"Maur..." Marty was pacing nervously, unknowingly repeating what his father had been doing just half an hour before. "I know I told your dad said he was in the cave last night, but do we really have to do this?"

"Yes," Maureen said with an evil smile, glancing into the blackness of the cave at the edge of Ferngrowth that loomed up, tall and dark, ahead of them. "We have to save that guy, whoever he is."

They were just about to enter the cave when a shout made Link whirl around. A ship was approaching on the western horizon, its massive hull treading through the blue waters that surrounded Datillo Island. A few seconds later, an anchor was thrown out past the starboard side of the boat, flying smoothly until it sailed over the ship's motley crew and landed with a thunk on the coral reef bordering the sandy shores. A figure appeared over the bow of the ship, yellow ponytail fluttering in the wind. She peered over the edge of the bow and waved. "Oi, Link!"

"Tetra!" link called back, jumping back a pace. The pirate girl came into full sight before flipping over the prow of the boat. She agilely landed on both feet (Is it a pirate girl thing? Link wondered admiringly), tossing her ponytail expertly behind her shoulders.

Link introduced the newcomer to the young Datillans. "Guys, this is Tetra," he said with a gesture to his friend. "She's a good friend of mind."

"It's a lot easier than you'd think," Tetra said matter-of-factly, hand extended, palm upward. "What are you doing?"

They seemed to take it reasonably well, considering that they'd just met her as of three minutes ago. "Well, I was at the castle and I saw King Seehal talking to a mysterious guy named Fahel," Nalinda replied, inclining her head. "He said someone had been kidnapped and it sounded like we had to go save him."

Marty nodded, continuing the narrative. "Well, he was talking about it a few nights ago, too, and he said something about a cave." He reached a hand up to adjust his crown. As he righted it, the amethyst caught the light and shone brightly in their eyes. "There's only one cave on the whole island. We put two and two together and now we're here."

"Can I come with you?" Tetra asked, her eyes shining. The others smiled amongst themselves and nodded.

As the small procession made its way up the pebbly slope in front of the cave, Tetra turned to Link. She was about the same age as him, and, ironically as it seemed, she was princess of Hyrule (and yes, that does mean her name was Zelda, technically speaking), though she hadn't known it until Link had finished his adventure for the goddess' pearls. Even now, in the aftermath, she was still a rogue of the waters and all things nautical, being who she was.

As for her appearance, it was odd that Tetra was princess of Hyrule. She wasn't light-skinned like most Hylians. Instead, it was dark in colour, a brown shade, actually, and in contrast her hair was blond. A red bandanna was wrapped around her neck, swaying slightly in the wind. She had a traditional pirate outfit on, complete with lilac shirt, blue vest, red waistband and white shorts. And of course, the traditional pointed ears of all Hylians.

"Betcha you can't do this," Tetra said in he outgoing way, leaning down suddenly. She wasn't kneeling, but her knees were bent as she outstretched to the wind. She paused for a few seconds, looking cool and composed, eyes closed as if meditating. In reality, she was bracing herself; in one smooth, sudden movement she jumped up gracefully onto the crest of the slope, seeming to fly in the wind. Then, with an artful twist, she landed in one sudden movement, grinning as she did so.

Link looked at her, head cocked, eyebrow raised, arms crossed. "You, my friend, are underestimating the hero of Hyrule." In a flash, he whipped his sword out and soared through the air majestically. Upon landing, he plunked the gleaming blade into the ground and landed on top of it, hands on the hilt, legs up in the air. Until he fell back down with a flop, that is.

Tetra gave a laugh. "'Hero of Hyrule?' Well, no offense, Link, but you'd figure a guy like you could save the land with better gymnastics, at least." Link poked his head out of the grass, yellow hair haggard, streamed with dirt and sprinkled with leaves. That set the laughing spell on Tetra. It was so contagious Link joined in after a mere two point five seconds of her wonderful laughter.

By the time they were done, the Datllians had disappeared.

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"Anybody have a light?" Jessa stood in the middle of the closely-knit knot of kids, her hands raised. "I know I don't, but what about you, Manny?"

Manny glanced quickly around. "I think Marty does, but he went off somewhere around there," he said in answer to his sister's question.

"What do you mean, somewhere?" Mosley demanded. "Marty's way too shy to just disappear."

"If he has, we'll go look for him then." Everyone turned to stare at Maureen and Tetra, who had spoken in perfect unison and were now heading neck-to-neck further, plunging themselves into the darkness of the cave.

"What are we waiting for?" cried Jessa, her eyes glinting. "Follow those girls!" she proclaimed, running after their receding silhouettes.

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Marty lifted out a single star-coloured teardrop-shaped gem, glowing in the darkness. It shined brightly, tossing its flickering yellow light onto the cave walls and making the crystals formed into the rocky surface thousands of years ago glitter. "I was just exploring," he explained shyly to Maureen, blushing slightly. The others had found him just a little way away from where they had been talking. "I wanted to explore... And here I am," he added with a sheepish shrug, moving his hand so that the crystal-covered walls danced in the shadows shifting over them before his hands dropped back down again.

"No problem, Marty," Maureen said expertly, running a hand through her hair. "But we've got a mission, so we should stick together." Her voice held no trace of remorse, though Marty flushed and made his way to the back of the party.

The small group slowly walked through the seemingly colossal cave, their footsteps echoing in the darkness. It was a long, steep trail upward into the cave's inner depths, leading to where no one knew. Marty's flickering lightstone provided brightness when they needed it, and judging by the way things were going, they couldn't go on without it.

Link heard Tetra's sandaled step next to him before he actually saw her. Her face was lit up soon enough by the glow from Marty's lightstone. She had that mischievous expression on her face, that I'm-up-to-something smile that Link knew well by now. "What is it, Tetra?" he asked with a fake melodramatic sigh.

Tetra grinned mischievously, one hand on the azure pirate stone around her neck. Link found himself grinning along with her.

"I hear someone, Link. And guess what's going to happen."