Chapter 9: The King's Adviser

It was like a light at the end of a very dark and very long tunnel. The sight of the white outer walls astounded Link due to their massive size, making him forgot how boring the ride was. The walls spanned a huge distance that he didn't even try to guess, but they were long and went into the roots of the mountain range in the back and were at least forty feet tall.

The wagon stopped to wait until the drawbridge was lowered to create path across the moat that surrounded the castle walls.

Then Link realized that something, to him, was missing, "... Where's the castle?" He asked, looking to his left and then to his right with curiosity, "I see the walls, but where is the castle itself?"

"This is the castle, big brother." Tetra answered, she motioned for one of the pirates to explain since she was posing as an innocent and impressionable little girl.

Zuko answered the call, "Very simple, my friend. As your sister said, this is the castle." He explained, but then quickly added, "However, these are just the outer walls. Beyond these is Castle Town, or the Market Place as some people like to call it. Castle Town is about a couple of miles in length and width and beyond it is the Palace, which is where the King resides. The Palace is much further out than the town with a large field in front of it, they say the Royal Family Militia is trained there."

Link nodded, taking all this information with eagerness, "Oh... so these walls are here to protect the town inside the castle?"

"Not only the town," Senza chimed in, "But the Temple of Time, an extremely important building that some consider to be more important than the Palace itself." He scratched his black beard and added, "Of course, it makes sense why the Temple is so important."

"Why is that?" Link asked, he had not learned about this temple at all from Sturgeon, "Why is the temple so important?" He repeated, "Is it just because it's a scared place?"

"More than that... son." Gonzo added quickly, "The Temple of Time has an important artifact from the Goddesses who created the world—The Triforce." Pausing to let the words sink in, Gonzo then continued, "The Triforce is a scared set of golden triangles, and it's said that whoever touches it can have his or her greatest desires granted."

"Wow..." Link said in awe, he had known all about the Triforce from the legend of the Hero of Time, but he hadn't known about the Temple of Time, "So... it must be heavily guarded," He heard a snort from Tetra that made him add, "right?"

"Well..." Gonzo looked at Tetra. Their leader shook her head in response, she was telling him not to reveal the weak defenses of the temple out loud, "Yes. It is heavily guarded. In any case, the Arena is right next to the temple, interestingly enough."

Link was about to ask another question when Tetra put her hand on his lips, she drew close and whispered in his ear, "Save it for the hotel." She commanded sternly, "We're going to have a meeting tonight where we can answer all your questions, but right now, it's a bad idea to ask too many because we might get discovered. Okay? Just be a good boy for now and act like you understand everything."

"Okay," He whispered back, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Say..." The driver had been listening to their conversation, "You're middle-class right?" The pirates nodded, and Tetra squeezed Link's arm very suddenly; she was afraid they had blow their cover, "Then why doesn't your kid know about the Triforce and the Temple of Time? Everyone should know about that!"

Gonzo made a motion to explain, but he was drowned out by Link's voice, "Oh! No no no!" He said laughing, "I've known about the Triforce, the Hero of Time and other stuff like that for years. I just... I was..." He paused; seeing the frantic expression on Tetra's face, Link breathed in and shrugged casually, "... just never taught about the Temple of Time! That's all."

"Hm..." The driver made a sort of shrug, "Well... I suppose so. Oh well. I guess you were too busy concentrating on your training to remember that." He grinned at them,"Well, I'll take you guys in, then." He called to the horses and forced them forward across the wood and iron drawbridge.

Breathing out a relaxed sigh, Tetra loosened her grasp on Link's arm and put a hand on her chest tenderly. Leaning over her mouth next to Link's ear, she whispered, "Good save. But..." She warned, "This should show you why you shouldn't ask so many questions, kid. We almost got caught there. Watch your mouth, got it?"

Link nodded without question and then he became silent; that had been too close for comfort and had they been caught, Link would have lost his chance for the tournament. Not to mention that I might get in trouble just by hanging around them, he reminded himself gingerly. His mind then latched onto the idea that he was possibly doing something wrong by helping the pirates, and Link began to worry about the situation he had entangled himself in.

As the wagon drove into the gate and over the drawbridge, Link's worries were once again firmly buried by his awe. Tetra had been right—Castle Town was gigantic compared to Kakariko Port Town. The buildings resembled the white houses from Windfall Island, only they were bigger and more elaborate. There were streamers and banners all over, advertising for this thing and that; most of them beckoning all warriors of the sword to come to the tournament.

Not to mention that the place was packed with people; Link guessed that the gray-tiled streets were five times as full as the dirt roads in the port town. There were merchants, other wagons, warriors, traders, soldiers and the like, all going about their business. The massive amount of people created a lot of noise that rebounded off the walls of the city, amplifying the sense of thrill and excitement of the tournament. All of these things made Link wonder why he had ever thought the Port Town to be amazing at all.

Merchants and traders had set up their shops on the sides of the street, selling all sorts of goods from trinkets to food to clothing to possibly everything ever imagined. There were carts, tables, tents, desks, rugs and other objects used by their respective owners as makeshift stores and shops. All of the vendors boasted high quality products and low prices; attempting to get as many customers as possible to buy from them, even if their items appeared rather dubious.

"Where are you folks stopping?" The driver asked after taking them through the city for about five minutes; the going was very slow because of the myriad amount of people and other wagons, horses and such sharing the same street, "I mean... we ain't getting there any time soon..." He added with an amused chuckle, "But it'd be nice to know."

"Let us off at the Sword and Shield Tavern." Gonzo replied, "You... know where it is, of course?"

"Oh yeah! Popular place, that is." The driver responded, waving it aside, "I've been to that place so many times that the owner is practically a good friend of mine now." He laughed, "Every year it seems like every swordsman I meet wants to go there." Guiding his horses through the sea of people, merchants and wagons, he added with a half-frown, "It's going to be at least twenty minutes I'd guess. This town is huge." He looked at Gonzo and advised, "Keep an eye on your kids so they don't get accidentally swept away with someone else."

With a firm nod, Gonzo shot a glance at Tetra. A confident, if not pompous, and sly smile crossed Tetra's face; she knew the city very well and it would be impossible for her to get lost in any situation. Link on the other hand, didn't seem so confident, he was worried he'd follow someone else for hours, getting him and Tetra lost.

The pirate captain noticed Link's anxiety and she threw him a reassuring wink, "Don't worry, kid." She whispered to him, "I know this city inside and out. As long as you let me guide you, we won't get lost." The boy nodded and took comfort from Tetra's words, he only hoped that he could act well enough to seem as if he were guiding Tetra and not the other way around.

The wagon continued along around down the streets of Castle Town for almost a half-hour. To Link it didn't seem to take very long; before he knew it they had stopped in front of a tall white-brick building that was about three stories high. On each of the walls and each of the stories were countless windows. The front door was red in color with a yellow handle and neatly laid beneath it was a welcome mat. Above the door, a large sign in big hylian text with an image of crossed swords behind a shield said:

"Sword & Shield Tavern: The Place for Adventurers, Warriors and Scoundrels."

"This is it, friends!" The driver said, hoping off his seat and going around to open the wagon's door, "Everybody off! Do you need some help with that?" He asked Gonzo, eying all their things with them. Gonzo quickly shook his head, "Alright then," the driver replied. They all unstrapped themselves, gathered their belongings and got off. As Link hopped onto the ground, he heard Tetra call out to him from behind.

"Big brother...? Can you help me?"

Link, trying his best not to blush, turned around slowly. Tetra was standing at the edge of the wagon, acting very scared and looking at Link with wide, innocent eyes, she pleaded with a young girlish voice, "I'm... I'm scared of heights... can you help me down...? Please?"

Swallowing, Link held out his arms and said, "Give me your arms, Elena." Tetra reached out to him in a very convincing fashion, pretending to almost fall out of the wagon and then grabbing the rail to bring herself back to safety, "Come on..." He was afraid he would have to bring her down by the waist.

"Can you carry me down?" She asked in a cutesy fashion, "I'm afraid I'm going to fall..."

That was not what Link wanted to do, but the driver was watching and waiting for her to get off the wagon; he had no choice but to grab Tetra around the waist and lower her to ground, "There you go." He said when he was done, pretending to pant in order to mask his embarrassed red face with a strained one.

"Thank you, Link!" She exclaimed, "You're the bestest big brother ever!" She added, hugging him around the waist very suddenly. Link tried his hardest to think of the times when Aryll hugged him so that he wouldn't blush; it half-way worked but his face still felt a little warm. Some of the pirates were throwing him dirty looks as once again he was getting attention from Tetra—false attention, but it was still attention nevertheless.

"Ha!" The Driver laughed, "That's cute. She's a lucky girl to have such a caring brother." Getting up onto his seat, he called and waved at them, "See ya later folks!" And with that he drove off into the masses back to the Port Town. Tetra, Link and the pirates waved back at him and then they all turned towards the inn.

"Well, let's go inside, mateys!" Zuko said, looking around at his companions, "What are we waiting for?"

"Hold it...!" Gonzo whispered sharply, stopping his companions in their tracks. He looked at each of the pirates and asked quietly, "Do you guys all remember your names?" They all nodded in response, "Good." Looking at Tetra, he said much louder, "Let's go in then!" And in they went, Gonzo first, followed by Tetra with Link in tow, then the rest of the pirates followed—Senza and Nudge in the middle and then Zuko, Mako and Niko in the rear.

Inside, they found themselves in a large lobby area that was divided into two sections, the bar and restaurant area to the left of the entrance and the check-in area on the right. The floors were made of light brown wood and were aligned on the floor as tiles. The walls were made of wood and stone, which had a torch in every corner of every room to keep the tavern well lit.

There was a lot of noise coming from the restaurant area of the tavern; apparently there were a lot of people excitedly discussing the tournament. Link wanted to listen in on the conversations and see if his ears could grab any rumors about the fighters entering the tournament, but he knew Tetra wouldn't have allowed him to do so.

The group immediately approached the front desk; unfortunately, there was a line, just like when they had gone to get a wagon in the Port Town. And as always, the wait was boring and uneventful; however, they did not have to wait as long as they did before and it seemed to Link that they were suddenly standing right before the front desk.

"Next please." The innkeeper called, "I don't have all day, ya know," he sounded extremely bored out of his mind.

Gonzo approached the desk and leaned against it with his right arm. With a grin he said, "We have a reservation under 'Jacobson'. Four rooms, two person per room. The clients are some business partners and my family."

The innkeeper looked around, examining each of them closely. After he was done, he asked, "Who is a family member and who are business partners, Mr. Jacobson?" His brow was raised suspiciously, "We're just checking to make sure that no one... dishonest gets in under our shoes."

Gonzo laughed in an attempt to alleviate the innkeeper's doubts about the party, "Well, I'm William Jacobson and I'm a bomb merchant, just recently opened." He pointed to Tetra and Link, "These two are my children, Elena and Link." The innkeeper looked down at the two and Tetra gave him a cutesy smile. Link swallowed, a little nervous, but he managed to give a warm smile to the innkeeper.

"I see," The innkeeper said, adjusting his spectacles. He was not so dubious of Link and Tetra as he was of the rest of them, "And the others?" he asked.

Senza bowed, "I'm Benjamin Jacobson, I'm Bill's older brother." He explained without hesitation and no nervous expressions, "We started the business together because we figured we could make a lot of profits by selling bombs."

Clearing his throat, Nudge replied, "I'm Jonathan Freidman." His flamboyant voice was extremely fitting of his role that the dubious look on the innkeeper's face had already been convinced that Nudge was honest, "I'm Bill's cousin and I assisted him in founding our little company."

In turn, Mako, Zuko and Niko announced their false names and their relation. All three of them were business partners. Scratching his chin, the innkeeper asked Gonzo, "There seems to be a lot of business partners with you. Why is that?"

"Uhh..." Gonzo hesitated and not for the first time, Link was sure they had been caught. However, he quickly straightened up and said, "It's because my son here is entering the tournament and I thought it look more impressive if I had my business sponsor him instead of just the family. Besides, I also had a lot of tickets, so why not bring my friends?" He added, shrugging.

"I guess that makes sense." The innkeeper said, convinced by Gonzo's words. Link then let out a breath of relief before wincing as Tetra pinched his arm, "Alright then, I'll get your room keys for you." He vanished behind the desk and a few moments later reappeared with four keys, "Your rooms are numbers 208, 210, 212 and 211. I suppose you won't be checking out tomorrow since you're here for the tournament." They nodded, "There will be an extra fee for every day you stay here. In any case, enjoy your stay."

Taking the keys from him, Gonzo led the group up the stairs to the second floor. Once they were there, they did not have to walk far to get to their rooms that were only a few doors down from the stairwell. Then, for the first time since Kakariko Port Town, Tetra acknowledged the group.

"Alright." She spoke to them quietly, "We're dropping off our stuff and then we're taking Link to the registration desk at the Arena. Got it?" The pirates nodded and gathered their stuff together. Tetra then turned to Link, "Are you ready for another fight, kid?"

"Huh?" He blinked at Tetra, "What do you mean 'another fight'? I thought I just had to register to get in...?"

With a lopsided smile, she explained, "Well... that's not the case." Moving her eyes to one side, she explained, "You see, there are so many swordsmen who enter the tournament that it would be impossible to have them all fight. The tournament who take weeks if they did that. So, everyone who registers has to take a sort of preliminary test; you have to fight with one of the examiners."

"Oh, I see..." Link answered, feeling that he understood the situation now, "I'll bet the examiner is pretty strong." He added.

"Actually, they aren't." Tetra corrected, "Whether or not you beat the examiner doesn't matter as long as you show that you have skill. In other words," She paused, letting her gaze pierce his body, "you have to show off. You have to toy with the examiner for a decent amount of time, but not for too long, otherwise, you'll get thrown for wasting time.

"On the other hand," she continued, "if you beat the examiner right off the bat, you'll won't get in at all because the other examiners won't have any idea what your skills are. So you have to be careful, got it?"

"Yeah."

Link had not expected a preliminary fight for the registration. He felt very tired and it was questionable whether or not he could fight in this state. At the same time, however, his flaming determination to get into the tournament—pushed him to overcome any and every obstacle that blocked his path. It seemed to him that the requirements of registering for the tournament had increased since Orca told him about it all, now the registration appeared to be more of a gamble rather than a procedure.

After putting their extra belongings, trinkets, articles and other such things away in their rooms; the pirates, Link, and Tetra gathered themselves together outside of their rooms and left the tavern for the registration hall near the Arena. This time the group would be traveling by foot as there was no wagon station close to the Sword & Shield Tavern.

The streets were still overflowing with groups of people, all heading in different directions and slowing the traffic through the streets. There were some alleyways between the buildings, but none took those paths, some tried to keep away from such places as if it were fatal to enter. Because of where he had been raised, Link did not understand the dangers of the city and wandering alone. Even in a place so near to the Royal Family, there were gangs and thieves in the darker places, waiting to pounce on a naïve traveler or the foolish wanderer. The city was gleaming on the outside, but it carried shadows within.

As they continued down the street, swimming through the massive crowds to save a little precious time, Link noticed that the shops on the sides of the streets just didn't seem to end. If there had not been any walls around the castle, the young warrior was sure that the myriad of shops would have extended all the way to the Sea.

This legion of vendors was, as Link observed, causing some disputes between the merchants that was leading to heated arguments and sometimes violent squabbles. One such feud that the islander beheld comprised of a fletcher and a blacksmith angrily grappling with each other for a spot that a potions merchant quietly stole while they were occupied. This type of behavior was surprisingly common; it saddened Link to see that most of vendors were only in the town because of their own greed and not for the spirit of the occasion.

Despite all this, the spirits of almost everyone in the area were not dampened at all. The excitement of the tournament was the dominating emotion of the people and they could care less if it was a fletcher or a blacksmith as long as they would get to see a grand fight in the next few days. Like an iron fist, this contagious euphoria gripped the whole of Hyrule Castle, and its city.

Then, there was a loud cheer in the distance and the crowd ahead of the pirates suddenly parted and opened a clear path. Link looked up and saw two large men, one in bright red with a thick white beard and piercing yellow eyes. He was old, but not elderly as his face still shimmered with some remnant of youth. Link immediately knew who it was even though the islander had never seen royalty because of his crown—this person was the King of Hyrule. The other man, with skin that was even darker than Tetra's strode beside his majesty. Both of their visages were pleasantly smiling at the crowd of people.

"It's the King! All hail our lord, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule! The King of Red Lions!" All in the area bowed, even Gonzo, Tetra and the others bowed low in the presence of his majesty. Link wisely followed suit, although he kept adjusting his posture wondering which position was appropriate for someone of such great stature.

Daphnes waved the bow aside and said, "Now, now, there is no need for that." Indeed, it was no wonder he was called the King of Red Lions, his voice rumbled with the strength of one, yet there was an apparent gentle tone to it. "You all know that I come out often to see you all and it delights me to see my people enthralled with the spirit of this traditional competition!"

A loud resounding cheer shot out of the crowd even before the King had finished his words, but he waved them aside sheepishly. With a smile he said, "Please, my people. Don't mind me. I want to enjoy the festivities as much as the rest of you. So don't let my royal presence distract you from the celebration. As you know, this is our sixty-third Annual Swordsman Tournament and once again, my friend, adviser and long-time standing champion, Ganondorf, our local gerudo, here will be participating." He pointed to the dark man beside him, who bowed in response.

He was a large man, not a fat one, but a bulky one. Ganondorf had a handsome face, but not a lot of hair. What he did have was very striking though, he had a thin beard of a vibrant red color that connected with his sideburns and the rest of his hair on the back of his head. Like the hylians, the gerudo had long ears. He wore a long, dark, hood-less robe, with sleeves that extended almost beyond his hands. Despite his dark appearance, he had a very friendly grin on his face.

Wondering who Ganondorf was, Link overheard a conversation on the side between a merchant and a swordsman, "Ganondorf? Isn't he the King of the Gerudos in the west?" The swordsman asked.

"Yeah, he's the Ganondorf Dragmire," The merchant responded, "He's quite a leader, helping the King hold the castle together since his other adviser, whose name escapes me, left because of some strange reason. That gerudo has been quite an asset to the Royal Family. First with Princess Zelda vanishing and then the other adviser leaving. He's had a lot of work on his hands. It amazes me how he can still participate in the Tournament like this."

The words stunned Link, he had remembered reading about the Royal Family and how the King always had two advisers to assist him. The advisers were given a lot of work that they split between the two of them to help the King make decisions. The fact that Ganondorf did all the work now and still had time for pleasantries amazed him.

"Now, my friends!" The King said, "Carry on with your business. I'm sure all of you have much to do this fine day." There was another arousing cheer, a bow and the people dispersed. Most did as Daphnes has asked, but many went straight to Ganondorf, eager to communicate with him. To Link's surprise, he welcomed all who came to him and he began to talk with the others, telling a rather humorous and witty joke between that made everyone, even Link, laugh.

Enjoying the presence of the adviser thoroughly, Link was surprised when Tetra suddenly yanked on his arm, forcing him forward with a jerk, "Eh? What are you doing?" He asked, looking at Tetra "I know we're in a hurry, but can't we stay awhile? Ganondorf is really- huh?" Tetra wasn't smiling. In fact, Link could barely see her face as she had pulled the hood much further over her head. There was no smile on her face and he thought he had seen a flicker of terror and anger in her eyes, "Wha-what's wrong...?"

"Just move." Her voice was dark and hasty.

"What? What do you-?"

"Just do it, kid." Tetra scowled, her voice quivered slightly, "Don't you dare disobey me! We don't need his attention." At first, he thought she was angry, but then he saw her eyes. The appearance shocked him—Tetra's confident blue eyes were now filled with a mixture of hatred and fear.

Link was shocked, he couldn't understand why Tetra seemed to be so anxious to get away from the adviser. Looking back at Ganondorf, the islander couldn't see how such a warm person could be frightening. Ganondorf was funny, smart, friendly, cheerful and witty. From what Link could tell, he was a perfect role model.

But at the same time, the terror behind Tetra's voice awoke an unnamed, yet familiar fear. There was some hidden thing about the gerudo that Link had encountered before, but he couldn't remember what. The aroused feeling in his heart split his feelings. Now Link wasn't sure if he wanted to stay or if he wanted to leave, perhaps even run.

"Come on, guys... let's go!" Gonzo said to Link and Tetra, making them turn around. There was a nervous look on Gonzo's own face that would have matched Tetra's anxiety if he wasn't trying to suppress it, "Quickly!" It suddenly struck Link that the pirates understood Tetra's feelings and perhaps even shared them; they hated and feared Ganondorf too.

"... O-okay..." Link said, swallowing, "Let's go then." This time he and Tetra both pulled equally away from Ganondorf. The fact that Tetra and the pirates were afraid of him made up his mind. There was something wrong with Ganondorf, even though Link still couldn't figure out what it was.

As Tetra and Link caught up with Gonzo and the others, the pirates turned to lead the way to the registration desk at the arena, but as they did, a deep voice called out to them. Even without having had heard his voice, Link knew it was the gerudo. The pirates stopped midway in their step and exchanged nervous glances while Tetra pulled her hood even further over her face and squeezed Link's arm. Her blood was rushing so vigorously that Link could feel her rapid pulse through his arm.

"Hey, kid! You with the sword!" Link swallowed, straightened his face and turned around casually, reminding himself to look natural as to not arouse any suspicion. The pirates turned around as well, each had straightened their face and put on a false smile or casual look, like masks covering their fear. Tetra, on the other hand did not turn around. Instead, to Link's surprise she left his arm, pretending to see something of interest behind them and ran off. Zuko followed her in the pretense that he was chasing a renegade child.

"Yes?" Link asked, trying not to sound impudent or tense, "What is it, Mister Ganondorf?" He saw Daphnes, who's attention had been caught by Ganondorf's call, probably because children didn't normally carry weapons with them.

The adviser chuckled, "'Mister?' Please, just call me Ganondorf. That's fine. I'm sorry to trouble you, my boy, but your sword and shield piqued my curiosity and I would like to know, are those real?" The people around him began to chatter loudly and Link overheard all of them doubting his sword's validity.

"No," He corrected the doubters around the gerudo King, "They're are real. My master gave me this sword for my birthday recently." The people responded by eying him with a look of shock and sudden fear, even Daphnes was looking apprehensive.

"I thought so." Ganondorf chuckled. His response surprised his peers and even Link. Rubbing his chin, the gerudo explained, "No parent or guardian in their right mind would give their kid a weapon if they knew he or she didn't know how to use it." Smirking at Link he observed, "You look like a strong boy. I will bet that you have been training for years with that weapon." Link nodded in response. Ganondorf put his large hands behind his head and mused out loud, "It should be an interesting tournament... we've never had a child before."

"Uh... yeah." Gonzo chimed in, clearing his throat, "Speaking of which, we better get to the registration desk, son." He put his hand on Link's shoulder and looked at Ganondorf, although his eyes did not meet the adviser's, "If you're Ganondorf, you'll be in the tournament as well?"

"Of course!" He responded warmly, "I'd never skip it for anything! Not even the Triforce would suffice to lure me away from the excitement of a duel. There's nothing better..." Bowing his head to Link he added, "You'd better be off then, there are still a lot of people trying to gain a place in the brackets. I hope to see you in the Arena, kid. I'm interested in seeing your skill."

Link nodded, he was still feeling tense, but Ganondorf's friendliness had overcome him and he smiled, "Yeah, sure. Well... we better go, see you in the Arena then." He waved, not knowing how he could have been suspicious of the gerudo in the first place. Ganondorf waved back and returned to socializing with his audience.

Gonzo, Link and the others headed up the street again. The pirates seemed rather relieved to be out of Ganondorf's presence and Link was still perplexed about the situation. The question bothered him like an itch he wanted to scratch, but he knew that if he asked the pirates what was going on, their plan might be overheard, so he restrained himself.

A ways down the road, they met up with Tetra, who was still pretending to run away from Zuko. When she saw them, she faked tripping and falling over; allowing an exhausted Zuko to finally catch her. reuniting her with Link and the pirates. When she took a hold of his arm again, Link could tell that Tetra had calmed down, even though it was obvious that she was still disturbed.

He expected some sort of repercussion from Tetra, but she said nothing the whole way to the Arena. The excitement in the air around the group had been sucked out by the recent events and had been replaced by a gloomy feeling. The tension was gone, but the absence of talk between the group was now beginning to bother Link more so than the tension did.

But it wasn't long (although it felt like it) before the Arena came into sight and Link was once again swept away by the awesome sight of it. Towering above all the buildings in the town, including the massive castle walls was the gray-stoned coliseum where the Annual Swordsman Tournament would be taking place. Only Hyrule Castle itself was capable of dwarfing the colossal cylinder-shaped Arena.

There was a large archway at the bottom of the arena that led inside, probably to where the registration desk was. Link could see a fairly sizable line of warriors and their sponsors collected outside the entrance, waiting for their chance to prove themselves to the examiners. Some of the warriors impatiently waited for the their turn, while others quietly stood in line or chatted with the other warriors. None of them seemed to approach Link or his sponsors.

And so, they waited yet again in another line; this time, however, did not bother Link at all—he had been waiting for years for this and he could wait a little longer. Even so, the tournament wasn't for a few days, so there was no point in complaining. Orca had also taught him that a true warrior had patience and temperance in all things.

"The strong swordsmen are the ones who wait and look for openings." Link recalled his master's words to him, "Those that do not think and rush into their opponent will find their enemy's blade impaled upon them." Thinking deeply about Orca, Link began to wonder about his friends, Aryll and his Grandmother on Outset. A feeling of homesickness overcame him as he thought of their well-being and hoped that they were alright.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Tetra nudged him, "It's our turn now," she whispered to him. Looking up, Link saw the giant archway before him. Apparently the time had passed rather quickly while he had been delving into his mind; for he noted that the sun was beginning to set.

"Well, let's go!" Link exclaimed, adrenaline beginning to pump through his veins, "What are we waiting for?" The pirates and their leader could not help themselves, but grin at Link's enthusiasm. So, without another word, the group passed under the archway and into the halls of the arena. The inside was completed made of stone with many torches lining the walls, but their light was too feeble as the curving halls resembled a dungeon, save the light coming from archway entrance.

There were arched openings every so often on the interior walls that led to the inner-most area of the Arena where the warriors would fight. On the opposite walls, and even less often than the openings, were wood doors, carved to match the archway that they were set into. Looking down the halls, Link could see some staircases on the sides that obviously led to the stands where the sponsors and the spectators would be sitting during the event.

At each of the doors and each of the openings leading to the inner field, there were two guards positioned for defense. Every one of the them wore a similar chain mail and iron helmet uniform with the crest of the Royal Family on their chests. Carrying spears, each guard's face carried a look of seriousness and focus.

Not sure where to go, Senza approached one of the guards and asked, "Excuse me, but do you know, perchance, where the registration desk is in this place?"

The guard looked at Senza and blinked as if coming out of a trance, "The registration desk?" He repeated and then suddenly his face split into a smile that was rather uncharacteristic of him. "Why yes!" he said, "I know where that is." He pointed down the hall to Senza's left, "That way, the fourth door down. There should be a sign on the door, unless Marcus has switched the signs again."

"Thank you very much." Senza bowed. Link and the others bowed with him to show their respect.

"You're welcome! And good luck getting in." He cheerfully said, "I hope you have better luck than me..." He added with a sheepish grin, scratching his head, "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to my post." And with that, he returned to his stance that he had before Senza had approached him.

Gonzo and the others led the way down the hall. They all made sure to count four doors down and checked with each other in case one of them miscounted. Fortunately, it seemed that 'Marcus' had not switched the signs this time around as Link and the pirates reached the fourth door to find a sign on it that said:

"Registration Desk – Apply Here!"

"Here we are." Gonzo smiled, "Come on, let's go in and have a look, eh?" He opened the door and the group went inside.

The registration office was much brighter than the corridors—considering the fact that it was smaller than the corridors and thus the light from the torches on the walls illuminated the room more easily. The walls also had, besides torches, shields and swords hung up on the walls of the registration room. On the right side of the room sat a long wood table with three examiners sitting at the desk, while a fourth, dressed like a guard, stood by on the side. To the left, there was a medium sized space with a red mat on the ground. Link figured that area would be where fought the preliminary match.

As the group entered, the examiners hailed them, the first two were fairly well-aged men wearing cotton robes. Despite their age, they both looked very healthy and possibly participated in the tournament in the past. The third examiner was a fit young woman, probably about in her mid twenties. The first examiner, whose robe was a greenish brown said, "I suppose you are here to register?"

"Yes." Gonzo responded, "I'm William Jacobson and these are some family members and business friends. I just entered the bomb market and I wanted to sponsor my son, Link, here in the tournament." He place his hands on Link's shoulders, "I know he's a child, but he's pretty good with that sword his teacher gave him."

"Ah, yes." The other examiner, whose robe was blue, said, "'The child fencer.' Yes, the news has traveled here that a boy would be entering the tournament." He sighed, "As much I as don't want to let children in, there are no rules against registering a child. Please remember though that we or the Royal Family are not responsible for any injuries or fatal wounds your child might receive during the competition."

"Alright, that's fine." Gonzo consented, "So how do we start?"

The woman pulled out a form and placed it on the table, "First, you must fill this form out with your participant's information." She explained mechanically, "Then, we will begin with the preliminary match to see how the kid does and whether or not we can get him a place in the event."

"I see." The pirate replied, taking the form and looking it over. He suddenly realized with a pang that he could not fill out the form completely as it asked certain things such as height and weight that Gonzo didn't know about Link. He shot a cautious glance at Tetra, who returned it equally.

"Let your child fill it out." The woman said, almost sensing Gonzo's difficulties, "If he needs help, you're free to help him." She pulled out a feathered pen from her desk and asked, "Do you need a pen by the way?"

"Oh yes! I left mine in the tavern on accident." He lied, in reality Gonzo didn't really have a quill feather pen. On the other hand, Tetra did, but she never really let the pirates touch it. He took the pen and handed it and the form to Link.

Fortunately, Sturgeon had taught Link how to read and write, so he didn't need much help from Gonzo. Though he had some trouble in the section of the form called "Style" until Tetra whispered in his ear and explained that style meant the participants' battle style. There were four styles: one-handed, two-handed; dual-wield, and sword and board. Link filled out 'sword and board' since he used a shield.

After he was done filling out the registration form, Link handed the sheet to Gonzo, who in turn gave it back to the examiners. Each of them looked it over carefully and after awhile they approved of it. The one in the brown robe said, "Now then, Link. If you'd step over to the red mat on the left, we can begin the preliminary match."

"Okay." Link walked over to the red mat and turned back to face Tetra and pirates. The pirate girl pulled a wide, fake smile and cheered him on. Again, Link found it difficult to keep his face from going red. Gonzo and the others acknowledged him as well by giving him an encouraging thumbs-up or nodding approvingly.

The guard-like examiner walked onto the mat and examined Link carefully. Wearing leather armor and carrying a long sword, which was not as shiny or ornate as the Royal guards' blades were. He had an expression of doubt on his face as he took in Link with his eyes. Shrugging, the examiner said, "I dunno what your family is thinking, putting you in this tournament, but I guess that's how it is. You better be good or you'll be sent home packing, kid."

Drawing his sword, Link responded, "I know that already. But that's not stopping me from trying." He added defiantly, arming his shield, "I've been waiting for this for a long time and I'm not going to let this stop me."

"Suit yourself." The fencing examiner responded, "Let's begin then." He bowed to Link and drew his own weapon. Bowing in a similar fashion, Link jumped back and positioned himself into a defensive stance. If he had to show off to the examiners, then he was going to show them that he could defend and attack very well.

The fencing examiner struck first and swung his blade down onto Link. Quickly, the young warrior brought his shield up in defense, but suddenly the examiner took his sword away and swiftly attempted to stab Link under his shield. Using his own sword, Link knocked the examiner's weapon away and rolled out of the range of following vertical slash.

His opponent's attacks were fast and constant, it was obvious that he had noticed Link's defensive stance and began to attack repeatedly as to not allow the boy to counter-attack. Without being able to counter, the examiners would most likely throw Link's registration away. I'm not going to allow that! He thought, with strong determination filling his body.

Remembering a technique Orca had taught him, Link parried the next blow from the examiner. Even though the examiner was counting on the swordsman's constant defensive, he did not expect Link to use a parry as a way of attacking—and he did—as soon as the long sword clashed with Orca's sword, Link pushed forward with a sudden burst of strength and rolled around the examiner to his back. Rolling onto his feet, Link jumped up quickly in spiral slashing out at the examiner's back.

Falling forward, the examiner leaped back up and turned around, wincing, "Ah! That hurt, darn it!" Dashing forward, he prepared to thrust his blade into Link, but the islander had already expected the assault and had ready a counter-attack. As the examiner leaped upon Link, the boy brought his sword behind him and spun around in a whirlwind, knocking the examiner to the ground.

Now it was Link's turn to strike, leaping forward he jumped up with the sword behind his head and slammed it down on the examiner, who barely brought his own blade up to parry it in time. They exchanged blows, but soon Link was getting the upper hand, cornering the examiner. With one last blow, the islander knocked the sword out of the examiner's hands.

"Stop!" The female examiner shouted from the table, "Good job, kid. Link has won. All of you come over here" They all gathered around the desk to listen to the results. The three stood up and the fourth joined him, "That was very good. We are all quite impressed with your performance." The examiners nodded, each of them held a smile on their face. Tetra and her pirates were also impressed as they were beaming at him.

"So..." Said the one in blue, "We've looked over your form and watched your fighting abilities and we decided to enter you. You've proven that you are well-skilled in defense, offense and techniques. Congratulations, kid."

There was a shout of joy from the group and each of the pirates congratulated Link individually. Fortunately in their excitement, they remembered their identities and even overacted their relationships to him (Gonzo kept saying, "That's my boy!" over and over). Tetra was smiling as well and Link could tell that she was not pulling an act this time, she was truly impressed with his performance.

"I'll be rooting for you in the stands," The examiner who had fought with him said, much to everyone's surprise, "I never thought a kid would make it into the Swordsman Tournament. You better do well, even though there is no chance you'll beat Ganondorf."

"Why not?" Link asked curiously.

"You might..." He responded, "But believe me, I've fought every single of those people who have last the longest against him and he's still the undefeated champion." He chuckled, "Though if you keep training like the way you are, you'll probably beat him one day. Your skill is impressive for a kid. You must work darn hard."

"I do." Link said humbly. He was no expert or natural at sword fighting, and he did not brag about his skill; albeit only sometimes because everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. Right now, he was just happy to be in the tournament; he no longer cared about winning.

"Well then." The brown-robed examiner said, "The tournament starts in three days at about ten o'clock in the morning. Be sure to report here for attendance and we'll point you to the waiting room for participants." He smiled and added, "We hope to see you then." Turning to the other examiners he said, "This will be an interesting competition, eh?" The others nodded in agreement.

Link was completely charged by the electric atmosphere. I made it... I'm in the tournament! He was living his dream and was finally able to prove his strength.