Chapter 8

"Go, go, go!" Eleven-year-old Link pushed Zelda further into the forest as the angry sound of the mob approached - stamping feet, snapping twigs, that sort of thing. Some of the Kokiri kids had decided that today would be pick-on-the-foreign-girl day. They tended to celebrate this one a few times a month.

Link knew their game, though. Whoever was the first to make Zelda cry would be declared the winner. They'd had to downgrade it to just making her eyes water since she didn't cry very easily. They even kept score. Mido tended to be in the lead most of the time.

Well, Link wasn't having it. He held a gnarled, lichen-coated branch in his hand. Sure, it was a bit damp, given the sprinkle of rain the Settlement had had recently, but it was enough. He'd fight them all off if he had to. Pure instinct pulsed in his every vein.

"Up here, Link!"

He glanced behind him. Zelda was quickly scaling up a nearby tree. "Be coming quickly!"

Adrenaline shut off his mind. He followed her up, his palms clinging to the rough, scratchy bark, his fingers drawing sticky sap. He gently nestled himself onto a sturdy looking branch just at the very moment the children stormed by underneath. He grinned.

It was then that his brain finally caught up to him.

"I'm up a tree!" he squeaked.

Zelda bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. "After all these years," she giggled. Her own branch shivered in response. Spiky green leaves rustled. "You are finally following me up!"

Link's hands gripped the tree limb so tightly his knuckles blanched. "I don't like this!"

"Sshh," she cooed, reaching over to gently rest a hand on his sleeve. She herself lounged there like a queen on her throne, her legs swinging idly. The cool rain-washed breeze flicked strands of her golden hair over her brow. "Do not be worrying."

Link felt the moisture evaporate from his mouth all the way down to his throat. "How long?"

"Just a few moments more. Until we are knowing we are safe."

The branch holding him up began to sag. His head spun.

"Keep your mind away from it, Link," said Zelda, her voice patient. "Look. Be asking me something."

"Like what?"

"Anything," she replied as she kicked air. The very act made Link feel dizzy. "Anything you wanted to know."

All he wanted to know quite right now was how and then his feet would touch the comfort of solid ground again.

"Um," he said instead, his eleven-year-old brain working furiously. "W-what's your favourite colour?"

"Tsk," Zelda said, her face a picture of mock-sternness. "You are knowing me this long, and you don't know the answer to this?"

Link glanced at her dress. "Pink?"

"No!" she laughed, her hands smoothing the fabric of her outfit self-consciously. "This is what my mother is making me wear. All the time!"

"Oh," he replied. "Then...?"

"It is being green, if you must know," she revealed. "It reminds me of my homeland."

Link knew this was a touchy subject. To this day, she still wouldn't tell him the name of the place where she'd come from. "D-do you ever go home?" he asked instead. "I mean, to your own land?"

"No," Zelda replied. "My father, he does sometimes. It is because he has another wife there."

Link blinked. "What?"

"Yes," she continued. "This is the way it is being in my culture. It is not as bad as you are thinking." Her brow creased gently in thought. Sunlight pooled in the furrows. "My mother and I are not knowing much about her, though."

Link was still digesting all this. "Another wife?" he said. "Really?"

"Yes." The tone in her voice suggested that she'd entertain no more on the subject, especially not anything approaching mockery.

"Oh," said Link at last. He glanced down. "I think they're gone."

She pushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes as she checked for herself. "That is being good."

The ground seemed to be an awfully long way away. His throat was tickling. Though his illness was slowly disappearing day-by-day, he still got the occasional cough attack. He felt one coming along just right now.

"How do I get down?"

"Together," she replied, voice soft. "We will be working together. It is being the best way."

"I don't know."

Her wide eyes caught the sunlight and flashed their sapphire brilliance. "You'll be fine."

"O-okay."

That was all it took for him to believe her. He didn't know what it was about her voice that won him over so easily every single time, but he was glad for it all the same.

"So," she said. "Shall we go?"

And they did, Zelda gently leading him by the hand, slowly descending, step by stumbling step. When they reached solid ground, she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight.

"You were being very brave," she declared.

"Well, you did help..."

"No," she cut in. "I am meaning with the stick. How you were going to fight them off." She looked away shyly. "For me."

Link felt his cheeks redden. His gaze fell to the carpet of dried leaves and mud under his boots, but somewhere deep within he felt something suddenly strengthen, like a part of him had been newly-forged. His heart glowed.

Zelda pulled something dark from her pocket. "Here," she said. "For my gallant knight, Link. His very deserving reward."

Link gently took it from her. "What is it?"

"A stone," she explained. It glowed dully, a scarlet jewel set in a smoky quartz square. "But a very special one from where I am coming from. For friends. Real friends."

"Oh." For some reason, Link no longer felt the need to blush. Whatever new had been born within him was slowly becoming bolder and bolder by the minute. His fingers wrapped solidly around the gift. "Thank you."

She smiled a broad smile.

The vision blurred. Darkness seeped in like ink spilled over clean, white paper. Zelda's smiling face faded in and out, replaced at every other second by the shining metal mask of the Aveil. The clouds overhead grew pregnant with the threat of thunder, their underbellies suddenly smudged black. Still Zelda's visage continued to blur, switching quickly from her own to the Aveil's.

Zelda.

The Aveil.

Zelda.

The Aveil.

Zel -


Link, blinking, found himself staring at the ruby Zelda had given him long ago. Dust had gathered on its once glittering surface. It sat there, a lonely ornament on an otherwise bare shelf. He blinked again. He must have zoned out. The very idea caused a tendril of fear to lightly brush at his heart. It was a bit strange how his visions of the past were coming even when he was awake now.

Link lifted the ice-pack from his neck and tossed it aside. It landed with a dull thump. Still sore from the fight back at the palace, he began pacing up and down the length of his modest room. He felt the faint shiver of energy under his feet, felt the comfort and peace he always did when he came back to the ship.

Came back home.

Link cast the sentiment aside. He'd already made up his mind.

The Righteous Maximus herself was currently cutting a low-flying path through some of the seedier areas of Castle City. This was where the men stalked the streets with bloodshot eyes, and where the women caked their faces with so much paint that it felt as though they were made of porcelain, too fragile to be touched. Gaudy lights marked the latest prices and promotions of the myriad services on offer, much like the light show Link had seen back in the mirage town of Haven.

Dark and murky, the crew of the Maximus hoped places such as this would be enough to keep them from prying eyes, especially eyes belonging to those of whom who had a beeline straight back to the princess. They themselves had things to discuss now, and Link had invited them to his room to do so.

Saria and the captain sat on a pair of chairs around an old-fashioned wooden table. Link had put out a bowl of fruit in a token gesture of hospitality, taken from the supplies the Wind Fish had left them. Link still found that whole business odd. If the food was from the Wind Fish, then was it actually real? Were their bodies truly being nourished? And the thought that disturbed him the most: how exactly could this stuff still exist if the creature itself was dead?

Link didn't like the direction of those thoughts, so he reined them in and kept his mind away as he went on pacing. A starlit sky peeked through his room's single porthole.

Gortram folded his arms. "You look like you've got something you wanna get off your chest, Link."

"Forget how he looks," said Saria, wincing. "It's the smell that's the problem." She directed a pointed stare at Link. "You stink."

"Thanks," Link replied.

"No, really," she went on. "I don't think the citrus scent of these oranges are quite covering it up, y'know? And do you really expect us to eat this when you're assaulting the dignity of our noses here?"

Link grimaced. "Hadn't really thought about that..."

"Sprog's right, actually," said Gortram. "You should be cleaning yourself up like those high-fly ladies you brought along with you. Can't have been too nice wading through the city's sewers."

"Wading?" said Saria quietly. "Or swimming? I'm guessing 'swimming'."

The captain ignored her. "I suppose what you've got to say just can't wait. Am I right?"

Link stopped. He steadied himself with a deep breath. "You are." He ran his fingers through his hair, prompting Saria to hiss under her breath, "Hope that hand hasn't touched anything nasty."

"Look," said Link, swallowing. "It's like this." Why did he feel so nervous? His mind was set. "I just wanted to clear something up."

"What would that be, lad?" the captain said patiently.

"I'm leaving." His eyes searched each face in turn. "You two don't need to be involved anymore."

Saria rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"I'm not joking."

"Are you trying to get a double whatever out of me? Be warned, the universe may unravel if you are."

Gortram interrupted. "She's right."

Saria grinned. "I'm doing that a lot lately. Being right, that is."

"Hush, sprog." Gortram shifted in his seat. The wood creaked. "Link. Lad. You don't want to leave. This is your home."

Link felt a tug at his heart that he wished he could just ignore. "I have to."

"I thought you were big on the whole 'working together' angle."

"Not for this," Link replied, his voice steely yet soft. "No way for something as big as this."

Big Goron palms came to rest on the chipped wooden tabletop. "This isn't the kind of thing you do alone."

"Isn't it? I was just fine on my own in the palace."

"You were not."

"Not what?"

"Neither on your own or just fine. You know it, lad. The only reason I let you do that fool's raid into the palace was because we had Navi helping you. And you had me and the sprog waiting to pluck you out of that mess."

"No." Link was adamant. "It's not your fight."

"Think it is now."

"Yeah," Saria added. A hanging light illuminated one side of her face. "You said the princess wants you dead, yeah? So how do you think she's going to go about that, hmm?"

Link waited for her to continue. She duly obliged. "Well, she'll be calling in on us first, won't she? Oh, and thanks for that, by the way." She gave Link a pointed look.

"No need for that, sprog."

"Yeah," said Saria."There isn't. Because the only reason Midna even knows who we are is because we told her the ship's name when she contacted us. Thank you for that, Fearless Leader." She turned her glare on to Gortram. "And then there's the Gerudo..."

Link shook his head. "No. Go home," he said. "Your real homes. Hide away. I'm sorry you're both in so deep in the first place. But you don't have to go any further."

"Go home?" said the captain. "What home?" Sadness filled his liquid-black eyes. "I've got no one back home. This ship is my life. You snag that? I devoted my life to this, to help out in any little way I could. What would I do instead?"

"Yeah," Saria piped in. "And I'm -"

"And she," said the Goron, "is with me. Entrusted to me. My care."

Saria scowled. Link had no time for all the dramatics.

"Look," he said. "I could've just left, you know. Quietly. You wouldn't have even noticed. I'm only telling you this so you don't come after me. This is done."

"Oh, get over yourself, Doctor!" cried Saria.

That stung. Link waited. "What?"

Gortram held up a hand. "You're not the only one who thinks they can do a bit of good, you know."

"Yeah," Saria added, folding her arms in defiance. "So drop the high and mighty act."

Link swallowed. "Sorry."

Gortram's voice had a soft lilt to it. "Don't you remember what I told you before, lad? About how I saw all the same ills of the Gerudo in the Hyrulean Alliance? Well, it seems to me that you rescuing your friend is a cause I can get behind. Gives us a purpose. And what's life without purpose, eh?"

Link's heart heard the words and felt an echo of smudging doubt. His mind, however, was adamant. "No. You can't. You just can't. No arguments. I'm turning around, okay? I'm going to count to ten. When I turn back, I expect you both gone so I can clear out my things."

Link spun on his heel and faced the wall. He studied the glowing threads of light energy that seeped through the lines and wrinkles of the wood. "One-two-three-four-five." He took a deep breath. "Six-seven-eight-nine-ten."

He turned back.

Gortram sat, face blank, his elbow propped on the table and his chin resting in his palm. Saria had a distinctly sour look hanging from her young visage. Her fingers tapped an uneven rhythm on the wood. "That was a fun game," she said. "Have you got another?"

Link looked from one to the other. "Why?"

Saria's face softened. Her voice followed suit. "Can't you tell, Link?"

He felt his throat tighten with emotion. "It'll be dangerous."

Fear flashed in her eyes for just a moment. "We've managed this far."

Link's own eyes swung from one to the other yet again. All he could manage was a soft, "Thank you."

"Right," Gortram quickly cut in, clearing his throat. He tossed an orange into the air, caught it in mouth, then swallowed it whole, peel and all. "You're saying you've got some mystery man piggy-backing your com, yes?"

"Yeah," said Link.

"Navi can't trace it?"

"No."

Gortram stroked his beard, his brow furrowed. "Hmm..."

"He wants to meet," Link added before the silence got too awkward. "Wants us to bring Midna's prisoners along with us."

"Why?"

Link shrugged. "He said he'd take care of them."

The captain snorted. "Good luck to him. Especially with that mouthy one. What's her name again?"

"Ruto," said Link. He'd managed to glean that out of her on their shared trip out of the Emerald Palace. The other two were named Denna and Beil. They seemed content to let Ruto do all the talking.

"Ruto." Gortram shook his head. "Thinks the world's going to hand her everything on a plate."

"Nah," said Saria, a mischievous edge to her voice. She began pawing idly at the fruit bowl. "Ruto just wants you to hand everything over on a plate."

"There's more," said Link.

"Go on," said Gortram.

"He wants all of you to come as well."

"It's a trap?"

"Of course it's a trap," said Saria. She picked up an apple with glossy red skin, sniffed it suspiciously, then bit into it. "Isn't it?"

Link shrugged. "It's why I wanted you all out of the way."

"Well," said Saria. She took another bite. "Too bad. We're in this together now."

Gortram spoke. "Where does he want to meet?"

Link told them.

...

They stepped out of the cool night and wandered under the yawning brass arch that marked the entrance to the Great Bay hoverport. Link, Saria, Gortram and Ruto all stood, waiting. They'd left Denna and Beil with Navi back at the Maximus.

"Ugh," said Ruto, her chin raised dismissively. "Public transport."

Saria's reaction was markedly different. Sure, she still had a smile fixed firmly on her face, but her mind just couldn't help but allow Link's words tumble over and over.

It'll be dangerous.

Her throat tightened and her eyes began to itch. There were people everywhere here. Lights, too, sharp and bright. She felt exposed. Her eyes scanned every face that passed by, searching for a hint of danger. No one looked her way - not the young families with children either laughing or crying, not the serious looking men and women in their fine dress, not the casual travellers with their faraway looks, easy laughs, and laid-back smiles.

All that meant nothing, though.

They all waited a moment more at the edge of the main concourse. A glass dome, home to a dozen fluttering birds who had somehow snuck in a long time ago, stretched overhead. A never-ending chorus of voices mixed with the buzzing drone of the hovercrafts nearby. To top it all off, there was a huge pictovid projection just hanging there suspended in mid-air. Red letters scrolled across its surface every so often.

Saria read them in her head. It gave her something to do: Brave Hyrulean Forces fight off minor Gerudo excursion in The Domain de Zora and 808 Days of Gerudo-Hyrulean stalemate and counting then Sports news today -

Saria pulled her eyes away. She gazed around.

The entrance was to the south and led to the main concourse with a floor so polished they could see their blurred reflections in it. On the east side was a large stained-glass window dyed emerald, while on the west the information screen glowed with a list of destinations and departure times. Saria read off some of the names: Holodrum, Faron Forest, Ordon City...

Letters and numbers fluttered as the data changed minute by minute. To the north was where the platforms lay, most of which had a rumbling hovercraft sitting alongside, skirts inflated and pulsing with glowing energy the colour of gold.

It was to the north of the port that the little were headed.

"Why so public a place?" said Gortram, head down as he leant in toward Link. "I don't like it."

No one replied. They'd all heard the captain voice his complaints on the way down here. Saria kept her ears alert, waiting for the tell-tale sound of danger. All she got was the cacophony of voices and energy-driven engines.

"What's your angle, lad?" the Goron went on. "We split-up?"

"No." Link's reply was instantaneous. He had his long coat buttoned up, his hands thrust in his pockets. He was unarmed, too. A sword, Saria knew, would be just too conspicuous. "We stay together."

Ruto sniffed. "I cannot say I am very partial to all this."

"You'll be fine," Link said. His eyes seemed to be soaking in every detail. "We all will. You all just have to listen to me. Listen carefully. Do you all understand?"

"Aye, Link," said Gortram. "I snag."

"All ears," said Saria with a smile. No matter what she felt deep inside, she would never show it up top. That's how she'd made it through her life so far.

Link somehow seemed to sense it anyway. "We'll be okay, hey?" he said. "Just listen and we'll do great."

Saria made a face. "'Doctor voice.'"

Link threw her a smile before turning his attention to the noblewoman. "Ruto?" he said. "Are you with me?"

"It's Lady Ruto," she said. "And my silence was my consent. Don't you know any etiquette?"

"Sorry," Link replied, not sounding sorry at all. "They don't teach that at the Academy." He turned away. "Okay. Okay." He rubbed his chin. "Let's do it like this, hey? Saria, you hold the captain's hand like he was your Da, okay?"

She overcame her unease for a heartbeat. "It's so obvious that he's not though, isn't it?"

"Doesn't matter," Link replied. "Just do it. Ruto -"

The woman in question coughed politely.

"Lady Ruto."

An elaborate hand gesture told him to continue. He gave a short nod. "Link arms with me like we're a couple."

"Excuse me?" the noblewoman replied, both eyebrows arched. "I most certainly will not."

"Listen, we don't have time for discussion."

"I think we do, young fellow."

"Don't argue!" Link hissed. "Do you want to stay alive or not?"

She glared at him for a heartbeat, her eyes pools of ice, before roughly thrusting her arm through the crook of his. "Shall I smile prettily, too?"

"It'd help," Link growled.

"Oh, how in love we are," Ruto ploughed on. "So much so, that we've torn all social barriers asunder." Her nose wrinkled. "You did have that bath, didn't you...?"

"Just keep smiling and stay quiet."

As the captain's large hand took her own, Saria felt a memory flash in her mind: being hunted in dark alleys at night, living in forced cheerfulness during the day, learning never to speak of the ever-present danger that lurked in every shadow. She saw her mother, dying in a pool of her own blood, as she forced a promise from a kindly-looking Gortram. Saria squeezed it all away. She hadn't revisited those times in a long, long while.

Link glanced up. Saria followed his gaze. A fairy hovered over a multi-faced large clock hanging over the centre of the concourse, its broad gaze slowly sweeping across the whole port. Saria felt a muscle deep in her gut tense.

"Turn right," said Link. They did, moving as one. Saria glanced up again - the fairy was facing left.

"Where are we meeting this mystery man?" Gortram growled.

"Platform Eight," Link replied. He dodged the passers-by with agile grace, tugging Ruto along with him. Saria wasn't nearly so lucky. Twice now someone had smacked into her shoulder, almost sending her careening away. She winced, her eyes glowering.

The captain squeezed her hand, then squinted. "There's no hover there," he said. "Looks like it's not a platform they use they much, either."

"Sounds about right." Link snapped a quick glance over his shoulder. The muscles in his face tightened. "We've got a tail."

Saria was about to turn her head when Link said, "Don't."

Her heart sped. She bit her lower lip momentarily to stop it from trembling. Images floated in her head: what if it came to a fight? How would she handle herself? Helplessness added itself to the cocktail of emotions churning inside.

"Who is it?" she managed to ask. "Our contact or one of Midna's?"

"I can't tell," said Link.

Or someone else entirely.

Sweat burst open on Saria's brow as they walked on. She struggled to keep control of her breathing. The small of her back prickled, as though the flesh there expected to be pierced any moment now by the crackling touch of an energy blade.

"Left!" Link commanded suddenly.

They turned, narrowly dodging an oncoming rush of passengers who had only recently disembarked their hover, and as they did so Saria dared take a peek behind. In that split-second she caught a glimpse of their pursuer. It was obvious who it was. He was a big guy, and had his cold eyes fixed squarely on them. Other people were just fodder to be pushed out of the way of his path. Saria's heart hammered against her chest.

"Over there," Link said, pointing to a row of shops and stalls back against the southern wall. As they headed that way, they seemed to enter a haze of different smells: meat spitting on a fire, the tang of melted cheese, the sizzle of catch caught fresh from the sea.

Saria didn't care. Faces began to ghost by, each holding an intent of menace that only she could see. The children, too - their laughing seemed forced, their eyes seemed far too bright and alert. Any one of them could be ready to strike. The sounds of the hoverport morphed into a low moan that spiked into her ears.

I feel sick. I'm going to be sick.

More memories came to her: screams, the silver flash of a depowered blade, the crimson tears dripping from her mother's wound, mimicking her own tears, the real ones made of salt and water.

"Wait." Link's voice made them all pause in unison. He was looking up. It was the security fairy, her gaze slowly swinging their way once more. "Over here."

They ducked under the striped canopy of a nearby stall. The owner looked up at them, unperturbed. "Nuts?" he offered, shaking a tin container.

"Uh..." said Link.

Gortram came to his rescue. "We'll pass, thanks."

The man shrugged. "Suit yourselves." He turned away. "NUTS!" he cried. "GET YOUR LOVELY NUTS!"

The items in question roasted on a spit that slowly turned over a glowing charcoal pit. The spicy scent accompanied with the sudden wave of heat made Saria feel even more queasy.

She tried to distract herself. Her eyes swung around, drinking in the sights. A young lady smiled at her as she walked by. Saria tried to smile back, but the moment had passed and the lady had gone.

She noticed instead how Ruto was digging her nails into Link's sleeve in quite the unladylike manner. She noticed more how tightly Gortram was holding her hand. She looked up at him, saw the worry dancing in his eyes, and threw him a reassuring smile that she certainly didn't feel. His grip relaxed.

A jingle sounded. "Attention, please," a soft feminine voice said, rippling through the air. "Please be on your guard at all times. Remember, the Gerudo could be anywhere. And never forget that Princess Midna loves you all, truly and deeply. Please report any unattended baggage immediat-"

"We can't go to the platform," Link said, drawing all their attention on to him. The merged voices of the passers-by faded into the background. "Not with the tail."

Saria tensed, swallowing. Gortram spoke, "So, what's the plan?"

"This is insanity," Ruto butted in. "I demand to be taken home at once!"

"Listen, lady," the captain growled. He drew himself up to his full height. Ruto stood her ground. "We take you home and you'll end up dead before dawn. Snag?"

"Don't talk to me like that!"

The raised voices were making Saria's skin crawl. She began to pant in fright.

"Hey, come on, both of you," said Link in the calm voice that Saria, in the back of her mind, recognised as his 'doctor voice.' "Stop. Please." He waited until they both complied, their eyes turned to him and him alone. "Listen. I think I know how to shake him. You all just wait here while I -"

"No!" Saria said, pulling out of Gortram's grasp. "We'll die!"

"Saria, no!"

She didn't even know who the voice belonged to. All that she knew was that she had to run, to hide, just like old times. She shot through the gaps between people that only she could fit through, her boots ramming hard against the floor. Platform Eight was just up ahead. She didn't know why, but her mind screamed at her that if she could just reach it, she'd be safe.

Safe and free.

Panicked, Saria fought her way through the crowd of passengers, twisting this way and that, certain that her next step would be her last. She rounded a corner -

And stopped in the face of a lead arrow jutting from a micro crossbow humming dangerously with energy. A young woman with tanned skin looked her straight in the eye. Saria took a step back. Recognition was like a slap in the face. It was the woman who had smiled at her only a few minutes back.

"Bang bang," the lady said. "You're dead."

It had finally come. The day when she had to stop running. Had to stop smiling.

Saria scrunched her eyes shut and waited for the fatal blow.

"Stop!"

Her eyes fluttered open. It was Link. She dared peek out of the corner of her eye to see her little group arrive behind. Just as they did so, a group of six men - three large, three not quite so - stepped out of the shadows and surrounded them. One of the men was their tail.

Link gazed around at them all before his eyes settled on the woman. "We've got no argument with you, whoever you are," he said. "We're just here to meet a friend."

The young woman held a com up to her lips with her free hand. "Nice to know you consider me a friend already, Link of the Kokiri Settlement." The com filtered her voice into that of a man's. "We're off to a great start, I can see."

Link's eyes widened. "It's you."

She moved the com away. "It is." She gave the device a little wave. "Communication piracy. That's our game."

"You had us followed."

"You were asking for it." She chuckled. "I have to say, you lot do stick out like a sore thumb. It was like watching a marching parade the way you all turned and walked at the same time. I was cringing."

Link looked a little abashed. "I'm...I'm a little out of practice."

"You don't say?"

The young man quickly took hold of his composure. "Can you not point that thing at my friend?"

The young woman looked at Saria as though seeing her for the first time. "Oh, sure," she said, letting the weapon arm drop. "Sorry."

A hovercraft engine flared to life somewhere behind. The roar filled the port in its entirety and rang in their eyes. Slowly, as the hover began to slowly reverse out, its lights blinking, the sound began to fade.

"Now," said Link. "Who are you? All of you?"

"Wow," the young woman replied. "You're a bit pushy considering we're the ones with the weapons."

Link began to turn. "We're leaving."

"Oh, don't be like that."

Link stopped. "So...?"

The corner of her mouth curled upward. "Alright," she said. "These fine gentlemen you see before you are the crew of The Waking Wind. My name's Captain Tetra." She flashed them a winning smile. "I'm Zelda's sister."