Theme 21 – Vacation
WW – TetraxLink
Tetra woke to the sound of waves. She had fallen asleep to the sound of waves as well, but both sounds were waves crashing onto a sandy beach, not against her grand pirate ship. She, her crew, and her resident Hero had decided it would be best if they took a break and relaxed some on a beach. Tetra had stretched out on the sand after watching Link and Niko have a splashing war, and was soon asleep.
The only thing she hadn't fallen asleep to was the heavy pressure on her body. She opened her eyes and found that she was buried under a mountain of sand.
"What the heck?" she demanded, attempting to wriggle her way out of the sand mountain and into freedom. But she failed, and instead began shouting. "All right, you swabs! Get over here and dig me out!" She paused. No answer, except the footsteps of one person.
Link.
"Get me out of here, Hero!" Tetra demanded. "Get me out of this mountain you put on me."
Link was trying not to laugh. "I didn't do it," the Hero said. "Your crew did." He began to push the sand off her until she was free.
"And you helped them?" Tetra said, wriggling out of the sand mountain.
"Nope. I was swimming when they did it."
"And where did they go?"
Link gestured to the large pirate ship anchored in the bay. Only Link's small boat the King of the Red Lions, remained on shore. The red boat had once been alive as the form of an ancient king of the ancient Kingdom of Hyrule. But the King had disappeared when the last of Old Hyrule fell.
Tetra sighed with annoyance, brushing sand off her arms. "Oh, they'll get it this time," the pirate said, marching toward Link's boat.
"Tetra, wait," Link called, dashing after her. She stopped and turned to him, the waves of the ocean lapping at her sandals. "What?"
Link stopped as well. "Um...I was hoping, since it's just us, we could just hang out together...?"
Tetra studied him. Link gave her a pleading look. The captain sighed. "Fine," she said. "But don't try to convince me out of getting them back for burying me like that."
"Oh, I won't," Link promised. Then he grinned. "Come check this out," he said, taking her arm and dragging her away from the water. He led her to a sand structure he had built. "See?" he said proudly. "It's Hyrule Castle!"
Tetra grinned, admiring the craftsmanship in the sand structure as Link continued. "My sister and I used to build sand castles almost every day. The biggest and the best." The Hero sighed wistfully. "I miss her at times like this."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tetra asked. Link looked up at her with curiosity. "Let's get building!"
Link's face lit up when he realized what his captain was saying.
"Alright, swabbie!" Tetra commanded. "We need sand! And lots of it!"
"Aye, Captain!" Link replied.
And so, the afternoon passed. Neither Link nor Tetra noticed the sun's slow descent toward the horizon. Finally, as darkness began to creep over, Tetra's first mate, Gonzo, decided to come and bring food to the two on the beach. As he stepped out of the longboat, Tetra noticed him.
"GONZO!"
The pirate grimaced at his captains tone. She didn't sound happy. He trudged forward anyway, bringing the bag of food with him. "I didn't do it," he said as he approached Link and Tetra.
"What?" Tetra asked. "Oh, that. I'll get you all back later. We need your help."
Gonzo sighed with relief before noticing the giant sandcastle that was taller than both Link and Tetra. "Wow," he said.
"Yes. Neither of us can reach the top and we need to put this on top." She handed Gonzo a small flag made from a stick and some seaweed.
"Sure, Miss Tetra," Gonzo replied. He set the food on the ground and reached up, placing the flag on the tallest sand tower.
"Yay, it's done!" Link exclaimed.
"I know! It looks awesome!" Tetra joined in. The two of them continued to exclaim over the huge castle while Gonzo stood by, watching. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Miss Tetra, I brought some food for you."
Tetra looked down at the bag, realizing she was hungry. "Thank you, Gonzo. We'll be back soon." Gonzo nodded and started back to the boat.
"Princess Zelda, your Highness," Link said, bowing. "Your castle awaits."
Tetra rolled her eyes at her other name, but played along. "Why, thank you, Hero Link. Shall we dine?"
Link nodded and began unpacking the food. He and Tetra sat down side by side. "Boy," Tetra said, biting into a sandwich. "This is the best vacation."