First of all, this is for PokemonTrainer12:
Thank you so much that you still enjoy my stories :).
You are literally the one and only person who cares for them. No one else does, not here and not on deviantart either, so thank you a lot for that. But sadly that's also the reason why I don't post much Zelda stories anymore: No one else shows interest in them and that's why I don't translate my stories anymore. I only want to share those Zelda stories, that I have written in english or already translated in english.

And I honestly only translated this story, because I have been feeling bored. And it was a pretty short one, compared to the other Zelda stories I have written. Like I said: No one else shows interest in them and that's why I don't translate them and thus I am not much active anymore in the english Zelda community when it comes to Fanfictions. If people never comment and tell me if they like what they read or if they never tell me if they have interest in more or not, then I think they never had interest in my stuff in the first place and this is taking away all my motivation to keep going.

But enough of that. I know it won't change anything. Well, their loss, not mine.

As for this one-shot: I still haven't finished The Wind Waker, since I have lost my patience with that game *lol*. That stupid map search in the end of that game is driving me nuts. But maybe in the end of the year I will finish that game haha. It's a fun game, but definitely not my favorite and these bad graphics just hurt in my eyes. But I love Tetra and the pirates in general. I have a thing for pirates of any kind haha. That's why I am writing so much about them right now (but it's from another fandom and it's about space pirates, but it's still pirates, right? ;P).

That was just a spontaneous idea, since I so wanted to write something about the Wind Waker and this is what came out.

Hope you enjoy it :3

And I also hope there aren't too many mistakes in here, since this was a pain in the a** to translate, ugh.

Yo-ho pirates

Link would have never thought that he would end up on a pirate ship one day, but it had happened.

Granted, he found it all very exciting in the beginning, but over time that had changed as well.

Tetra's crew was more than strange and Link couldn't help but fear some of them, but he tried not to show it. Which was not so easy, because this pirate crew had a watchful eye on him and watched him at all times. And Link didn't like this. Not at all…

But he could do nothing about it, had to endure it and just play along with them.

For Aril... he thought again this morning, as he was scrubbing the deck. Tetra gave him one humiliating job after another: scrubbing the decks, maintaining the sails or spending time with one of their crewmembers. The main thing was that they always kept a watchful eye on him. Admittedly, Link liked to spend some time with Niko, because he was the most enduring of all the other pirates. And he taught him some pretty cool tricks which he might need in the course of his adventure.

But the only thing he learned today was how to clean a deck.

Very helpful if he wanted to save his sister...

Link rolled his eyes as he thought about it, but decided not to say his thoughts out loud, as there were too many pirates around him, who were probably already hanging on his lips.

Briefly, the young Hylian stopped his work and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The sun stood high in the cloudless, blue sky and burned mercilessly down on him and he would have preferred to go below deck and enjoy a calm day only for himself, but none of the pirates liked it when he hang around and did nothing, so Tetra had given him this work, so he could make himself useful on the ship.

"When you're aboard my ship, you do what I tell you to do. No disobedience allowed!" she had told him and yes, Link didn't like being bossed around, but she was the captain and he had to obey the captain or he went overboard. That was the pirate way...

Hopefully all this torment and humiliation would be worth it in the end...

Tetra was currently busy with other things.

She was sitting in the captain's quarters, on a small wooden table, racking her brain to decide what to do next. Link wanted to go to the forsaken fortress and Tetra simply didn't understand it. She had often told the boy that it was simply impossible to get into the forsaken fortress without being discovered. No ship even ventured anywhere near this place and every ship, that had already done so, hadn't even got the chance to dock. The canons, that were scattered around the fortress, had already been taken care of them. And even if Link managed to go in there, that would be his certain death. Nobody knew what cruel creatures lived there, but she had seen that the masked bird seemed to live there and this monster had to obey someone and she was sure that this someone was living there as well...

But Link hadn't been deterred by his plan, had remained stubborn and yes, although Tetra would probably regret it, but she had promised him that she would take him to the forsaken fortress. No matter how she would do it. And if she was honest, she secretly wanted to know what was going on in that fortress. And most of all, she wanted to know why this bird had wanted to take her there and besides, she was sure that there were many treasures there and that something would spring out for her crew. As secure as this place was, there had to be fat booty for them. So she couldn't say no to Link's plan. But she also knew about the danger she, Link and the rest of her crew would face there and thus she had to think it through well and make sure none of them would walk into a death trap.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting at her table and studying the map of the forsaken fortress, but she was beginning to realize that her eyelids were getting heavier and that she was getting tired of looking at this map over and over again.

As she looked out the small window, she could see how the sky above the sea slowly turning red. The sun started settling and ended another day at sea. It was time to let the work rest for today, go on deck and enjoy the natural spectacle. Tomorrow was also a day on which she could think of a good plan and maybe tomorrow she would also ask Link for advice.

If she was thinking about him right now...what was he doing right now?

Was he was feeling comfortable being all alone on deck?

There was only one way to find out and Tetra didn't wait long, got up from her chair and left her quarters just a few seconds later.

As she stepped out of the door, Nudge greeted her, who had been standing in front of her quarters and guarding the door all the time. She told him that everything was alright and that he should go on deck and have a nice evening as well, since she would go on deck anyway. And besides, she didn't always need a bodyguard at her side, even if she was grateful that Nudge protected her that way. But she was not a small child anymore and she could take good care of herself and besides: From whom did Nudge want to protect her? From her own crew? It was highly unlikely that any of them dared to even think of a mutiny. They got along well with her and she liked her crew as much as they liked her, so there was really no need to worry. But Nudge remained cautious and only reluctantly moved away from her door with an "Aye, Captain" on his lips, as Tetra walked pass him and towards the stairs that would lead her on deck.

When she stepped outside, she was greeted by a cool, salty evening breeze.

She stopped briefly and let her eyes wander out to the sea.

Yes, out here she felt free and she never wanted to miss this life again.

Here, at sea, she was at home...

Her eyes wandered on, fixing her first mate, Gonzo, who was busy navigating the ship.

And then she saw Link, leaning against the railing all alone, looking out over the wide sea. The cleaning utensils lay neatly folded next to him and Tetra couldn't help but be impressed, because her ship had not looked so clean for a long time. A thought that made her grin, but the grin quickly faded from her face, as she approached the boy and saw the melancholy in his eyes. Lost in his thoughts, he looked out at the sea and didn't even seem to notice Tetra approaching him, until she stood right next to him. Only then did he notice her and he jumped, as she suddenly stood there, next to him and looking at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked him and Link could see honest concern in her eyes, which was new to him, because otherwise she always looked at him with that strange sparkle in her eyes or she looked at him with the sternness of a pirate captain, at which he always shuddered. But not today. No. Today she looked at him differently than usual.

A sigh escaped his throat and his gaze returned to the sea.

"I'm fine, Tetra."

The girl grimaced and there it was again: the stern look in her eyes.

"Stop lying to me, kid. I can see that something is bothering you. So tell me: What is it?"

Again a sigh crept out of his throat and Link seemed to think for a moment whether he wanted to mess with her or not, but in the end he decided not to do it, since he would lose either way.

"I have to think about Aril all the time."

"Your sister?"

"Yes. I hope she is doing well…"

Tetra's gaze softened a bit and her gaze returned to the sea, as she put her arms on the railing.

"We will find your sister. Don't you worry so much about her."

"Easy for you to say."

She turned her head back to him, but he didn't look at her.

"You are not the only one who has lost something in his life, Link. Many on this ship have lost something. And me too…"

The young swordsman shuddered at the sound of her voice, but he dared not ask what she meant by her words, preferring to keep silent.

For how long the two stood there and remained silent, none of them could say, but eventually, Link decided to break the unpleasant silence.

"I really appreciate that you want to help me. But I don't want to put any of you in danger. Give me a boat and I sail to the forsaken fortress alone. I would have a better chance then, because a small boat will be difficult to discover at night."

Next to him, the young woman shook her head at his ignorance.

"Oh boy, I see that you don't understand much about seafaring. The forsaken fortress sees everything and everyone who approaches her. There are huge search lights everywhere that are directed at the sea day and night. They would see you coming, before you even know it, so we have to come up with something different."

She turned to him and looked at him seriously.

"And to be honest: You're either damn stupid to want to go in there all alone, or incredibly brave."

Again she grinned at him.

"Heh, that reminds me of the old times."

"Old times? What do you mean by that, Tetra?"

"Have you never heard the stories of the hero of time? He was only accompanied by a fairy and he saved a whole kingdom all alone. You remind me of him a little when I look at you. The same blue eyes, the same blond hair; even your clothes look like the ones the hero of time should have worn."

Link felt his face heat up as his cheeks turned red.

"I got these clothes from my grandmother. The day you came to our island, I had my birthday and it is our custom that a boy, when he turns twelve, should wear those clothes on the day of his birthday."

Tetra grinned even wider.

"Nice custom. And did I understand this right: My pirates and I spoiled your birthday?"

"To be honest: yes. Why do you ask?"

She giggled and put her arm around his shoulders, pulling him close to her body, causing Link's cheeks to catch fire again.

"How about we make it up to you?"

"How do you mean that?"

"Well, how do I mean that, you doofus? I mean, we're celebrating your birthday, here on this ship. Of course, in a pirate way. Wouldn't that be great for you? I mean, just about every boy wants to be a pirate for at least one time in his whole life."

"Everyone, except for me. I just want to save my sister, that's all."

"Oh, come on, Link, don't be such a spoilsport. Hey guys! Listen everybody!"

Great, now all the attention of the crew was on him and Tetra.

"How about we include Link in our ranks and make a little party for him? I mean, look at him: he's proven that he's brave and seaworthy. Perfect conditions to become one of us. What do you say? Should we make a pirate out of him?"

And gradually, the crew agreed to a cheering and Link would have preferred to sink into the ground.

"Tetra, please...you don't have to do that..."

"No turning back, Link. Besides, some distraction will do you good."

She grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

"First of all, we'll change your clothes, so you look like one of us and after that we throw a party like the sea has never seen it before. And tomorrow we will go back to our plans to get into the forsaken fortress. Sounds like a good plan, doesn't it?"

But Link didn't even get a chance to protest, when Tetra pulled him through the door that led to the inside of the ship and a little later the two disappeared.

Oh man, next time he would just keep his mouth shut...

The end