Aria: As promised, here's the fourth chapter! I hope you guys like it!
Some parts are kinda tear-jerking, so if you're very sympathetic, go get a
box of Kleenex now.
Farore: Why are they tear-jerking?
Aria: I'm not going to give away the good part! They have to find out on
their own!
Farore: But, that doesn't seem very fair.
Aria: Well, I'm the author; I CAN'T give away parts of the story! I'd have
packs of angry reviewers after my blood for giving away the surprise!
Farore: But, still.
Aria: Okay, we have to settle this on our own now. And so I don't EVER
have to see that disclaimer guy again; I do not own the Legend of
Zelda games or its characters! Now, back to the story!

Chapter 4: The Two Tell Each Other Their Stories

"So, you're sure that you want to see Dragon Roost Cavern? It's really
dangerous," Link teased playfully. "If I've been kidnapped by a giant bird
and fought a maniacal warlock; yes, Link, I'm very sure that I want to see
the cavern," Tetra said. "Okay, but don't yell at me when you get burned,"
Link said teasingly.

"Why would I yell at you?" Tetra asked. Link looked at her complacently
and said, "You order everyone else around." "Do not," Tetra retorted. "Do
too," Link replied. "Okay, give me one example," Tetra said, putting her
hands on her hips. "When you were ordering Gonzo around just this
morning," Link said. "I was making sure that he got the idea," Tetra said
defensively. "Still, you were acting like a tyrant," Link said.

"Oh, and who gave you license to say that?" She asked. "I don't need
anyone to tell me. You know very well that you let me get away with it,"
Link said impishly. "Keep talking like that and I'll drop you in the next
Gyrog feeding frenzy," Tetra warned. "I bet you won't," Link said. "I'll
take that bet, smart ape!" Tetra said, giving him a friendly shove.

"So, are you going to show me that cavern or not?" She asked. Link laughed
and jerked his head towards one of the doors leading out of the village.
"It's this way," He said, just as he broke into a run. "Link, you little
brat! Just wait till I get my hands on you!" Tetra yelled as she chased
after him. "You're gonna have to catch me first!" He replied.

When Tetra came out of the village room, she saw a large spring bubbling up
before her. There was a suspension bridge spanning the spring and Link was
already on the other side with a smug grin on his face. "You'd better wipe
that smirk off your face before I get over there!" Tetra said warningly.
"Like I said, you're gonna have to catch me first!" Link replied.

Tetra sighed and started to cross the bridge just as something shot out of
the water and sprayed water all over her. She yelped in surprise and
stumbled back, landing on her bottom hard and making the bridge wobble
alarmingly.

"Are you okay?" Link cried, running over to her. "What was that?" She
spluttered. He looked after the object's receding form and said, "It was
one of those nasty rats from inside the cavern." "That was a filthy rat?
Wonderful! I just got scared silly by a rodent!" Tetra said sarcastically.
"You really have to watch out for those; they can get really nasty if they
feel like it," He said. "I'll make a note of that," She replied
distastefully.

He reached out a hand to help her up and she let him pull her to her feet.
Then, when she was standing upright again, she slapped him across the face.
"What was that for?" Link asked in surprise. "That was for being a smart
alec, goofy," Tetra said. He rubbed his stinging cheek and said, "That
still hurt." "Well, don't be such an annoyance next time," She said.

However, when she saw the clearly hurt expression on his face, she sighed
and said, "Oh, don't give me that pitiful look, Link. You're making me
feel guilty. Alright, alright; I'm sorry for slapping you. Will you stop
looking at me with that hurt face?" Link smiled slightly and said, "Now,
that wasn't too hard, was it?" "Yes, it was. So, shut up or I'll slap you
again." She said, smiling involuntarily. He brightened visibly and led her
through the cavern.

Finally, when they reached the top, Tetra peered out at the land below and
winced. "I didn't think that we were this high," She said. "It is really
high up here, but don't worry; I'll make sure that nothing happens to you,"
Link said, trying to calm her. "I don't like very, very tall heights. I
haven't ever since I was really young," She said, now looking very upset.

"Why don't we get down from here? If it's scaring you, we shouldn't stay,"
He said, taking her arm and leading her away from the edge. She nodded in
agreement and backed away. However, when they turned to leave, the
mountain shook and the pathway, which they had used to climb up, crumbled,
leaving only small parts with large spaces between.

"What happened?" Tetra asked in alarm when the mountain stopped shaking.
"I don't know, but we'll have to go down the same way I had to one time,"
Link said, taking a grappling hook and rope out. "How is that going to
help?" Tetra asked, looking at the vertical drop between the few ledges
that remained. Link pointed to the wooden poles that stretched out between
the spaces and said, "I'll use the grappling hook to latch onto those poles
and then we can swing from one ledge to the other."

Then, he blushed and said, "But, the only way that I can get you back down
there is if I carry you." "It'll be more than just a little awkward, don't
you think?" Tetra said. "Yeah, I know, but it's the only way that we'll
both get down the mountain at the same time. Unless, you want me to go on
ahead and get help," He said. She shook her head and said, "No, I'll feel
safer with you getting me down than with the Rito." He blushed again and
said, "Okay."

So, Link threw the hook over to the nearest pole and waited for it to get a
firm hold. He tested it to make sure that it would support both of their
weights. Tetra was a little shy about having to hold her arms around his
neck while he swung them over to the next ledge, especially because she
would have to be very close to him, but his attitude made her feel secure
and she was quick to respond when he said that they could get across at
last.

"Hold on tight," Link warned as he tensed to jump. "Don't worry about
that; just get us over to the other side!" Tetra replied. He nodded
slightly, due to the fact that her head was right next to his. He tested
the rope one last time and jumped.

She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the terrible oblivion
beneath them as he swung to the next ledge. She kept her eyes shut until
she felt the firm rock of the ledge beneath her feet and until Link said,
"Tetra, we're on the ledge now." She blinked and found herself staring
into his dark green eyes. She blushed and let go.

"See? I told you that it wouldn't be that bad. I wish you would tell me
why you're so terrified of heights," Link said. "I'll tell you when we get
back on solid ground. I don't trust this ledge enough to tell that story
right now," Tetra said. He nodded and said, "I understand. I want to get
off this thing as soon as possible too."

After three more ledges and three more stomach-turning swings, they landed
back on the main path and Tetra was very glad to be on the firm rock of the
mountain again. "So, why are you so afraid of heights? You said that you
would tell me," Link said when they were standing on the overhang once
more. "It's a long story, but I did say I'd tell you, so here goes," Tetra
began.

"Once, when I was still very little, my mother took me to a very high cliff
on a remote island. She loved to go rock climbing and she took me with her
on this venture. While the other pirates were struggling to climb up to
the top, my mother and I had already reached the summit. I still remember
her picking me up and showing me the spectacular view from the summit."

"The sun was beginning to set and the sea was turning blue-violet as the
sky turned lavender, red, orange, and gold. I remember that I could see
for miles and enjoyed every minute of it. Just as the sun slipped over the
horizon, the other pirates struggled their way up to the top and none of us
saw the shadowy form of a ship coming closer to the island."

"Just then, the entire world seemed to stop as the ship began to fire
cannonballs at us. One of them hit the piece of cliff that my mother and I
were standing on and it crumbled beneath us. One of the pirates was lucky
enough to grab me before I fell, but he couldn't spare me the sight of
watching as my mother plummeted to the ground."

"They all scrambled down the cliff as quickly as they could, with me
screaming for my mother the entire time. The ship slunk away before any of
us could identify it, but we were all too worried about my mother."

"When we did reach her, her back was broken in many places and she was
already dying. She gave me the piece of the Triforce of Wisdom, without
telling me its importance and told me to treasure it and to protect it at
all costs. She also made me promise to take care of her goofball band of
pirates. Just as I promised to do as she asked, her eyes closed and."
Tetra broke off and pushed the tears away.

Link had listened sympathetically, knowing exactly how she felt. When she
stopped talking, he put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said, "It's
alright, Tetra. I know how that can feel. I lost my parents in an
accident when my sister was still a baby." She looked up at him and asked,
"What happened?" He looked out at the clouds blowing through the sky and
said, "My father was a great fisherman and my mother used to help him out
on his boat. While they fished, they left Aryll and me with our grandma so
that we would stay out of trouble."

"One day, one of the people who often visited Outset went fishing right
before a storm and his boat hit a reef and he started to sink. His friend
got worried about him and asked my parents to find him. They were able to
rescue him, but when they tried to head back to shore, the wind blew up and
rammed their boat into the sharp rocks on one side of the island."

He paused for a moment and then said, "We didn't find their bodies until
they washed ashore and by then, my grandpa had already gone to pieces and
died in his sleep." "That's horrible! Not many people know about that, do
they?" Tetra asked. He shook his head. "They tried to hush it up so that
the fishers would still come to the island. But, they made some rules that
didn't allow anyone to go fishing if rain was on the way and everyone was
warned to avoid going near the rocks on the other side of the island," He
said sadly.

"How could anyone be that insensitive? I mean, I can only imagine how
miserable you must have been!" Tetra said. "The fact that Outset Island
was a fishing village was the one thing that kept the island going. If the
fishers had found out about the accident, they would have been afraid to
come and the entire town would have suffered," Link said despondently.

"I suppose that that's true, but that doesn't mean that they can act like
it never happened! I imagine that your grandmother must have been very
upset with having your parents and grandfather die and being left to care
for you and your sister," Tetra said. He nodded and said, "It was hard for
all of us, but the worst part was that I had trouble remembering them!"

Tetra was taken aback, but she said, "What do you mean by you had trouble
remembering them?" "What I meant was that I couldn't even remember what
they looked like unless Grandma showed me a pictograph of them and I had
trouble remembering the things that we used to do together," Link said,
turning around.

"I don't normally talk about my parents; it always makes me feel gloomy
that I can hardly remember them. They've become not much more than a story
to me now and that only adds to it. When Aryll was kidnapped, I was
worried that I might lose another family member, who would someday be
nothing more than a fond story."

"The same thing happened when I came back to Outset during Ganondorf's
eternal night curse and I found that Grandma had gotten sick with worry
about Aryll and me. The one thing that scares me above everything else is
the fear that I might lose someone who means something to me. If Ganondorf
had known that and exploited my fear, then I'd be as useless as a pebble
trying to block a flood," Link said.

"Don't put yourself down like that, Link! You're a great hero and if it
hadn't been for you, we'd all probably be Ganondorf's slaves by now," Tetra
said. "I know this won't change anything, but when you think about all the
good things that you achieved, I'm sure that you'll realize that everyone
has a weakness that could destroy the very thing that makes them who they
are. The trick is to turn that weakness into a strength and overcome it so
that it can never be used against you. That's how I was able to get over
my mother's death and become the person you know today!" Tetra said.

Link spun around and an expression of gratitude adorned his face. "You're
right, Tetra. Thanks!" He said happily and he gave her a quick hug.
"You're welcome," Tetra replied, unable to say anything more from surprise.

He smiled and ran over to open the door next to them. "Come on, Tetra!
They're gonna start wondering whether we're dead or alive if we take much
longer!" He called over his shoulder. "Coming!" She replied, feeling a
strange fullness from the depths of her heart as she followed behind him.

Aria: *sniffle* I love this kind of stuff!
Din: Oh, blow your nose, you baby.
Aria: WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!
Din: Eep!
Aria: *sparks fly from fingers and Din is turned into a crab (you know the
ones that run around on the beaches)
Din: *in very teeny, tiny voice* Change me back!
Nayru: Ha! I think it suits you! You always have been a bit of a crab!
Din: *glares at Nayru with beady eyes*
Aria: *snicker* I agree with her; you are better suited to the crab look.
Alright! I hope you liked this chapter. No cliffhangers this time!
Please read and review! I'll be waiting!