pull off without getting dizzy at all). And, last of all, a couple of parries. "Very good, very good. Now that I'm sure you're ready, let's go."
"Huh?" I queried, following him out of the door.
"Do you really think I'd allow you to go into the forest alone? You could be badly hurt, and your Grandma would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you!" With that, he set off towards the bridge and the other island, with me following close behind. As we went along, he started to tell me about the sword he'd given me. I listened with interest, because he'd never bothered to tell me the story of the weapon before.
"Since the days of old, this sword had been used to fend off evil of all kinds. It's infused with the desire to be strong and righteous, which is one that I can clearly see that you also hold within yourself. After that fine display of swordsmanship, you have proved that boys can truly still become men at your age." I could feel my cheeks burn with joy at this comment. This was high praise, and from the best swordsman I'd ever seen! He even had a Knight's crest of his very own!
I'd never been into the forest before – I'd been always taught that it was forbidden to go in, and, well, it looked so scary from the outside that no one ever wanted to go in. And, well, now that I was in the forest, I could see that the outside of it didn't do it justice. There was thick mist everywhere, and the trees were hung with so much moss that it looked almost like they'd grown beards.
Orca went before me, and I could see that his staff arm was tensed. I shuffled the pommel of the Hero's sword in my left hand, and hoped I wouldn't have to use it. Sure, I was OK at fighting, but I'd only ever fought Orca; what if I ended up having to fight a monster or something:Rufus to the rescue again: I thought jovially to try and cheer myself up. It didn't really work all that well though, and I hurried to keep up with Orca – I wouldn't like to get lost in the forest.
Looking all around, I caught a glimpse of white through the trees. I pulled out Aryll's telescope and quickly zoomed in on the white thing. "Orca!" I whispered, and he whirled around. I pointed over to the white thing I'd seen, "The girl's over there." He nodded, his face solemn, and began to walk towards her. Suddenly, we came up against a cliff that had previously been obscured by the fog – she was on top of the cliff!
"Drat," Orca cursed quietly, and I looked at him in surprise. When he saw my glance, he grinned guiltily. "Sorry lad, didn't mean to…" he gestured vaguely, rather than ending the sentence, but I knew what he meant anyway. "Hmm…there's nothing to grip onto on this rock. We're going to have to find another way up there." He looked down at me with his piercing eyes. "If I go to the right, and you go to the left, one of us is bound to find a way up. Then, we can come back and get the other."
"Are you sure?" I questioned, shivering at the thought of being alone in this place. He nodded gravely, and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Be brave lad. Remember, you're a man as of today!" I nodded, and then turned to the left just as he had told me to do. "Keep your guard up." I nodded again, and then set off into the mist, hand clamped to the pommel of my sword like it was the most precious thing in the world to me. :And, well, it probably is right now.:
As I went along, I became steadily more aware of just how quiet it was without Orca's footfalls to break the silence. The only sounds I could hear were the soft crunches my boots made as I walked through the ankle deep dead leaves that littered the floor, the thudding of my heart, and my breathing, which echoed in the silent air. :Please, oh please let that girl be all right: I thought desperately, craning back – I could still just see her, off in the distance, a tiny speck of white amongst the generally green landscape.
Finally, it seemed as though I was getting somewhere, as I managed to find a place which started to go upwards. Soon, I found a rough track which bent back the way I had come, and rose steeply up the side of the cliff face I had been walking beside for the past few minutes. I hurriedly walked up it, and then took out the telescope to see where the path led – however, the mist was blocking most of the view, so I just guessed that it would eventually lead back to the girl that the huge black bird had dropped.
Remembering what Orca had said, I started to make my way back down the path, to go and get him, when I heard a shrill scream, and a loud, cracking sound. :The girl: I wheeled around and careered down the path, barely having time to register shadows as they came out of the mist and correct my course to go around them. The sword make it awkward to run, and I wished for a sheath for it – I'd have to ask Orca for one later. For now though, the girl was in trouble!
I found myself teetering on the edge of the very same cliff that we'd come up against earlier – spinning on my heel, I looked up, and saw…nothing. :Where by the Gods is she: There was another scream, and I followed the sound – my new boots caught in a root of some sort that was sticking out of the ground, and I felt myself falling forwards. "Orca! Help!" I yelled, and the sound echoed along with the dying reverberations of the girl's earlier scream.
I skidded to a halt (or, well, to be precise, I banged into a tree and stopped) at the bottom of a steep slope. The mist here was less thick, and I could see that the girl must have fallen just as I had – there was a large gash across her forehead, and the sight of so much blood strangely fascinated me. I'd never seen quite so much of it before…though I felt a little queasy, I was curious too, and just sat there staring at it.
"Gyarrk!" a shrill screech startled me from staring at the girl, and something thudded into the wood a few inches above my head. Looking up, I saw a creature which huge teeth and claws, and all manner of sharp appendages, towering over me. I wasn't sure, but I think I'd seen one in one of Sturgeon's books. It was called a…bokibli? A bokoblon? A bokoblin, that was it!
It managed to wrench its weapon from the tree, taking a large part of the trunk away with the blade. Panicking, I jumped to my feet, and bought the Hero's sword up into a defending position. The bokoblin struck, and I felt the impact jar through my sword and up my arm. :Ouch! Well, if you're not going to play nice: Before I knew what I was doing, something just seemed to take over me. The screeching sounds that the bokoblin made became silent, even though I could see that it's mouth was open – when its sword hit against mine again, it didn't make any sound. As if in slow motion, I crouched low to the ground, and then performed a jump attack. The creature fell, dazed, and then I stabbed it through its green-scaled chest.
It disappeared – as all dark creatures are wont to do, at least, from what I've read, anyway.
Sound came back – my heart was throbbing painfully in my chest, and my breath came in ragged gasps. The girl was still out cold, and I carefully went over to her. "Ouch," she moaned, and I jumped backwards in surprise. She bought up a hand and touched her head – then, she winced, and hoisted herself into a sitting position. Unsure of what to do (and wondering where by the Gods Orca had gotten to) I backed away and watched from the shadows of some nearby ferns.
"Drat…" she opened her eyes, and looked at her fingers, which were covered in a sheen of blood. "Oh, my head," she groaned, and she pressed her hands over her eyes. I took this opportunity to step forwards – and managed to stupidly step on a twig, which snapped loudly. She jumped, startled by the sudden sound, and looked straight at me. Her eyes narrowed, "What's with the weird get-up?"
"Uh – I – uh…" I stammered, not knowing what to say now.
"Miss! Miss Tetra!" I was pushed aside as someone came running towards the girl, and I landed face first on the wet mud of the forest floor. "Oh, thank goodness you're all right! When I saw you get dropped on this summit, I thought for sure you'd…"
"Summit? So that bird dropped me on top of a mountain? Well, how very nice of it… Don't just stand there you, let's get going; it's time to repay our debt to that foul creature in full!" When she'd finished saying this, I'd managed to pick myself up off of the ground, and dust myself off a bit.
"But Miss…what about this boy?" Looking up, I saw a tall, burly looking man gesturing towards me. The girl stared at me indifferently, and flicked her blonde hair back over her shoulder.
"Him? Pah, don't worry about him – come on, let's get going!" And, with that, she breezed past me, and strode off into the forest, closely followed by the tall man. He nodded to me as he went past, and I nodded back. Then, deciding that I didn't want to be in this forest any longer, I followed the two of them back towards the bridge.
It was only as I began to near the edge of the forest, that I realized I'd forgotten Orca. :Oh no: I turned right around, and was about to start walking back in, when something landed heavily on my shoulder. "Argh!" However, when I turned to see what it was, I saw that it was just a hand. "Orca! Oh, thank the Gods, I though you might be lost or hurt or-"
"Shush lad, I'm fine. I saw that girl go by here a minute ago, so I suppose we'd best leave as well. Come along." He and I walked back to the bridge together, and I kept looking down at my sword as we did so. "What're you thinking?" he asked shrewdly when he caught me doing this.
"I – I managed to win against a bokoblin!" I exclaimed in a rush, and his eyebrows seemed to launch themselves to meet at the top of his forehead.
"Indeed? Well, I must say, that's most impressive. Well done!" I glowed with pride, and swung my sword merrily from side to side.
The full force of the sunshine was almost blinding after being in the murky forest for so long – I narrowed my eyes against the sun, and was surprised to see that that girl and the man were still on the forest side of the bridge. They seemed to be arguing about something, and stopped as soon as they noticed Orca and I walking towards the bridge (and consequently them). I decided not to bother talking to them, since the girl had been so rude, and carried on past them with Orca, to the bridge.
"'Hoy big brother!" I heard Aryll holler, and looking across the bridge, I saw her waving. I grinned and waved back, happy to see that she had decided to come and meet me. She started across the bridge, and I waited on the other side, glancing towards the girl – :Tetra: – and wondering whether she'd actually thank me or not for the whole saving her life thing… :And, she's rather pretty.: I blushed, glad that no one could read my thoughts, and looked back to where Aryll had managed to get about halfway across the bridge.
"CAW!" there was a great noise from overhead, and that big black bird from earlier seemed to swoop out of nowhere. I heard Aryll scream, and then saw the bird whisk her off of the bridge!
"NO! ARYLL!" I started to run after the bird, and suddenly there wasn't any ground left anymore. "ARGH!" I yelled, as I began to plummet down towards the rocks below – someone grabbed onto my hand, and looking up, I saw that it was the girl.
"Uhnn! Stupid kid! Get a hold of yourself! She's gone! There's nothing you can do," she hissed, digging her fingernails into my arm as she hauled me up. :Who's she calling a kid? She doesn't look any older than I am: Turning around, I scanned the sky for the bird, and saw it off in the distance.
"Aryll…oh no…"
I'd followed Tetra and the man who'd come to find her down from the forest, and all the way to the beach. Their ship was anchored off shore, and I saw a tiny rowing boat that the man must have used to get to the beach. Orca had made his way back to his house, leaving me alone to try and figure out how to save my sister. I'd seen tears in his eyes as he went, and it was getting really hard not to cry myself. "Wait! I want to go with you, do you understand?" I bellowed desperately.
"What? You want to come with us on our ship?"
"Yes, I do," I answered, more stoutly than I felt.
"Do you even understand what you're asking? We're pirates for Gods sakes! You know…pirates! The terror of the seas! What in heck do we get out of bringing some helpless little kid along with us, huh? I'll tell you what, a dratted headache, that's what. I know how you must feel what with your sister being kidnapped and all… But that doesn't really have anything to do with us, does it!"
I was about to yell something ever so rude back to her, when a voice I didn't recognize cut in. "And how exactly do you figure that out, young lady?" All four of us (as another pirate had been waiting for Tetra and the man on the beach) whirled around, and I recognized the man as the strange postman I'd seen earlier. And he really did have wings!
"Whoa there, just who do you think you are, butting into other peoples' conversations, huh buddy?" This came from the big pirate who'd knocked me over in the forest.
"Shut up Gonzo," Tetra hissed. "What exactly do you mean, featherbrain?"
"I'll ignore that facetious comment," the postman decided. He looked down at me, and extended a feathered arm, "My name's Quill."
I took the offered hand and shook it, "Rufus."
"Enough with the niceties, and explain what you mean!" Tetra said loudly, her hands curling into fists. :Why is it she still looks cute when she's angry – wait – what am I thinking:
"All I mean to say, is that if you big, bad pirates hadn't come to this lovely little island…that that poor girl wouldn't have been snatched away by that bird."
"Oh, really?" she snapped back sarcastically.
"Just be quiet for one blasted moment, will you?" Quill's feathers bristled. "Now, as my work entails delivering letters, I spend a lot of time travelling amongst many different islands, which means I hear a lot of things. Haven't any of you heard word about young ladies being kidnapped lately from all regions of the Great Sea?" We all shook our heads. "No matter. Whether you've heard about it or not, that's what's been happening. Young ladies with long ears – just like yours," he looked at Tetra, "have been getting kidnapped, never to be seen again."
"Never?" I echoed in horror. He threw me a sympathetic look.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get your sister back…but, as I was saying… The girl who has just been kidnapped has long ears, much like you do, Miss Fearsome Pirate. My point is, is that the bird mistook that poor girl for you, which is why it grabbed her." Tetra was stunned into silence. "And unless I'm much mistaken, it was young Rufus here who saved you from the monsters in the forest."
She seemed to find her tongue, and looked at me with her wide, blue eyes… "Is this true?" she asked in wonder. I just nodded, blushing.
"Oh! And while I'm at it, I may as well tell you that this foul bird has made its nest to the north, on the heights of the Forsaken Fortress."
"The Forsaken Fortress!" Tetra exclaimed. "Isn't that the place where…" Quill cut her off,
"So, what are you going to do, hmm? I think under the circumstances, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Rufus to ask you for a little help, would it?"
"Hmph, I don't need you to tell me that. But, even if I were to consider it – and I'm not saying that I am mind – I've heard nothing but evil rumours about the Forsaken Fortress. You," she glared at me with those wide, sapphire blue eyes… "You can't really mean to go there with only that cheap little sword to defend yourself with! That's not brave, that's just stupid!" She crossed her arms over her chest and heaved in a great gasp of breath. "Surely, even a tiny island like this must have something you can use as a shield – look, come back with something like that, and we'll let you stow away on our ship.
"Oh, and one more thing kid; once we leave, you won't be coming back for a while, so you'd better say goodbye to your folks whilst you have the chance. I don't want you getting all weepy eyed and stuff on me!" I just nodded, and hurried off towards home. I'd have to break the news to Grandma somehow, and then ask her for the shield we used as the family crest to take with me… As soon as the pirate girl had mentioned a shield, I'd thought of the one that hung on mine and Aryll's bedroom wall.
Pushing the door open, I found that the house was all quiet. :What if Grandma's out still organizing the party: I wondered, climbing the ladder that went upstairs. :Maybe I should just get the shield, and write Grandma a note:. I wasn't sure whether I'd still be able to go through with leaving if I had to see her cry or something. :And I have to save Aryll – it's my fault that she went up the forest: Since there was no one around who could see, I dropped heavily onto my bed, and put my head in my hands. "Oh, Aryll!"
I stayed there for only a few minutes, because I knew I had to hurry up. Maybe Orca had some shields or something that I could use… It would be worth going to ask anyway. I got off of my bed, and walked over to my chest of drawers – there, I stared at the pictures of Aryll and Grandma that sat there, as well as the ones of Mum and Dad… I could only just remember them, and Aryll couldn't at all, since she'd been so very little when they went missing…
Turning away, I made my way back to the ladder, and hurried downstairs. I was shocked to find Grandma standing at the bottom, waiting for me, with the shield in her hands. "Rufus…this is what you're looking for, isn't it? Here…take it with you. Your father used to use it all the time, so it should be yours now that you're all grown up." I took the wooden shield from her gently, and smiled a watery smile. "Orca told me all about what happened when I was over there just now…I guess it really is true then? Aryll has been kidnapped…what sort of monster would want to kidnap such a sweet dear child?"
"I don't know Grandma – but I'll get her back, I promise you I will!"
"I know you will my dear," she pulled me into a hug. "You stay safe, you hear me!"
"I will." Unable to stay any longer, I hurried outside, slamming the door behind me. The shield I slung over my shoulder, using the strap that had attached it to the wall to keep it there. Quickly, I turned towards Orca's house, only to find him hurrying towards me, a scabbard in his hands.
"You're going to need this lad."
"Thanks Orca." I took it from him, and strapped it onto my back, going over the other shoulder from my shield.
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
Tetra and the two pirates were still waiting (albeit impatiently) on the shore, and I hailed them. "'Hoy there!"
"Wow, that's a pretty decrepit old shield – you'd better be careful you don't get a splinter and cry." Tetra said by way of a greeting, and I scowled at her.
"There's no need to be so rude."
"Whatever kid," she waved her hand in a bored way. "If you're ready, then let's go. Are you ready?"
"Of course I am," I answered through gritted teeth. "And stop calling me kid – you're the same age as me, so stop pretending to be grown up."
"Trust me, you're still a kid compared to me. I've seen things that would make your hair curl…not that it really needs it." I reached up and pushed some of my fringe out of my eyes. The fall I'd had in the water earlier on had indeed made it all curly…sometimes I really hated having curly hair. "Well, whatever, come on, hop in." She pushed me towards the small rowing boat, and I sat down precariously on the bow. She sat at the other end, and the two men pushed the boat out into the water.
Then, they paddled us to the pirate ship, and the pirates on board, after quizzing Tetra about 'the kid', threw down a rope ladder for us to climb up. She went up first, and I followed after her. The ladder was swinging around madly in a sudden wind that had picked up, and I had to stop for a moment when it was blown clear away from the side of the ship. "Hurry up will you, we don't have all day!" the pirate below me on the ladder said irritably, pushing me upwards.
I tumbled onto the deck, and rolled over to see at least a dozen pairs of eyes staring at me. I ignored them, and hurried over to the back of the ship, which was facing Outset. Everyone on the island had come to stand on the beach, and they all yelled words of encouragement. "Good luck Rufus! Good Luck finding Aryll! Take care of yourself!" Behind me, I heard Tetra bellowing orders to the other pirates, and the sounds of them all scurrying about to do what she said. In about ten seconds, the sails had been unfurled, and the wind filled them.
The ship suddenly lurched forwards, and I had to cling onto a rope to stop myself falling clean off. Holding onto the rope with one hand, I used the other to wave goodbye to Outset. :Oh Gods, this is the first time I've ever even left it. What am I going to do? I don't know anything about adventuring or anything. Oh no, what have I done: But then I thought about Aryll, and how scared she'd looked when she was carried off by that bird. :I have to do this…for Aryll…and for Grandma too.:
As Grandma crossed my mind, I glanced towards home – and I saw that she was standing on our porch, looking out towards the ship. I stood as tall as I could, going on my tiptoes, and waved my whole arm – I don't know whether she noticed or not though, because Tetra managed to say something horrible yet again.
"Ugh…how much longer are you going to do this kid? Do you have an estimate or something? Maybe you should just quit now, huh? I mean, seriously, think about it. I can tell you're just going to get worse from here on out. There's still time you know. Are you sure you don't want us to stop and put you back on your nice, safe little island?"
I didn't look at her, and watched Outset quickly dwindling in the distance. "No way," I said darkly. "I'm going to save my sister, and nothing you say or do will stop me."
"Fine, whatever. But you realize you can't stay there for the whole trip, right? If you're going to travel with pirates, you've got to help out too." I turned around at this, and stared at her. "What? I said I'd take you to the Forsaken Fortress – I didn't say this would be some sort of cruise!" I sighed…I should have known!
"All right, what do you want me to do then?"
"See that door over there?" I followed her finger to see a low wooden door, and nodded. "Go through there, and then go down the steps and into the hold. Niko will be waiting there for you. You have to do what he tells you on this trip. You don't co operate, I might seriously think about leaving you in the brig for the whole journey, understand?"
"Of course I do, I'm not some kind of mentally retarded idiot!" She seemed shocked at my outburst, and then she smirked.
"So I see you do have a backbone after all! Good. Now, off you go," she shoved me towards the door, and I muttered something I'm sure Grandma wouldn't have liked under my breath as I walked towards it.
I walked down the rickety stairs into the hold, filled with trepidation about who this Niko person was. "Finally! Took your time, didn't you swabbie?" I looked around for the bearer of the voice, but I couldn't see anyone at all! "Hey, down here dummy!" I looked down, and saw a man who barely came up to my shoulders glaring at me, but grinning at the same time. "Hi! I'm Niko!"
"Rufus," I answered, remembering my manners.
"Well, hey Rufus. Just so you know, ahem, I will be your acting superior officer for the rest of this trip, but don't worry. I promise to go easy on you as long as you do what I say, OK?" I just nodded, looking down at the small man curiously. :This tiny thing is my superior? OK then…: "Now then, first off, you'll need to take the test that all new pirates have to take," he drew me out of my thoughts.
"But I'm not a pirate!" I protested, annoyed that he thought of me as one. "And I'd never want to be a pirate – you hurt people and steal and do all sorts of bad things!" As soon as I'd said it, Niko's face fell.
"That doesn't mean we can't be nice people…it's only a job…but, fine, if you want, I'll just leave you alone."
"No – I mean…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. It's just – I can't be a pirate. I'll do the test, but I won't be a pirate. I'll just be your 'swabbie'." :Whatever that means…:
"Oh – OK. Well, anyway, this test is pretty hard, so you might have to do it over a few times before you get right. I'll show you what you need to do, and then you'll have to try it. Watch closely, so you can cram it into your swabbie-brain." I chose not to be offended by this, and watched closely. To my surprise, he ran over to a lever that was sticking out of the floor, and pushed it – suddenly platforms made out of wood dropped down from the ceiling, along with a lot of swinging lanterns on long rope tethers.
Then, Niko ran off the edge of the level we were standing on, and jumped onto the wooden platform closest to it. "What you need to do is get to the other side before the time runs out," he called back, jumping again and grabbing onto one of the swinging lanterns. He carried this on, moving in a monkey-like fashion to reach the other end of the hold. At the other end, he pushed yet another lever, and the platforms went away again. "Now you try it – just pull that lever, and then you'll have a minute and a half to get over."
:This is going to be fun: I thought, an amused smile across my face. I rushed over to the lever, and pulled it – again, the platforms came down. Then, I copied Niko's movements, jumping onto the first platform, and then making for the lantern; however, I'd forgotten the way they moved from side to side with the waves, and I missed it. "Ow…" I groaned, sitting up on the sack of flour I'd landed on. Niko was looking down at me and laughing.
"Guess you'd better try that again, hey swabbie?" I scowled, and dusted the white flour from all over me. I made my way over to the ladder, and pushed the lever back into the original position, so I could reset the time. "Don't worry – no one's ever done it first time around…not since Tetra's mother," Niko assured me, though he was still laughing. "Just keep at it until you get it. And whilst you do that, I'll be in the storeroom – when you get over, come in and see me."
:I have the feeling this is going to be a very long journey.: I pulled the lever again, and took the obstacles a little more slowly – however, I took them too slowly, and was tipped off of the platform I stood on before it went back up the ceiling. I climbed back up the ladder, pulled the lever, and stood there, just watching how the lanterns moved back and forth, before they went up again after a minute and a half.
:I think I know how they move now: I thought to myself, as I pulled the lever again. I had managed to mentally map out where the lanterns would swing to, and coordinated my jumps according to that. By doing that, I actually managed to get to the end, and with five seconds to spare!
"Niko? Hey, Niko, where are you?" I called, walking into the dimly lit storeroom. I saw him bent over an open casket, and he quickly slammed it shut before facing me.
"What! You did it already? …I…I'm proud to know you swabbie! That's amazing!"
"Uh – thanks," I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "What were you looking at?" I gestured towards the casket he stood in front of, and he jumped.
"Oh…nothing," he said guiltily.
"Liar!"
"Oh – all right, you got me. I was just looking at a load of knapsacks we managed to grab from a merchant," I raised my eyebrow. "Hey, we didn't hurt him, I swear – just scared him up a bit." A thought seemed to hit him. "Hey, you're going to be travelling around a lot soon, so you should probably take one of these to carry stuff you find in." He kicked the casket open, and pulled out a complicatedly decorated bag.
"I'll probably get busted for giving you this, but oh well," he handed it to me, and I slung it over my shoulder, along with my sword and shield. "But, just remember that anything you find, I get half of," he winked at me, and I laughed.
"Sure, whatever… Now what do you want me to do?"
"Well, to be honest, there isn't really much for us two to do. We haven't taken on board any new booty recently, so there isn't anything to sort through and categorize."
My eyes boggled. "You categorize the stuff you steal!"
"Hey! I prefer the term 'take without permission, amongst a lot of loud shouting'." Niko grinned, and even though he was a pirate, and I'd always been taught pirates weren't nice people, I found myself smiling back. :He doesn't really seem all that bad to me…:
"You know, you're not that bad for a pirate."
"And you're not all that bad for a swabbie. Now, come on, let's go and see about finding you somewhere to sleep around here. I'll warn you, it probably won't be in a bed – are you all right a hammock?" I thought back to the one time I'd tried to get into a hammock, and the thing had spun right around and dropped me back onto the floor. Aryll and Grandma had been in hysterics…
"Yeah, sure, that's fine."
"Good. All right, follow me, and we'll find you somewhere nice and warm." I followed Niko out of the storeroom, and back into the main hold – there, we both dropped down to the bottom, and walked over to the ladder on the other side. The wood underfoot tipped and reeled with the waves, and I felt slightly ill; luckily, higher up, the movement wasn't quite so bad, and I felt all right again.
:I wonder how long it'll take to get to the Forsaken Fortress:
"Oh, about three or four days," Niko said, and I blinked at him.
"Sorry?"
"You just asked how long it would take to get to the-"
"I said that out loud? I didn't realise…" Niko caught my eye at this, and we both laughed.
"Say – I like you swabbie. I'm glad Tetra decided to put you down here."
"So am I." :And I'm glad she decided she would help me out to get Aryll back, even though she isn't doing it very gracefully…:
Sorry about all my blatant use and manipulation of game-script. I just found it, and started using it, because it made me remember what happened in the game, and spurned me on to write. So, well, dialogue you recognise is completely stolen, heh. This site is pretty damned useful, I have to say – there're probably other scripts out there somewhere as well – if anyone wants help with finding Zelda scripts, email me, I'll see what I can do in the way of finding sites for you.
Anyway, enough of me blabbing! Next chapter, we get to meet my original character. And boy, they are pretty original. And they come from an island that doesn't actually exist in the Windwaker game…I did specify AU, didn't I? If not, I do now – AU-NESS AHEAD!
Soda – review, or…urm…I'll set my muses on you. And they're actually being pretty active where this story's concerned…
PS: The dedications I forgot to put at the top… First of all, thank you H7 – you don't know it yet dear, but I believe it was somewhere between looking at your art and reading your stories through again that I managed to get some inspiration back. Your amazing talent at pretty much everything you try your hand at has forced my muses to get up in a jealous rage and try to match you :grin: – and, well, you've also given me the courage to try this a/u idea that has been floating around in my head for a long while now. Also dedicated to anyone and everyone who's read my work, or whose work I've read. The list is huge – the two I can especially remember are 'Beautiful Nightmare', who welcomed me to the world of fan fiction (thank you m'dear!) and 'Jordiscy', who is perhaps the funniest author I've ever met :giggles stupidly:; she's the only person to have written humour fics that I actually liked. Through you, and all the others I'm too lazy to name, I've gained the experience that all authors need to improve. Thank you.