Chapter 1

It had been about a month since the evil-hearted Ganon was sealed beneath the waves. The brave hero and the beautiful princess once again surfaced to their world above the sea and reunited with their friends. All was at peace. There wouldn't be any other interference with peace for times to come.

The princess Zelda, who goes by her true name and title, Captain Tetra, once again took the reins of her beloved ship and crew and set sail once more. However, there were a couple of changes. Link had joined, accompanying the crew on the King of the Red Lions on a journey to find a new land. Their goal was to find a place to found New Hyrule. Makar and Medli, the Sages of Wind and Earth, had also tagged along to experience adventure and aid the young heroes on their way. Being powerful sages, Tetra didn't force any tasks on Medli and Makar, but sometimes they helped out with little chores. Link, on the other hand, was given the rank of swabbie and had to do all the dirty work. It amused Tetra to see the guy she knew as a hero to swab the poop deck and do the laundry. The other pirates easily became accustomed to the changes, especially Niko. Link took his position, so he became the cook. He actually wasn't that bad of a chef, much to everyone's surprise.

The crew made numerous stops on countless islands, meeting new people, creatures, and monsters. The hope given to them by the King's wish made it so that supplies were always plentiful wherever they went. Friends were made, pacts for the future were formed, and sometimes the pirates had to use force to get what they needed. However, Tetra seemed to have softened a bit. There was never any violence unless monsters were in the equation.

On this certain day about a month later, Medli and Makar were lounging at a beach on an island that harbored strange little creatures called Anouki. A pact had recently been formed that when a foundation had been found for New Hyrule, they would become citizens and aid in the growth and prospering of the fresh kingdom. Medli was staring out at the sunset. They had planned to stay the night on this island, since the kind penguin-things went so far as to insist hospitality. But Medli had other things on mind.

"Makar," she said, "what do you think about all this excitement and adventure? I know you miss the Great Deku Tree, as do I with my kin. But I like it here. There's never a dull moment." Makar squeaked in reply, "Yeah, I like the thrill of adventure, too? I just hope everyone's okay back at Forest Haven without me." Medli smiled. "You'll be back for the next planting, though! There's no doubt about that." Makar would've grinned back if his face wasn't a leaf. "Yeah!" he chimed. "The goddesses will make sure of that."

There was a moment of silence as Makar remembered all his friends back at home, while Medli thought of Komali and how he was doing. He had matured so much ever since Link had come to Dragon Roost and shown him courage, so she expected everything was coming along quite nicely. Her thoughts of Komali made her mind wander over to her favorite subject.

Link and Tetra. In Medli's mind, there was no match more perfect! She knew all about their struggles before the great voyage. She wanted nothing more than to try to spark up romance between the two. She saw how Link sometimes stared at Tetra while her back was turned. Once, she also padded silently by Tetra's room to catch a glimpse of her scribbling in what Medli guessed was her diary. She had to get her talons on it and find out what secrets the captain was hiding about Link. Medli had to admit, the young hero was a dashing swordsman with a good sense of humor to boot. There was no way Tetra could resist him. Thus, it was Medli's goal to shove the two together. However, there was a slight problem. Neither had admitted to anything yet. Whenever Medli brought up the topic of Tetra to Link, he was either completely aloof or complaining about having to do chores behind the captain's back. Tetra never said a word about Link unless he was there, and whenever Medli mentioned something about him, she'd easily change the topic. Tetra was the leader of the pack for a reason, and she could use her brain to get out of any situation. And Medli fell for it every single time, not noticing until the conversation was over and Tetra had gone back to work.

Medli was now fuming about this on the beach in the sunset, while Makar had finished his daydreaming about being back at home. He used his stubby little legs to stand up and looked over at Medli, who was frowning and had her eyes set on the sand. Makar thought that she would melt the sand into glass with that glare. "Uhh, Medli?" he called meekly. Medli started. "Hmm?" she muttered, the glowering on her face fading to its natural look. "Are you alright?" the empathetic Makar asked. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine!" Medli exclaimed. "Don't worry yourself! Sorry about that." Makar was curious. "Did something make you mad?" he questioned. Medli sighed. "Oh, you know; the usual. I have to figure out how to get those two together." She had always vented out her flames of shipping to Makar. It was unhealthy to bottle up her ambition. Makar laughed, which sounded like a jingling bell. "You'd think those two were a snake and a mongoose, staying as far apart as possible." Medli chuckled. "It's obvious they have a thing for each other. They aren't just some animals kept apart by nature…" she trailed off. "Animals," she stated. Makar would've had a confused expression on his face, but again, it was a leaf. Medli turned to him.

"That's it!" she exclaimed. Her eyes flamed dangerously. "What do you have planned?" Makar asked. Medli replied with a sly smirk, "You'll see. But first, I have to find out if there's a blacksmith in town. The place is overflowing with metal." "How can you tell?" Makar asked, not seeing a speck of iron in sight. "I'm the Sage of Earth, remember?" she reminded him. "Ever since I was awakened, I've been given quite a few gifts. The goddesses are quite generous, aren't they?" "Certainly," Makar agreed. "The Great Deku Tree sent me a new leaf-copter before I left with an inscription of Farore on it. I think it's from her." "Wow," Medli mused. "Ah, but I digress," she noticed. She got up. "I'm going to the village. I'll meet you at the ship when the time is appropriate." "Okay," Makar consented. "Oh," she added, "and tell Link to meet me on the beach at midnight."

The sun had set. The beautiful night sky shone with brilliant little lights. Link always wondered where stars came from, and why they existed. He was sitting at the front of the ship, his legs dangling over the edge and above the calmly rolling waves. He closed his eyes, his heart beating in sync with the gentle rocking of the ship. Living life as a pirate was awesome. He sighed. He still missed Aryll and his grandma, who he wished would've come with them, but he knew it was too dangerous. He knew he would see them again as soon as they found a place to build New Hyrule Castle and surround it with little villages and such. Until then, he had to wait, and be with the stars instead for company. He looked a bit off to the side to see a bright full moon shining radiantly across the ocean and lighting up his surroundings. The moon sure was a lot like the sun, only not as bright.

Suddenly, Link heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Gonzo hauling barrels out of the ship to refill them with fresh water. Link always thought of the pirate to be like Tetra's father, seeming to care the most for her and doing whatever ended up in her favor. He may have seemed like a brute and a violent man, but he actually had a kind heart. The very same Gonzo glanced over and caught Link out of the corner of his eye. He dropped the barrel and leaned against it. "Oy, kid! Nice night, isn't it?" he commented, looking up at the brilliant stars. Link nodded. "Sure is. The dozens of little stars in the sky make it look like there are little lamps everywhere." Gonzo smiled. "Yeah, guess you're right. Maybe the goddesses lit some gigantic lamps up there to keep their world bright." The two laughed, imagining an endless void of nothingness lit randomly with lamps. That would be pretty pointless.

Gonzo hefted up the barrel again. "Better get this into town, or I won't hear the end of it," he chuckled. "Miss Tetra wants us ready to go 'ASAP'." With that, he started down the board that took him to the island. Thinking of both her and Link reminded him of how she stuttered whenever he came up in conversation, and he chuckled silently to himself. He didn't notice little Makar waddling past, making his way towards an unsuspecting Link. As Gonzo was lumbering through the little Anouki village, he happened to pass by Medli. "Hey there, Miss Sage!" he greeted her. She smiled and waved. "Hello, Gonzo!" she called back. "Refreshing the water supply?" "Yup," he affirmed. "What're you doing out here? It's pretty chilly out." Medli looked down at the ground and smirked. "Oh, nothing," she lied terribly. Gonzo immediately caught on. "A-ight, what's going on?" he asked. She replied, "Oh, okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret until the time is right, okay?" Gonzo, still curious but puzzled, agreed, "Ok, Miss. So what's going on?" Medli beckoned him to bend down, him being much taller than her, and started whispering in his ear.

Tetra was enjoying her stay in the Anouki village. One of the residents had kindly (and somewhat out of fear) given her his home to stay in over the night, while he rested his head at a neighbor's house. It was like a gigantic tent made out of strong, bendable sticks and a thick blue cloth. Little shells were dotted about as decoration, along with a couple of utilities for survival in luxury, like a stone stove and a little fireplace. Tetra was leaning back on a comfortable chair, warming her bare feet by the soothing flames. There was nothing like using other peoples' hospitality to your advantage, especially when they wanted you to. Her eyes were closed, and she was listening to the crackling of the burning wood. She sighed. "Man, this place sure is nice for a little village in the middle of nowhere," she stated to herself. "Where'd they get all this stuff? It's like the goddesses came down and just rained them with fireplaces. Ah well, can't question it. I wouldn't know where to find the right answer."

Then, she heard a crash. She shook her head. "Oii, Niko's at it again. What'd he do this time?" Almost as if on cue, a little freckled face popped in through the opening of the tent. "Umm, Miss Tetra?" he said hesitantly. She turned her head to look at him, only bothering to open one eye. "What?" she snapped. Niko gulped. "N-nothing, Miss. Just wanted to see how you were doing. We gotta check up on each other sometimes, right?" Tetra sighed. "As long as you apologize to the poor soul for having his little chandelier broken, I think you'll be okay. Just don't mess anything else up," she warned. Niko's jaw hit the ground. "But how…" he trailed off and left. Tetra closed her eyes and smiled. She always knew how he got into trouble just by looking at his face.

She heard Niko call out to someone from outside. She figured it was the victim of the broken chandelier, but to her surprise, she heard Medli call back in response. Why wasn't she asleep? It was late. Tetra was curious. She got up and crept to the opening. Then, she drew identical curtains over the opening while Niko had his back turned. She laid down on the ground and put her ear up to the blue cloth.

She heard, "'Hoy, Miss Sage!" Medli replied happily, "Hi there, Niko! What was that crash just now?" Niko stuttered, "O-oh, nothing." Medli just laughed. "Oh, Niko, always getting into trouble," she chuckled. Tetra laughed a bit to herself, too. How could he get into trouble so easily? What a clutz. Then, Niko tried to branch off the subject. "What're you doing up so late at night?" he asked. She replied, "Well, I guess it's no use keeping it a secret, so I'll just tell you." Tetra's eyes widened a bit. A secret? She had to know what was going on.

Tetra never heard anything after that. She figured they were either whispering or had gone off somewhere else. She didn't want to risk opening the curtain and getting caught, so she decided to just wait it out and then intimidate Niko into telling her. She stood up and got back in her chair. Looking into the flames, she remembered the bright orange on Ganon's dark yet vibrant cloak. And how she and Link were able to overcome the greedy tyrant as a team. She smiled to herself and quickly fell asleep.

In fact, Medli and Niko had made their way over to the beach. The young Rito sat down in the sand and looked up at Niko. "Whaddya think?" she asked him. "Pretty good idea, right?" Niko shrugged and replied, "I dunno. Miss Tetra isn't the type to go nuts over some boy. Sure, she and Link have had history (no pun intended), but not in the romantic sort. If you mess up on this, she'll have your hide." Medli laughed. "Please," she argued. "It's obvious that Tetra's crazy for him. I'm just giving the two a gentle nudge in the right direction." "'A gentle nudge'?" Niko chuckled. "You sure know how to play things, I'll give you that. But still, be careful; there's no telling what the captain will do to you if you either let it slip beforehand or if the plan fails." Medli smiled. "Oh, it won't fail," she assured him. "My plans never fail."