Title: Festival of Waves

Pairing(s): Guess.

Rating: K+

Warning(s): None.

Note(s): More revision. Yay.

Chapter 2: Settling In

"I want adventure in the great, wide somewhere
I want it more than I can tell."

-"Belle [Reprise]" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast

"Done," Maggie whispered to herself, setting her quill back into the bottle of ink. She lifted the parchment she had written on and blew it dry; she didn't want any off the precious words on it to run and be lost. Then, with the utmost care, she folded it and stuffed into an envelope, sealing it with a kiss.

Maggie sat in her father's study, dressed in her nightgown. Her father had forbidden her from keeping contact with her darling Moe for any longer, and while she loved her father dearly, she loved Moe more. She refused to let her father's stubbornness stand between her and the Moblin's sacred love, so she continued to write him letters, mailing them in the dead of the night. The young woman paused and hugged the letter to her heart.

"Oh Moe, if only he could see how truly wonderful you are," she said dreamily. Maggie sat there in the dark for a moment longer and sighed. It couldn't be helped; it was unheard of, practically taboo, for a monster of any sort to court a Hylian. It was simply unnatural. Nevertheless, Maggie felt her and Moe's long-distance relationship was beautiful, whether it defied the laws on nature or not.

Maggie stood and tip-toed all the way to the exit of her grandiose home, grabbing her coat before stepping outside. Immediately, she shivered violently. The rain was coming down hard, and the wind was chilly. Tucking the letter under her arm, Maggie pulled the hood of her long coat over her head, concealing her face (she simply couldn't risk any one identifying her and telling her father about her late night session in the rain).

She scurried down the stone staircase and quickly headed down the empty street toward the mailbox. The mud squelched under feet, and she crinkled her nose a tiny bit when it splashed up on her dress. She would have to clean that as soon as she returned home. As Maggie approached the archway, she slowed, noticing the figure of a girl her age standing underneath it. She felt her gut tie in knots, panicking.

"Calm down Maggie," she thought. "Just act natural, and she won't suspect anything." Sucking in her breath, Maggie stiffly walked by the girl, trying to avoid eye contact. She failed miserably, looking up at the young woman, and was shocked to discover it was a Rito. She immediately relaxed; this girl was probably just a mail carrier waiting out the storm. There was nothing to be afraid of.

The two young woman stared at each other for a moment longer before Maggie broke away and dropped her prized letter in the mailbox. She could tell the Rito girl was watching her every move. Creepy. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a large ship approaching. She turned her head to get a better look at it, feeling her her heart drop when she saw the skull and crossbones on the flag.

"Pirates?" she mumbled weakly, feeling slightly dizzy. The Rito girl must have heard her because she immediately ruffled her feathers, not so much looking frightened, but more... tense. Maggie glanced at the Rito and locked eyes with her; was she with them, the pirates? She had never heard of a Rito being a part of a pirate crew. Silence hung between them for a moment as the rain continued to pelt the earth.

"We're not here to pillage your island, if that's what you're thinking, " the Rito spoke up. "We're just here for food and rest... nothing more." The Rito was practically pleading with her, Maggie realized. She didn't want her to run around and spread panic throughout the town, screaming that pirates were invading Windfall. Maggie wasn't sure whether she could trust this girl, but from the begging tone in her voice, she couldn't help but think the Rito was sincere.

"I won't tell a soul," she promised. And she wouldn't; if they really were just here to stock up on supplies and whatnot, she had no problem with them staying here. Besides, her father would question why she was out at night if she told him about their arrival, and she couldn't allow that. But just to be sure...

Maggie warily left the Rito girl behind and, when she was sure the she could no longer see her, hid behind a bush. If the pirates tried anything funny, she would know about it.

As the boat pulled into the dock, Maggie could see a second Rito, male, leap off board and fly a short distance to reach the female Rito. He immediately scooped her up and hugged her tightly, saying how worried he was about her. The girl blushed, and gently pushed him off, assuring him that she was OK. Maggie sighed, finding the situation somewhat romantic. The pair reminded her of her and Moe's relationship.

The awkwardness between the two Rito's suddenly became apparent as the rest of the pirates descended the gangplank, many carrying what little supplies they had left. The Ritos took a large step apart, one coughing in embarrassment. A blonde boy (who struck her as someone familiar) seemed to tease them for a moment, before a tanned girl (who Maggie presumed was the captain) took control of the situation. She ordered the crew to unload everything that was valuable off the ship, to which they all replied with an unanimous, "Aye!" The captain then turned to the Rito girl and spoke to her privately for a moment before the two headed into the empty marketplace and out of sight.

Maggie sighed in relief. It seemed that the Rito was being honest; these pirates clearly weren't here to raid Windfall. In fact, the entire crew looked almost... non-threatening. Maggie made a motion to leave before something (or rather, someone) caught her her eye; it was a small boy, with messy brown hair and long, lanky arms. She tilted her head, thinking he looked a little... strange for a human. Perhaps he was deformed? No, he looked mostly normal, just... awkward. Like he wasn't comfortable in his own skin.

Maggie shook her head sadly; what a tragedy, to be uncomfortable with who you are. She almost wanted to run up and give a boy a hug, but she was worried the pirates might pull out those giant daggers she always saw them with in her fairytale stories and stab her. She glanced at the boy one last time before running to return home.

"This place isn't half bad," commented Tetra as she flopped onto one of the beds. "I could get used to staying here for awhile." Medli smiled at the captain weakly, still flustered from the night's earlier events. She hadn't expected Komali to embrace her and while she found being in his arms quite comfortable, it was totally inappropriate for her to be touching royalty like that. Komali's father would be furious if he found out, even if it was he that was coming onto her.

"So," began Tetra curtly, sitting up. "Did you run into any trouble while waiting for us? No one knows we're here, right?"

Panic flashed across Medli's red eyes. Someone did know they were here; she didn't want to tell Tetra that, though. That girl had promised she wouldn't tell anyone, and Medli had to hold her to that. Telling Tetra that some random citizen had spotted them would only upset her, so there was no harm in not telling the truth in this situation... right?

"No," she lied. She felt like throwing up as soon as the word tumbled out of her mouth. Tetra smirked.

"Good." Tetra lied back down on the bed, turning to face away from Medli. The Rito sat on the edge of her own bed, staring absently at the ceiling.

"Did you know Windfall is celebrating The Festival of Waves this week," she said, suddenly changing the topic. Tetra glanced at Medli over her shoulder with a half-lidded gaze.

"The festival of what?" she asked, sleep starting to seep into her voice.

"The Festival of Waves," Medli repeated, pulling her legs up under her chin. "Well, it's not exactly a festival... It's a ball, but it used to be a festival."

"Ugh..." Tetra turned over again. "Balls... dancing... not my thing. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll get out of here before then."

"You don't want to attend?" asked Medli, a tinge of sadness in her voice. Having been confined to Dragon Roost Island for most of her life, Medli did not have many opportunities to explore the outside world, which was partially why she agreed to join Tetra's crew in their search for the new Hyrule. The idea of exploring new lands, sailing across vast, uncharted seas... it had all seemed so romantic and adventurous to her. However, her desire for these experiences had, thus far, gone unfulfilled. Which was why the idea of going to this ball appealed to her so much; it was something new, something exciting...

"No," Tetra replied bluntly. Medli's shoulders sagged.

"I see," she said, the sadness now more apparent. After all, if Tetra had no plans of attending, she doubted that anyone else would even consider going.

Maggie: The poor-turned-rich girl who fell in love with Moe the Moblin.

Well, there you have it, chapter 2 of the revision. Yes, Maggie becomes a mildly significant character so... I hope you like her.