Hello all! Sorry it's been a while! Thanks for all the positive support for this story!! I will update as often as I can!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

Erm, I don't like this chapter very much. I'll tell you why-I've long since decided that writer's block is not a valid reason for not updating for forever, so I wrote most of this through a very severe case of writer's block. Which is strange, since it's longer than the first chapter. So sorry if it really sucks!! Also, I wrote the last few paragraphs while listening to a really sad song.

Oh, I don't know how many of you like fics like this one I've been editing for a friend, but I think it's a worthwhile read, and my friend needs all the positive reviews he can get (he got really close to being flamed just days after he put it up, damn flamers) It's called "Defiance" by Whyette_h. It's a little odd, considering we forgot to mention it's Semi-AU in the first chapter. Anyway, if you would take some time to read the first chapter and drop Whyette a review, we would both appreciate it very much. (I will read reviews for that story, so don't say anything bad about me!)

Domo Arigato! (means "Thank you very much" in Japanese, for those who don't know)

That's it, I guess.

-Nagem

Wind tugged at my hair as I stepped onto the dock at Windfall. Behind me, I heard Nudge shout the orders for everyone to stay on deck, that I would do better to be alone. I smiled wryly. At least someone realized it. I stepped off the dock onto the hard-packed dirt road. Several pairs of eyes swerved in my direction, trying to catch a glance of the famous female pirate. I ducked into the crowd, hoping to throw off the accusing stares. I wove my way through the crowd until I spotted a deserted alleyway, and ducked into it. Several pairs of eyes followed my movements, but no one said anything.

At least there's less attention drawn to me, I thought as I picked up my pace. The buildings on either side of me began to block out the light, and, by habit, I began to move slower. Finally, only shadows prowled the alleyway. I grimaced at the smell of rot and decay coming from the piles of trash that were deposited here each day. Who would have ever guessed that Windfall could be so dirty?

"And what does this little girl want with the black market?" Before I could react, I was grabbed from behind, one arm twisted about my back, a hand clapped over my mouth to keep me from screaming. I didn't move. Even though it was rare for me to be attacked around here, the few who thought they could try it were dangerous folk. "Aw, is the little miss scared?"

I shifted slightly, using the movement to cover up the release of a dagger buckled to my ankle. "If you don't let her go, this 'little miss' is going to cut your throat out." The grip loosened as the man processed my words, and I broke away, spinning out of his reach and ducking to grab my dagger. Once I straightened, the man eyed the dagger in my hand. "Well? Are you going to let me through? Or are you going to gape at me a little more?"

"Who are you?" he asked, backing away from me, holding his empty hands out-the bandit's sign of surrender.

"Tetra," I said, watching to see his reaction to the name. Everyone knew my name, the leader of the fiercest pirates on the Great Sea. "Let me by, or I might not be so nice in a few minutes."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, vanishing into the shadows. He did know the name then. I was famous with the bandits-I grinned at the thought.

Inside the intersection of alleyways where the black market was held, figures scuttled around, most wearing a black cloak with a hood to disguise themselves. The black market was a less than reputable business. I looked about, and walked over to my favorite stall.

"Hey there, Tet," the stall keeper, Jem, said, using his favorite nickname for me. He grinned, but his mouth had no teeth. I looked into his eyes, the only life the black market hadn't sucked out of him. "Come to restock?"

"When don't I?" I asked, keeping my voice dry. In truth, I hated the black market, but the salesmen here were the only ones who would ever sell anything to me. The ones who sold wares in the sunlight were terrified that they would be cheated by a pirate, while in the black market it didn't matter. Everyone was cheated by everyone. The few honest men who came this way were often cheated out of business in months-and comments were made about the honest salesmen vanishing during the night before they could go back. I shivered at the thought. The people who kept the market in semi-order would rather kill than let the whereabouts of it be known.

"Cold?" Jem asked with another smile without teeth. He laughed, a short barking sound that made me shiver again. Even though he was my favorite stall keeper, it was not because I enjoyed his company-it was because he was easier to swindle.

"Nah, bad thoughts," I said, glancing around for any suspicious figure eyeing me, for one reason or another. "Jem, I'm going to leave rather quickly, I hope to pull out of the docks by as early as sunrise tomorrow. You think that you can deliver your goods by then? I'll give you fifty extra rupees."

Jem's eyes lit up. "One hundred."

I frowned. "Seventy-five."

"Eighty."

"Seventy-seven."

"Three hundred." He had to be joking.

"If you're gonna do that-thirty."

"Sixty-five, then." I knew he was joking.

"Sixty. That's my final offer," I said, holding out the rupees where he could see them but couldn't get to them. "Take it or leave it." Jem's eyes lit up again, eyeing the rupees I held. I could see the internal battle in his mind-either get more money, or loose it all with the customer. I had long since told him that if he ever haggled me past my breaking point, I wouldn't come to his stall for months. I had proved it more than once.

"Deal," he said, reaching for the rupees. I dropped them to the wooden table of his stall. The hand dropped and swept them away before one could tell they were even there. "I will have the items delivered to your ship by sunrise, Miss Tetra." Jem bowed and backed away from his stall, blowing out the small lantern that only illuminated his face. Knowing there was nothing else to do, I turned and made my way out of the market.

It was sunset before I had made my way back through the winding streets and alleyways to my ship. As I approached it, I noticed, in the valleys between the small wind-created wakes breaking against it, that the hull was covered by barnacles and other disgusting objects. I hissed in slight annoyance-it would have to be scraped clean soon, something I hated doing.

"Miss Tetra!" Gains came running to me. "You came back safe!"

"I always do," I said, watching the people on the docks who kept a watch on me out of the corners of their eyes. "They have no proof against me, other than the fact that we weren't here when the kidnappings occurred."

"Even so," Mako said, joining Gains and I. "They have to ask themselves what reasons we would have capturing girls."

"They'd make up a reason just to jail us," I hissed, staring at the police captain and the jailkeeper who had joined the harbor master. They were prepared for an arrest. "Hm, we aught to stay on the ship tonight."

"Miss!" Gains whined in protest. "We haven't had a decent bed for ages."

"And until this all blows over we won't have a decent bed," I said. "I don't want to risk staying at the inn. They'd have more things to mistakenly blame us for. Like the expensive glass that vanished a month ago that they have yet to report."

"Expensive glass?" Gains said in confusion. "We didn't. . . . "

"I wasn't serious," I said in annoyance. "It was just an example of what could happen. Get yourself together, Gains."

"Yes, Miss," Gains said. "We are going to stay on the ship tonight then?" I nodded, and sighed as I watched him climb the ladder hung on the side of the ship up to the main deck.

"Problems?" Mako asked. I shook my head, and followed Gains, not looking forward to the meal of stale bread and water any more than my crew.

I woke early the next morning to the scraping sounds of Jem's men dragging the crates of goods I had ordered onto the deck. I yawned and rolled over in my bed, making a mental note to myself to take inventory the next morning, though I doubted the men would steal anything. There was always one of my men on duty, and they had tried it before-it didn't work. I always got back what they took.

When I rose the next morning-before sunrise, I thought proudly-a tired Zuko waved me good morning and went below deck to get some sleep. Niko scrubbed furiously at spots on the deck, while Senza shouted at him to get moving. Nudge, Gains, and Mako sat in a semi-circle, talking in soft voices. As I approached, Gains jumped up and came to greet me.

"Good morning, Miss," he said. "We were just discussing possible destinations." He motioned to Mako, who waved a treasure chart in the air for a few moments before bringing it down to study once more. "We're hoping that you're pleased."

I'm amazed that they even got up on time, I thought, hiding a small smile. They need not do this for me, and they knew it. But I couldn't cut them slack. "Good. Do you know where we should go?"

Gains fidgeted nervously. "I heard there was something, some sort of cave near the Forsaken Fortress," he mumbled. I winced-as harmless as the place was, I still liked to steer clear of it. I didn't want a war between pirates just because I was stupid enough to wander into someone else's territory. At my wince, Gains continued. "I know you don't like that place, your mother didn't either."

"Don't mention my mother and the Forsaken Fortress in the same breath," I hissed. Everyone backed away from me. They knew exactly why I hated the Forbidden Fortress-my mother had been killed near there. We had entered another pirate's territory back then-not on purpose, the storm had blown us off course. They had fought us, we had chased them off, and the next night they had killed her. I frowned, remembering it all. Everyone backed further away.

"You've done it now," Mako hissed to Gains.

"Relax," I said. "I'm not planning to punish anyone. Just . . . set course and get going."

"Yes, Miss!" And they scattered, leaving me to my thoughts.

As we sailed, I lay on my bed in my cabin, lost to the world. Time meant nothing to me, I didn't even care when Nudge came to the door and told me it was time for midday meal. I was lost in my own thoughts, thoughts about my mother and the stories she used to tell me.

As I thought, my hand wandered to the thick bandana I wore about my neck. My hand slipped under the bandana, and when I felt a rough leather cord I withdrew it. The cord was a necklace, crudely made, but suitable for its task. As I gazed at it, my eyes flew to the golden triangle that the cord supported. Most would see it as gold-worthless except as money, but it held special meaning to me. It was the last thing that my mother had ever given to me.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Flashback*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I wriggled in my mother's arms, smiling up at her as she wove one of her many tales in a gentle voice. After a while, I grew tired and rested my head on her chest, just happy to be with her and listening to her soothing voice.

"Tetra? Are you still awake?" Mother asked.

"Huh?" I mumbled, half asleep.

She laughed at me. "You love those stories, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah!" I said, starting to wake up. "All the action, the betrayal." I was talking, of course, of the goddesses deserting their beautiful land and leaving it to an unknown fate. "I wish something like that would happen now. Everything's boring."

Mother laughed again. "Tetra, you really want something neat?"

"Yeah!"

She set me on her bed, and went to her drawer. After a few minutes of searching, pulled a golden triangle hung on a thick leather cord. "This has been passed down through our family for ages," she said, handing it to me. I took it and stared at the triangle, awed. "Each generation guards it with her life." She smiled, sitting back down next to me. "I'm not supposed to give you this until you come of age, but I think you're ready."

"Thank you!" I cried. "I swear I'll never let it fall into the wrong hands! Whatever it is!"

Mother laughed again.

The next few weeks were spent making up invisible enemies and guarding the strange triangle that my mother had given me. The crew laughed at me, Mother perhaps the loudest. I didn't care-I finally had something to do. I eventually grew bored of it, and hid it underneath my shirt. I never thought it would carry anymore importance to me than that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~End Flashback*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rolling over so that I could see the picture of the legendary hero that hung near my bed, I clutched the triangle tightly and fell into a deep sleep.