AUTHOR'S NOTE

Nothing really important… this chapter will start out in Link's POV, and then it will change to Lola's. Also, forget the '20 chapters or so' thing. I'm now aiming for no more than 20, but no less than 10. This is already Ch.4, and I'm going through the plot pretty well, I think. (P.S. I'm a fan of the Hamlet soliloquy)

AUTHOR'S PRAISES

Emeralddestiny: for following this fic and being a huge inspiration to me.

AnimeDemonNayorin: for giving me an awesome quote to add to my profile, and (duh) for reading this.

CHAPTER 4 'ENTER THE WATER'

To travel or to settle down… that was Link's query to himself. Link doubted that a girl would approve of his travels, unless of course she went with him. But, Link knew, it was still too dangerous. It had been a full blown 2 years since Ganon's death, but Link was still combing the islands to find groups of moblins, miniblins, etc, that were still alive and fighting. Link would never want a girl to be hurt in his name.

To live; to live; perchance to defeat the foes…

FLASHBACK (it's a short one this time)
It had been almost three months since Link's first date. Afterwards, he didn't even know why he agreed to going out with Tetra. He loved her, yes, but he didn't know if it was really love. Maybe it was just an intense friendship. He wanted her back now that she was gone, but he didn't know what to say or do.

Link jumped off of the cliff, and swam to his boat. He could see Tetra crying under a tree when he left. He felt sorry for her, but he couldn't even decide if he loved her or not.

Link warped to his oasis, the only place where he really felt as if he were home. Once there, he walked to the top of the waterfall, and started to think about Tetra.

Seagulls cawed overhead when Link finally awoke. Last night was a blur, and he tried to remember what he did last night. All of a sudden it came back to him: the flowers, Tetra, and his leave. He hated himself for treating Tetra that way, and couldn't believe that he hurt her feelings.

"Link, what are you doing here?" a Rito called from the sky. Link looked up; it was Medli. He couldn't talk to her now, not now of all times. They were friends, yes, but how could he talk to a girl about what he did to a girl?

"Link, won't you at least answer me?" Medli called from the sky once more. She landed next to him, and could see that he was upset with himself. "Link, what's the matter?" she asked. "Nothing, Medli, nothing…" Link mumbled. "Oh, Link, I almost forgot. I have some mail for you. Aahhh, where is it… aha! There it is! It's from Tetra. Wait, isn't that the one you were with last night…?" Medli said, not noticing Link's look of despair as she said it was from Tetra. Why would Tetra want to talk to him?

"Medli, how did you know about me and Tetra? I can't believe that you would spy on me…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Link. It's just that when I flew back from delivering the mail at Outset, I heard you and her talking, and then I saw her run down, crying. What did you do?"

"I don't want to talk about it…"

"But, Link…"

"No, Medli. Please, just-"

"Link, I'm your friend, though. We should be able to nicely talk…"

"Medli, no. Just, please, leave me alone."

And Medli flew off, back into the blackness the lead to the sky. Link got back on his boat, and sailed to what used to be the Forsaken Fortress, but, a few years ago, Tetra and her crew of pirates took it over ad renamed it 'The Pirates' Hut'. It was a home to all pirates, but, once you went there and stayed for more than a day, you were part of Tetra's crew. It was ingenious, really, because Tetra made it so that any pirate could go there, eat, sleep, and have a great time, right next to the ocean. But once Tetra spotted a group that wasn't under her control, she made them take the oath of her crew, and throw away their old crew. Still, even though the new crews were tricked a lot, they enjoyed themselves. What pirate wouldn't want to desert their old, poor leader, and join a powerful one who ones what can be considered an island?

END FLASHBACK
Link forgot about his encounter with Lola and Tetra, and sailed to Dragon Roost Island. Once there, he helped sort out the letters and he participated in the Ritos' favorite contest: the Long Fly. The Long Fly was a contest to see who could fly the farthest, do the most tricks while in air, who could fly the highest, and who could stay in air the longest. Link, since he didn't have wings, used his magic leaf.

Link was the ninth flyer; there were a total of 20. Only the best twenty on the island were allowed to participate; you had to take a gruesome test beforehand. The test consisted of almost anything that had to do with flight. Link took the test years before, though, so he didn't have to worry about it.

Medli was first, Komali was second, the King of Ritos was third, and the rest of the flyers were nameless to Link. Once it was his turn, Link used his Wind Waker to control the wind. He knew he wouldn't get farthest, because he had limited magic, but he could at least get highest and longest in the air. With the baton he made a few updrafts, strategically placed. He knew that this wasn't cheating, because the rules specifically said "You can use anything at your disposal. You can do anything in the contest except taunt other players, push other players off the cliff, and/or steal another player's item(s)."

Once the wind was ready, he drank a bottle of magic potion. Once he was ready, he took out his magic leaf and jumped. He missed the first updraft by an inch; he missed his target when he placed it. 'Oh well' he thought. He hit the next updraft dead on. It carried him up higher than the mountain on the island itself. He bet that he was probably just a speck to the onlookers measuring distance. He continued on, and a group of seagulls unexpectedly flew at him. They didn't notice each other until it was too late; the seagulls continued on after a while, but Link lost his gripping on the leaf and fell. The leaf continued on flying on the wind, but Link dived into the water below. It was a long dive; especially since Link was the highest the Rito had ever seen.

"DING!" the bell rung once Link hit the water. Link knew he had gotten the highest, but he also wanted to get the longest airtime. After the final results came in, Link flew the least far, and was in the air the least amount of time. He won one award, though: by unanimous vote from the judges, he got the highest height. Link was proud of himself for that, at least.

"How did you do that?" Komali asked Link once Link was back on land. "It was nothing." Link replied.

"Um… Link? Where's that leaf thing that you were using before?"

"Oh, no. Nononono… It flew on once I let it go, and by now it must be all the way to the Fire Mountain. It might reach the Forest Haven by the time I get to it."

"But, Link, doesn't it require magic or something?"

"Yes, Komali, it does, but only when someone or something is holding on to it."

"Can I help you find it, Link?"

"Absolutely not, Komali. I'll find it on my own."

It was then, once sadness overcame him once again, he remembered the night at Windfall. He pushed it out of his mind, and got in his boat. He warped to the Forest Haven, and sailed north. He was combing the skies in search of any mysterious flying item, but didn't find anything. Then a thought hit him; if he was sailing north because the wind was a southerly wind, then wouldn't his leaf be going north, too?

Link continued northward, in case his leaf was still heading south. He knew it wasn't probable, but he wanted to check all the same. On the way there, he saw Tetra's ship moving fast, but just ignored it. He concentrated on one thing and one thing only: regaining his leaf. He couldn't just ignore it and say, "Oh well, I can always get another." The leaf was a special gift from the Great Deku Tree, and the Deku Tree said itself it couldn't create any more magic leaves.

Tetra was considering giving Lola some loot, even if it was just a few rupees. She quickly threw the very concept out of her mind, never thinking about it again that day. Tetra went to talk to Lola, who was at the wheel trying to learn how to maneuver it. Tetra wanted to get somewhere where she hadn't yet taken Lola, and she wanted to get there fast. Tetra wanted to go to Thorned Fairy Island, the place where a Great Fairy lived. Tetra needed directions back to her Fortress, but that part of her map got torn when she was carrying everything out of the fancy mansion, back at Windfall. Tetra knew the fairy could repair it. On the way to the island, she passed Link's little boat. She didn't care; He ignored her, she would ignore him.

'Only a while longer until I can finally have my chart back in good shape. Then I can rest at the fortress and date some other unknown guy.' Tetra thought with a smile on her face. Lola wasn't the only one onboard who dreamt about guys, but she wanted one like Link, but with a better personality, not like the stupid guys on deck, though.

AUTHOR'S LAST NOTE OF THE CHAPTER

This wasn't a very lengthy chapter, either, but I'm planning something big soon, and I want that to be quite large. Also, my last chapter will be this entire thing on one long page. That last chapter will simply be called the title of this fic as the chapter name. It will still have all the "CHAPTER 1 'OF WOMEN AND WATER'" stuff, but w/o my little author notes. It will also be completely revised and edited, so incase somebody sees this fic, they can just go directly to the last chapter, instead of flipping through the pages. Cya next chapter!