Well, here's your next chapter! I have a surprise coming up soon! I think you'll really enjoy it too! . Enjoy! (In case anyone is wondering about the ages, I'm picturing Link around seventeen in this flashback, and in the regular story, he is eighteen.) Oh, and thank you for all your wonderful reviews…
Chapter 12
(Forward to the Past)
"Honey! Don't forget your scarf!" the woman called. "Oh, where is that boy?" She began to look behind corners and under beds. She was young, and very pretty. Her hair hung to her lower back in blonde strands, long and wavy. Her eyes were a teal color, soft and gentle. She waved her dress behind her, sighing. "Link?" she questioned, popping her head into the kitchen. "Oh, I give up! I'll just have to wait." She began heading back to the family room, when a figure jumped out in front of her.
"Boo!" the figure yelled, sending the young woman flying backwards in a scare.
"You little monkey! Get back here!" She grabbed the figure who had a white sheet over himself, and yanked it off. "I knew it." She sighed in a huff. "Why do you have to give me a heart attack?"
The young teen grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Mom."
The woman laughed lightly. "Oh, Link, it's alright. Just don't do that again." She ruffled his hair fondly.
"Mom! Stop!" Link batted at his mother's hand.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you! You've got company!" She smiled brightly. "Come on, don't keep them waiting!" Link agreeably ran into the room, where another teen was humming to himself.
"Hey!" Link greeted his friend. The blonde smiled back, even though it was hidden by the bandages.
"Go have fun! And try to stay out of mischief!" She hugged him tightly. "I love you Link." The young man blushed, backing out of the door as her voice reached him again. "Wait a moment…Link! Where did my cookies go?" the woman yelled from the kitchen.
"Uh…love you Mom! See you!" Link and his friend bolted. Before long, they were ambling down the street, talking and laughing. "Hey, Sheik?" Link turned to his friend.
"Yeah?" Sheik looked at his companion.
"Want a cookie?" Link held out two handfuls.
"Man, you're going to get fat if you eat all those." Sheik chuckled. "Give me one." Link and his friend both smiled, eating the cookies down to the last crumb as they watched the ships go by in the harbor.
"Whoa…Sheik, look at that one!" Link pointed to one of the king's ships, powerfully tying into the dock.
"Wow." Sheik stated. "Hey Link, you ever thought about being a soldier when we grow up?"
"Nah." Link snorted. "That's too easy. I want to be…a pirate…a pirate captain!" He triumphantly waved a hand in the air.
Sheik burst out laughing. "Yeah right. You? A pirate captain? You need to have something you love…something to fight for."
"Like Malon?" Link playfully shoved Sheik, and began to skip around, imitating a girl's voice. "Oh Sheik! My knight in shining armor! I love you so so much!"
"Aren't you ever going to get a girl?" Sheik asked, watching Saria, the local library girl, walk past.
"Nope. Girls only cause trouble, man." Link patted Sheik sympathetically. "Malon is already taking control of you."
"I don't know, I like girls. You'll find someone…a blonde." Sheik winked.
"Nope. Never." Link stated. "Besides, there's no blondes in this town. But, if I could have one…she'd be pretty. Pretty and blue eyes." he mumbled. "That's not going to happen anyway, so who cares?"
Sheik ignored his friend's stubbornness, changing the subject. "Hey, it's getting late, we'd better get back!" He pointed to the setting sun. "I'll tell you what though, you sure smell like a pirate!" He held his nose. Link punched him in the arm, scowling.
"I say we need to do something…brave! I know, we'll go up to the forbidden cove! We can borrow a rowboat!" Link's face lit up.
"I'm not sure…it sounds dangerous." Sheik wasn't so enthusiastic.
"That's the point! Come on!" Link had already dashed down towards the pier and was untying a lifeboat.
"Won't your mom be worried?" Sheik asked.
"No, she'll be fine. Don't worry!" Sheik hesitantly joined Link, and the two set off towards the cove.
Night quickly fell, but the two teenagers had made it to the cove and were having a ball. They played with the echo for a while, skipped rocks, and finally fell asleep on the warm sand.
Sheik was the first to wake up. He blinked a few times, and then rushed over to Link, shaking him. "Wake up! Do you know what time it is?"
Link bolted upright. "Oh man! We're dead!" They both ran to the entrance of the cove. Link could hardly move.
The town was on fire! Flames seemed to reach for the sky, licking the wood of the houses and igniting them.
Link's mind had only one thought. "Mom." he whispered. "Let's go! We have to go now!" Sheik jumped in with Link and they began to row for shore. By the time he was near the beach, Link was dripping with sweat and heaving with every breath. Sheik grabbed Link as he leaped out of the boat.
"Get down! Look!" Sheik pointed to a huge ship that had just docked on the beach. The two watched in horror, for Link's Mother came into view, frantically searching for him, just as there was a large thumping sound. Out of the fog, the dreaded figure came…a pirate. Link held his breath as the pirate spotted his mother. The pirate stalked up to her as she stood frozen in fear. He grabbed her hand, his eyes lit up as he searched it.
"I'll take that now." He tried to rip off her ring, but Link's mother yanked her hand away.
"No! It's my wedding ring! My only possession of his! Please!" she begged.
The pirate, who was the dreaded captain Muerte, laughed hoarsely. "You won't be needing it now." he chuckled, stabbing her through the heart. She slumped in a heap to the ground, the pirate leaned over and began searching her body.
"No!" A shout echoed through the night. The pirate slowly stood up, lifting his hands in the air and turning around. As he noticed who was in front of him, his arms dropped to his sides. It was a young teenager, eyes blazing, but tears rushing down his cheeks.
"Oh, you gave me a scare lad! How's about you keep quiet and come with me as me new cabin boy? What say you?" The pirate grinned, exposing blackened rotting teeth.
"You killed her! You killed her!" Link ran past the captain, falling to his mother's side. "Mother!" he cried, his voice cracking.
"Oh, sorry about that mate…you're better off." Secretly the captain began to unsheathe his sword behind his back. "Will you be a cabin boy or won't ye?"
"Never!" Link spat. "I'll never join you!"
"Very well then." The captain lifted the sword, and began to swing it towards Link's back. An unearthly scream filled the air, and Link caught a glimpse of a figure knocking the captain to the ground. It was Sheik, who had helped Link as soon as he saw the chance. The pirate was forced back by Sheik's weight, he slipped and fell with a thud into the sand. Link, in his quick-thinking, noticed a box above where they loaded goods onto ships, hanging deftly in the air. He untied it in a frenzy, letting it smash and pin the pirate to the ground with its weight.
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Sheik grabbed his friend's arm and pulled, but Link was unable to move.
"He killed her." he repeated, still in shock.
"Link!" Sheik looked his friend in the eye. "Listen! Your Mom is gone!" Link's eyes widened, and he shook his head violently.
"No!" He released Sheik's grip from his shoulder, and stood over the pirate, clutching the fallen sword. "You killed her." He closed his eyes, overcome by his sudden wave of emotion. Sheik lunged to stop Link from doing what Sheik knew he might, but it was too late. Link had buried the sword into the pirate's chest, killing him instantly. Sheik blinked in blatant horror at Link for a few seconds.
Link had fallen to his knees, watching the white sand soak the blood up. In a short time, his shaking hands were wet with the sticky substance. Link looked at his palms, blindly staggering towards his mother. "I'm a murderer." He knelt beside her, and began to sob uncontrollably. He felt dizzy, and sick. He angrily ran to the captain, pulling the ring from his finger in a blind rage and putting it on his own. With the last thought that the ring fit snugly, Link slipped into unconsciousness…
Link's eyes flickered open, he inhaled a few times. He was no longer on the beach, but in bed, and this puzzled him. The covers were soft and warm; he was perfectly comfortable. He yawned loudly, until the door in front of his opened. A man stepped in, looking just a few years older, fiddling with a rope. He had hazel eyes, short brown hair, and was definitely a pirate.
"You're awake." He inched closer. "What's your name?" he asked, peering in the youth's direction.
"Link." He tried not to let his voice waver. "Where's Sheik? The other guy near me?" Link struggled to make the man understand.
"Oh, him." The man laughed. "He's out on deck." Link sat up, and headed for the door. As soon as he stepped out, expecting to see his town, he was amazed to see nothing but ocean. His attention was quickly diverted to Sheik, who was tied up against the mast.
"Let him go!" Link demanded. He was shocked to see that as soon as the words escaped his mouth, they were carried out.
"Captain, what do you want us to do with him?" The brown-haired man asked.
Link looked around, noticing it was he they were referring to. "Captain?" he repeated.
"Yes. What do you want us to do with him?" The man replied.
"Let him free…who are you anyway?" Link asked.
"Oh! So sorry captain! I'm Kinru, that's Dondollo, Siekken, and I guess that's it." He pointed to the people around the ship.
"Okay. Where are we?" Link asked, still confused.
"On the White Wolfos of course." Kinru smiled.
"Link! I have to talk to you!" Sheik pulled Link back into the room, huddling with him. "We're on the pirate ship! That guy last night? You took his ring! You're the new captain!" Sheik's eyes darted about, surveying his new surroundings.
"Me? Captain?" Link couldn't believe it. "Sheik…my Mom…she's…" He was silent.
"Dead, yes. So are my parents…that's been for a while though." Sheik whispered. "If we want to survive, you have to change, Link. This isn't like the games we play." He and Link glanced towards the few items that had been taken by the pirates, including a few belongings of their own. "This is real."
"I know that." Link replied. "But what do you mean, change?"
"Let me put it this way. Link, you're a wimp." Sheik stated. "You must be hard, cruel, and uncaring." Sheik placed his hands on Link's chest. "Close the door. Close your heart." Link was quiet for a few moments.
"What if I can't do it?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"Consider it your promise to your Mom. Don't disappoint her." Sheik's eyes reflected the light, waiting for Link's answer.
"Done." Link grabbed Sheik's hand, shaking it solemnly. Both of them stepped outside, and Link had the unfortunate experience of running straight into Siekken, the fuse just waiting to go off. He immediately shoved Link onto the deck, where he had landed with a thump.
"Watch where you're going, cabin boy!" he growled, spitting over the side of the ship and turning to walk away, blind to the fact that this was the captain. Little did Siekken know that he had just made a huge mistake. Within a few seconds, Link had sweep-kicked Siekken onto the deck, where the unfortunate pirate found himself staring into the coldest eyes he had ever seen.
"I'm not the cabin boy." Link growled, with a blade held at bay just above Siekken's throat. As he ascended the stairs towards the helm, he was surprised at himself. He had hurt someone. It ate at him, yet it felt good. The four crew members gathered in front of Link, Siekken steaming like a kettle. "Alright, listen up! You are most likely the scurviest, rudest, ugliest pirates I've ever seen!" The crew didn't reply, staring at him in shock. "I'm your new captain, here's how things are going to work. You do what I say, no questions, no hesitations, and no complaining."
"Or what?" asked Siekken, still angry about Link's earlier victory.
"Or you die." Link tilted his head casually. "Any other questions?" Again the crew was silent. "Well, good then." Link spread his hands. "To wherever the wind may sail us…"
Again, I've hidden something of interest in this chapter, and it's not the surprise I mentioned earlier…that's bigger. It's just a cute little make off of something…see if you can find it. And Gippaloo, I just wondered, how many people did you ask for your site? I don't mind if you put my fic on there, as long as you give proper credit and such but let me know that first…