Hmmm…have I got you all questioning what's going on? Well, don't worry…everything will fall into place soon enough…here's the next chapter…I hope that you enjoy it as much as the last!

Chapter 5

(Forgiveness for the Unforgivable)

Sheik groaned, and winced a little. His tongue was dry and swelling from the lack of water. His stomach felt like it was being punched repeatedly. He tried not to let Zelda see. She had to remain strong. It had been two days…almost three. Hopefully the captain would bring him back up to deck soon and he would be able to drink and eat again.

Zelda watched Sheik with growing interest. She had learned a lot. There wasn't much to do when you were tied across from a person for two days but to talk to them. She had learned all about the ship they were on and how the Captain was not a negotiating type of person.

She was confident that she could straighten this whole matter out. She would finally be able to talk to him and perhaps this time he would act more like a civilized person. At least, she hoped so.

Sheik really felt guilty about the whole thing. He was almost sure the Captain would not listen. He secretly wondered what would happen to Zelda. Did the Captain even realize that they were still down here? What would happen to her? Only time would tell.

Above deck, Link was strangely quiet. He did indeed remember about the two being held below deck. He was just perplexed a little about what to do. Sheik would be easy enough to take care of, just a warning, and he would be back to his old self. But the girl…that was another matter.

She was different somehow. He had only had a glance at her face and barely had given her a chance to talk. Perhaps it had been punishment enough for Sheik and the girl. He argued with himself for a few minutes before finally agreeing with the decision of bringing them both up.

He yelled to the two nearest pirates, Garian and Dondollo, to bring them up. They quickly dropped what they were doing and ran to obey the captain's orders.

Link nodded in satisfaction. His crewmates were responding well to his orders. There was no way anything could ruin that. Or so he thought. He smirked a little as he heard the two being brought out before him.

Sheik gulped, and quickly masked his pain of having no food or water for two days. He put on a serious expression, combined with repentance. He squinted at the sun's bright light, grimacing a little. His eyes began to adjust, letting him notice where everyone was and what they were doing.

Zelda immediately shut her eyes against the light, showing pure anger and frustration at her current position. She forced her eyelids to pry open and blinked a few times. She perked up a little as she noticed the Captain in front of her. Now she might be able to persuade him to explain why he had not given her a very polite welcome. She held herself upwards and kept her regal attitude.

Link raised an eyebrow, making sure it was not seen by his crew. It was her. Something about her seemed…familiar. He couldn't place it, but he knew she was familiar. He shrugged it off and composed himself, nodding to Garian and Dondollo to release them. They still had their hands tied behind their backs, so he knew they wouldn't be able to do anything. The first one he spoke to was Sheik.

"Well, Sheik. Tell me, have you learned your lesson? Or do you want a few more days down in the hull?" he sneered.

"No." Sheik quickly shook his head back and forth, barely whispering. "I'm sorry, Captain. I beg your forgiveness." He couldn't help but remember what the Captain said about him being, well, the favorite of the crew. Link seemed to accept the plead with satisfaction.

"Very well." He motioned for Sheik's bonds to be cut. "You shall be freed." Sheik stood up, and bent over a little in pain from not eating. Anyone without a trained eye would not have caught it, but Link noticed immediately. "You may eat." He motioned towards the nearby table brimming with food and wine. He saw Sheik look questionably towards him. "Yes, and you may drink, too." He nearly smiled.

Sheik casually walked to the table, and began to devour the food slowly, although he did not take his eye off the merchant's daughter for one second. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, listening to the conversation with his keen hearing.

Link hesitated. The girl was strangely quiet. She seemed to be waiting for him to speak first. So be it. He walked over to her; she seemed to regard him with an air of superiority on her part, although she held her head down so he could not see her face.

"So…" for one of the first times in his life, Link could not find the words to speak. He tried again, and succeeded in starting the conversation. "Who are you and why are on my ship, girl?" he spoke the last word with extreme distaste. This fueled Zelda's frustration. Yet she remained just as calm and unphased as she seemed to be before he insulted her.

"I am the head merchant's daughter." She spoke each word slowly and distinctly, as if she were speaking to a child. She could insult him too.

Link's eyes darkened a little. He could pick up little snickers and chuckles from the crew at their Captain being insulted…and by a girl! She continued to talk in this manner, keeping her head down so he couldn't see her smile. "I am on this…ship because your crewmate, Sheik saved me from certain death." Link frowned a little. "But I assure you, I will make it worth your while to take me to the nearest town as soon as possible." She kept her head bowed, waiting for an answer.

Link frightened the whole crew by bellowing out a huge laugh, his eyes watering, exaggerating greatly. He pounded a table, holding his sides and gasping in short breaths. "Take…you…back to…the town!" he paused, and got up. "That was the best joke I have heard in a long time…thanks for the laugh." Although he knew that she was serious, he continued to look amused.

Zelda looked shocked, but kept her head bowed. "I'm not joking…I want you to take me back to the nearest town, please!" She sounded a little angry and frightened at the same time.

Link raised an eyebrow, pleased that she was afraid. "I'm not taking you back to any town, girl." He smiled an evil smile.

Zelda was now furious. "I demand that you take me back to the town, or…" she tried to think of something she would threaten to do. "Or I'll jump!" she motioned to the side of the ship. She jerked upwards, showing her face to him for the first time. Her eyes blazed with anger and her hair flowed out behind her, making her look very threatening.

Link had the most amazing look on his face for a split-second. She was beautiful. He gulped, and realized he must be looking pretty awkward. Thankfully none of the people on board noticed, except for one.

Sheik saw the look he gave the girl. Could it be? Was there a look of intrigue in his Captain's face? It was impossible…wasn't it? He watched with growing interest, having finished with the food and drink.

Link quickly shook himself of the look he had and replaced it with one of amusement. "You want to jump?" he asked her. He motioned for the pirates to cut her bonds. He smiled wryly as he watched her surprised expressions. She glanced up at him in confusion. He shrugged his shoulders a little. "Go ahead."

Zelda didn't understand. "What do you mean?" Link let another evil smile creep up his mouth.

"Go ahead and jump. I'm not going to stop you…" Zelda began to rush for the side of the ship. "But!" she stopped, listening to him. "I'm just giving you a fair warning…we're out in the middle of the ocean. You won't be able to swim more than a few miles…you wouldn't make it to the nearest town even if there was one around these parts, which there isn't."

Zelda was filled with frustration. "Then what am I supposed to do?" she practically yelled at him. He gestured to the ship around him.

"Congratulations girl, you've joined the crew of the White Wolfos." Her jaw nearly fell wide open.

"No." she shook her head. "I will not join your crew of filthy sea scum," she spat out angrily.

"No?" Link approached her threateningly. "Then perhaps you would rather be thrown overboard." She was caught. There was nothing she could do.

"Very well…I will join your crew."

Link had a straight face on. "I expect my dinner in about fifteen minutes. Serve it to me in the galley. Oh, and don't forget the rest of my crew, too." He left her and headed down the galley early so he could relax for a while.

Zelda gasped. She frowned, and yelled at the locked door. "I will not prepare anything! Nor will I serve it to you or any of your filthy scum!" She whirled around, only to see Garian and Dondollo approaching her with evil looks in their eyes.

"It's been a long time since I've seen a woman." Garian approached her. "Tell me Dondollo, do you think she knows how to please a pirate?" He turned to his crewmate.

Dondollo replied in a raspy voice. "I don't know, Garian…perhaps we should find out…" They both began to approach her threateningly.

Zelda backed up until she hit the door where Link had disappeared. She was truly about to panic, and shut her eyes, hoping it would all fade away and turn out to be a bad dream. A loud thump brought her back to her senses. She saw Garian had been knocked to the ground, a little blood streaming from his lip. She noticed Sheik standing in front of her, his fist up at level with his chest.

He cracked his knuckles; the crunching sound made her grimace. "The girl…" he looked around for a moment to make sure everyone was paying attention, ". . . is not to be touched." He cast angry glances in all directions, making sure he made eye contact with every one of the pirates. "Am I understood?" The pirates merely went about their business. No one dared to question the first mate.

Garian grumbled as he pulled himself up and wiped the blood from his lip to his sleeve. "You won't do anything with her anyway..." he sneered as he went back to his work.

Zelda put her hand on Sheik's shoulder. "Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled.

Sheik blushed a little, and shrugged. "It was nothing." He motioned for her to follow him. "I'll show you where we keep the cooking supplies."

She nodded, still a little angry at the captain, and followed him below deck, though not as far as the first time she had been held.

Sheik explained everything in great detail, making sure she understood what would be expected of her now. "The captain is not patient. You must be sure you have his meals prepared on the dot. You will also be expected to do whatever the captain expects of you. No matter what it is, you must obey." He explained the first rule of the code. "Never go against your captain. Usually the penalty is death." He paused. "I suppose that's all you need to know for now."

Zelda frowned a little. "What if he asks me…" she kept her mouth shut. "Must I obey everything? Why?" she questioned.

Sheik turned to her. "Do you want to die?" he plainly asked.

Zelda gasped. "Well, of course not!"

Sheik nodded. "Then I suggest you do as he says." He looked at her curiously. "By the way, what are you making tonight?"

Zelda returned the curious look. "What do you mean?"

Sheik stared at her. "You do know you have to prepare the food tonight, right?" She gaped. "Not all of it, of course. We provide our own meals. Whatever we want to eat, we eat." He nodded. "You only have to cook the captain's meals." He frowned. "But even that is worse than cooking for anyone else on this ship."

Zelda sighed heavily. It was not as if she had never cooked before, she just didn't want to show her limited abilities to this man. "I know how to cook…" she lied. "How can I cook for him?" she spat hatefully. "I swear, I'll poison him!"

Sheik shook his head. "Sorry, the last cook tried that. He was found out and forced to eat his own poison." He looked at her with amusement. "The captain isn't that stupid."

Zelda sighed again, and began to rummage through the cupboards, trying to find something to cook. She finally threw her hands up in the air and groaned. "How am I supposed to cook if I can't even find the food?"

Sheik chuckled and pointed to a large chest next to her. She opened it and gasped. It was full of fish! Live fish! They were so huge! She grabbed one and lifted it out of the water. It began to thrash wildly about in her hands. She squealed in anguish, dropping it on the floor. It flopped about, refusing to be cooked.

Sheik laughed and grabbed it, quickly stabbing it with a knife. It immediately stopped its movements. "You should kill it before you lift it out of the water…"

Zelda pouted a little, and took it from him, She awkwardly placed it on the table in front of her. She tried to remember once when she was young and watched the cooks prepare the food for her family. It was no use. She couldn't remember what to do next. She turned back towards where Sheik was, only to find he had left. She was alone.

"Alright…" she spoke to herself. "Please let me get this right." She began to fry the fish in a pan, randomly adding spices and herbs to the skin. She found her thoughts wandering…until she heard the ruckus coming from above her.

"Well," she thought to herself, "guess it's time for me to either sink or swim." She put the fish on the best plate she could find, not knowing how it was supposed to look. She tried to adorn it with every addition to make it as attractive as she could, took a deep breath, and started heading for the galley…

Okay, I made this one longer. Hope you like it! I'll try to update soon, but I'm gonna be gone for two weeks so I don't know if I can update soon. I'll try though. Anywho, thanks for all the encouragement. I really appreciate it.

Krazieshadowninja: Wow, cool! I tried to update quickly. Hope you like the new chapter. I don't know when I'm gonna write the American Dragon fic, I've already started a new fic. Maybe later, but I can't at the moment. I'll try to squeeze it in.

Zekoi: Yup, he is. Why I cannot say. But you will find out soon…(wink)

Revan297: I really like that idea. I might just put her in. I will defiantly think about it. (gives you a gift basket of chocolate) You are a new reviewer! Welcome!

Chipsdip: Sure, you could say that. You will find out soon! I read…and I likey!

Huanir: That's funny, because I've been checking my chapter closer and stuff. I've had a little help. (winks at mystery person) Anywho, glad you like and I hope I will correct the errors as I go!

Mathnerdsunite: Okay, okay! Here you go! (gives you gift basket of mathbooks) Hope you like it!

Sapphirethewindwolf: You'll find out…I'm not telling! (laughs maniacally)

Goldensungeek: That's weird. I think I understand. I have a collector's edition of four Zelda games on one disc. It's in Germany still though….foreign exchange student…grrr…(gets mad) Anywho, thanks for the review!

Nonnahs: Thanks! Yeah, I know. I love them! (hugs) Have another!

Animedemonnayorin: I'm so sorry! I will never forget you again! I want you to have a gift basket again! (gives you gift basket of cd's)

Pixibotan: Thanks so much! So happy you like it! (gives you gift basket of slinky's and other assorted toys)

Thehylian: Sure, I made this one longer just for you. As for the chapters, I'm not sure. Probably around like my other stories…check how long they are. I don't know if the length will increase. It will most likely vary with how I feel. Hope you don't mind. Do you like this length though? Cause it will take me longer with longer chapters to update.

Moonbeam: No, I don't. I liked your first story. I think you should perhaps put it in more poetry form though. Check out other people for help. I think you have done awesome with the poems though. I won't laugh. I promise! (smiles)