Hi everybody! So sorry I haven't updated in a while…I've been sooo busy with the house and all…but I have been writing! The next two chapters are almost finished! I'll try to update fast, but no guarantees, so just keep checking and it might come sooner than you think!

Chapter 11

(War after Dawn)

Link groaned in agony, pulling himself to his feet from the floor. He swallowed harshly, rubbing his temples with his hand tenderly. He felt the same ache in his heart, in the depths of his soul that he had kept hidden for so long.

The night was still upon them, a feeling of dread hung among the crew, lingering like a dark storm cloud. Link, after some period of time, decided it was best to put Sheik to rest. He couldn't stand the constant pangs of guilt and memories. He dragged himself to the mirror and wiped off the sheet of dirt. The reflection that greeted him was something he had not seen in a long time. He had not wanted to see himself because of the likeness. He was afraid that he would see her resemblance in his face. The only relief for the pain in his heart was trying to forget.

He stared into the mirror, amazed and surprised. A young man looked back at him, smiling kindly. He had a bright, clean face, shiny blonde hair, and clear, vibrant blue eyes. Link stumbled backwards, shocked and disoriented. It was himself he saw, only different. He tripped, quickly got back on his feet, and glared back towards the mirror. The reflection was now gone. In its place was a sad, depressed face, dirty, tangled blonde hair, and red rimmed eyes with dark circles underneath. Link touched the mirror gently, realizing this was his true reflection.

Suddenly, a loud rapping made Link realize there was someone at his door. When he opened it with an annoyed look on his face, he was irritated to see Kinru. "What?" he snapped. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry captain…" he stammered nervously. "I want, I mean, I thought we might have a ceremony for Sheik." He kicked at the wooden floor. "He was a good pirate…and friend."

Link was slightly touched. At least he was not the only one grieving. Of course, he did not let this show. "Assemble the crew, and make sure all of them are present." He slammed the door, and covered Sheik with one of his best robes, leaving his face showing.

After a few minutes, the crew had gathered, and Link had brought Sheik out for a few respectful words. Link glanced towards the crew, something was different. He looked around, realizing what the problem was. The girl was not there. He pursed his lips, and told the crew to hold the ceremony until he returned.

Zelda silently let the tears drip down her cheeks, adding to her already muddled complexion. She jerked every minute of so, muffling her sobs in a pillow. She stopped; a floorboard behind her had creaked. She had enough experience to know who it was; there was only one who could silently appear behind her like that. "What do you want, captain?" she choked out between occasional sobs and hiccups.

"When I bury someone, I require the entire crew to be present." Link commanded, although it was a softer tone than he usually used.

"I can't go." She quietly stated. "I…everything was all my fault." She stammered, now struggling not to reveal her emotions. "If only I could have…I only wish…" she stopped.

"You could have done something. Then he might have lived. You feel…responsible for his death…like it would have been different if you hadn't…" Zelda looked up at Link, dumbfounded. How did he know that…it was exactly how she felt. She could hardly believe her eyes. He had a tear sliding down his cheek.

"How did you know that?" she whispered, her deep blue eyes brimming with tears ready for another downpour. "I don't understand…" she trailed off.

Link sighed sadly. "I've lost someone…just don't let the hurt stay there. It wasn't your fault. Remember what Sheik said. Whatever you do, don't you dare think it's your fault." He barely understood the words that came out of his mouth. It was like he was speaking a foreign language. It didn't sound anything like him…or did it? "Now come on." he commanded, standing in front of her.

Zelda was filled with hurt and frustration. "What do you mean by saying you have lost someone! When Sheik saved me twice, did you care? No! When I found out my father died, did you show me any pity? No! Who could you have possibly lost that could make you feel the way I feel?" she choked at him, her whole body shaking furiously in her anger.

Link stared at her, for a moment, a brief moment; the sound of the ocean was the only thing that could be heard. Then, out of nowhere, Link replied softly. "My mother." he breathed so softly, Zelda was unsure that she had heard the words. The way he stood there, the expression of untold grief and misery clearly showing on his face gave him the appearance of a small child lost and alone…

Zelda allowed herself to stand up and face him. There was nothing she could say. Without realizing what she was doing, she collapsed on his shoulders and chest, gripping his tunic and crying loudly. "I…I'm sorry." she sobbed.

Link, unbelievably surprised and feeling very awkward, looked around for a few seconds, and then very hesitantly placed his hands on her back. They both remained there for a few moments, until Link pulled himself away abruptly. "Well, let's go."

The hours passed slowly that day, everyone was solemn. That is, except for a few fakers. During the short period of silence they took for Sheik, Garian leaned over to Siekken and whispered. Siekken did not reply, but Garian was answered by Link staring daggers at him. Garian mumbled a quick prayer of thanks that Link did not hear him clearly.

They completed the burial in a ceremonial way, lowering the honored first mate into the sea. It was not long before he sank, for Link had burdened the blanket with a few weights to make it pass faster. After this, the pirates scattered, not wanting to disturb Link or show disrespect. The ship strayed into fog, enveloping everything with a heavy sheet of humidity. For many hours this went on. Link began acting strangely, stealing looks off into the distance. It was times like this when being a pirate was not fun anymore. Without Sheik, the ship seemed dead and bland.

Zelda had decided to take a little catnap. She made her way down to the crew room, hoisting herself into a hammock, and dozing off almost right away. The ship began to undulate, helping to rock Zelda as if she were a peaceful baby.

Before long, a loud thundering woke her up. She bolted upwards, quite startled, banging her head on the ceiling above. She half expected Sheik to come running down to inform her about what was happening. She jumped out of the hammock; loud booms were coming from above. When she arrived on deck, she gasped in horror. Another ship had pulled in next to them, its cannons bared. It was not far away, hardly fifteen feet beside them. Every member of Link's crew was watching, alert on deck. Zelda squinted to see the name of the ship…The Black Raven.

Suddenly, out of the shadows, a figure appeared on the other ship, standing on the sides of the rails. It was a woman. She tossed her head back, so that her waist-long dirty blonde hair waved about behind her. She had emerald green eyes and scraps of clothing on. These consisted of a torn skirt, a blood-red vest, and a ragged white shirt. When her eyes rested on Link, she laughed out loud. "Link! I never expected to find such scum venturing into my seas!" She smiled in a sickly-sweet kind of way.

Link sneered at her. "The seas are for anyone, not just cowards and murderers, Tetra."

Tetra slipped back out of view for a moment to grab a dagger. "Link…I'm going to enjoy this." She smiled again. She was joined by other females, but Zelda didn't see a single man.

Kinru stiffened at the sight of a young brown-haired woman. She was pretty, and winked when she saw him. "Kinru." She batted her eyelashes.

"Rashia." he replied in a bored tone. Obviously these two crews knew each other. Each of the pirates seemed to know one girl personally. Tetra shot an angry look at Rashia and Sakriss, who were blowing kisses at Kinru and Dondollo, teasing them.

"Stop flirting! We'll do what we want with them later!" She unsheathed her dagger and flung it at Link. Zelda's heart leaped into her chest, she closed her eyes and turned away violently. With a loud thunk, she knew it was over. When she opened her eyes a second later, prepared to see blood and gore, she was surprised and relived to find Link was essentially unharmed.

Link calmly reached a hand upwards and pried the dagger out of the mast. It had not touched him. He remained staring straight ahead at Tetra, and then took off his hat he always wore. The simple, greenish cone-shaped cap now had a large, gaping hole in the middle of it. He felt a rush of anger, but tried to compose his temper. "I liked this hat." he growled.

Tetra, for a moment, couldn't find anything to say. "I was aiming for your head…I can't believe I missed a target that big." She mocked him, crossing her arms across her chest. Before she had a chance to taunt him further, there was a whistling noise, and a loud scream from Sakriss. Tetra rushed over to her shipmate, who was crying loudly. "What happened?" She shook Sakriss. "Where are you injured?"

The young woman sniffled a few times and pointed to the mast behind her. Zelda's hand flew to her mouth in amazement. Link had thrown the dagger at a horizontal angle, and it had sliced straight through Sakriss's ponytail, giving her a clean cut.

Link smiled wryly, crossing his arms to mimic Tetra. "I rather like your new look, Sakriss." He was quite satisfied with his aim. "Tetra, just leave us be. Don't you have some poor, defenseless people to murder?" His tone became as cold as ice.

"I already found them." With that comment, the captain of The Black Raven unsheathed her sword, grabbed a rope, and swung right into Link.

Zelda ducked behind some barrels just before a cannonball shot by. She heard a loud crack, and the middle mast, like a huge tree, crashed into the water.

Link clashed steel with Tetra; each of them flew past the other fighters, outmatching them in every aspect. Sparks seemed to ignite; the two forces repeatedly lunged for one another. Link was constantly thinking, remembering every trick and parry he had every learned.

Smoke began to fill the air, angry curses and clangs of steel surrounded Zelda every way she turned. She was spotted and roughly grabbed by Rashia. Zelda did the only thing she could do, she screamed. This startled Rashia, who dropped Zelda, but also caused Link to falter, so that Tetra swiftly knocked his sword away.

"Looks like I win Link." She smiled evilly. "It's sort of a pity. I had wanted to kill your first mate myself. Unfortunately, he wasn't good enough to protect himself and your girlfriend." She raised her sword to plunge it into Link.

Clang! Tetra collapsed in a heap. Over her stood Zelda, her eyes blazing like a raging fire, a large pan held over her head. She violently stared down at Tetra. "Don't you dare…ever insult Sheik!" she threatened. "And I'm not his girlfriend." she mumbled.

Tetra rubbed the back of her head, dazed, and stumbled back to join her crewmates. "I have had enough of this…no more games!" Before she had a chance to do anything, a loud bang in the distance made her stop. She bolted upright and listened. "Everyone back to the ship now!" she shouted. There was a frantic scattering, and in almost the blink of an eye, Tetra and her crew were gone from sight.

Link was downright confused. "What just happened?" He wondered. Then a voice called out from the haze.

"Oy! You there! Looks like you need help!" Link's breath caught in his throat, he could plainly see he was in trouble. For the two ships which were surrounding him bore the king's crest. "Good thing we arrived to help! Catch this!" The men on the ship, who were soldiers for the king, threw ropes over. "Looks like your ship is wounded, friend! Don't worry, the pirates have gone! We'll tow you!"

Link followed the soldier's pointing to his now broken-in-half mast. The entire beam, flag and all, had fallen into the water. Now he understood. The soldiers didn't know they were pirates themselves. "Yes, thank you! Where will we be taken?" he shouted through the mist.

"To the closest town! Eluryh!" the soldier's voice carried back.

Zelda whirled to look at Link. He had turned deathly pale. His fingers were trembling slightly, and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Alright." His voice cracked, and he had to gulp before replying hoarsely. "That's fine."

As the sun started to set, and the White Wolfos was towed towards the nearby town, two pirates headed for their cabins, each one a complete mirror image of the other.

Zelda's heart was jumping for joy. She skipped merrily down below, completely satisfied and thrilled to be heading for civilization. She felt as if she could fly, and if she didn't concentrate, she just might float away.

Link trudged back to his cabin, collapsing in a heap to his knees and praying to anyone that would listen. "Oh please." he whispered, crying from the pressures in his head and heart. "If there's anyone listening, please give me strength…please help me…please." He shook with tremors, sweat dripping down his head. The day, which was now at the peak of its beauty, was achingly empty and alone for Link…

It's a bit short, but hopefully I'll have the next one up soon, I just have to write it on the computer from the paper…lots of mystery in this chapter huh? A lot of important things are revealed…I also have a little secret related to the game in some way hidden in this chapter; see if you can find what I'm talking about!