Chapter 3 A Tale Worth Telling

A thousand Pardons my friends. I feel so bad for leaving this book for so long. I haven't had much free time lately due to inexplicable additions to my schedule which should be lifted after next week or so. So fear not, the Great Hammermaster will get these chapters in.

"Hail to the fish that swim in the sea! Hail to the land where soon we'll be! Nations nations converging now! I will sing till I am down."

The crew stopped singing and laughed just at the stark sound of each other's off key voices.

"I think that Jarhon wins the award of most off key of the day."

"What? No Jesse, you should have heard your voice!"

"Hey, I practically composed that song."

"You both were off key, so there!"

"I tought dat we already ask-ed big Joey to throw you over the side, Rohain."

"Whatever you say Masan. Is that how you pronounce it?"

"No its Massa'an. Wit de apostrophe. You know."

"Massahan?"

"I no know why you guys can't pronounce my name. Is not dat hard! Its pronounced Massa-an. Come dis way!"

"Hey, you think my name is pronounced Rohain. And the appropriate phrase is 'Come on!'"

"It is though. It is. Me see it once time."

"First of all its 'I saw it.'"

"Your language is too complicated."

"Lets hope that none of us ever have to learn yours."

"Hey, I'm proud to be Nargasagian."

"Hey, I would be too."

"Massa'an?" the Captain said, stepping out onto the deck.

The brown skinned seaman dressed in a strange blue stiff outfit with an iron necklace around his neck stepped up to the Captain and saluted.

"Yis sir. At least you pronounce my name correct-ely sir!"

"Right. I'd like to see you in my cabin in a couple of minutes. Finish your singing competition with the guys and meet me in there."

"Taseenzo sir! I mean yis! Yis sir!"

"Of course you did," the Captain said with a grin, before turning and walking back into his cabin.

"Dang Massahm," Jesse said. "What did you do this time?"

"I do nothing! I do nothing! I not make mistake for long time past."

"Right," Jesse said. "Just like you weren't the one responsible for the cheesecake which mysteriously disappeared before we had a chance to eat any of it."

"No one has strength to prove that I ate that..." Massa'an paused before continuing, "...that very very delicious taste, part of a piece of pastry."

"You just butchered the Hylian language Massahan," Rohan said.

"It be Massa'an, not Massahan. Massa'an. Get it?"

"You just said that its not Massahan, its Massahan."

"No I didn't!"

"Oh be quiet you two," Jesse said, laughing childishly.

"No you quiet you pretty faced boy of young age," Massa'an joked. "Alright. I got to go see Master. Goodbye all you fools. I'll be happily humiliate you again later."

Then, laughing, Massa'an turned and walked for the captains quarters.

Link slowly hesitantly stepped into the room, not sure of what to expect. The Captain looked up at him as he entered, eying him curiously. Link smiled hesitantly, unsure of what to do. The Captain kicked out a chair for Link and beckoned that he sit down. Link complied, sinking slowly into the chair.

So much had happened since he had left Koholint Island. He had drifted through the sea for hours, freezing from the cold, thinking, and almost hoping that death would come to him. There was no one on Earth who could describe his pain. In Hell definitely, but not on Earth.

"My crew hauled you out of the sea yesterday in the early morning. As I recall you were holding on to some ruble. Can you tell me how you ended up in the middle of the ocean like that?"

Link thought about this for a second. He remembered his boat sinking in the storm, but that all seemed so long ago. He had, after all, spent five months on Koholint Island. Hadn't he?

"What is today's date?" Link asked.

"I beg your pardon?" the Captain said.

"Your Hylian aren't you. What is today's date on the Hylian Calender?"

"It is the ninth of Fargoa. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Link said.

His ship had sunk on the eighth. Link had only dreamed for one night. Then why did it all seem so real, and why did it seem that he had dreamed for so much longer?

"I was on a boat, and it sunk. And..."

"You are from Hyrule though," the King asked.

"Yes," Link said.

"Wait until tonight to tell me your story. I'm sure the crew would very much like to hear it as well. Then you only have to tell it once."

Link nodded. "Okay."

"What is your name?" the Captain asked.

"My name?" Link said. "Link."

The Captain looked at Link strangely. "Sounds familiar enough. Is it a widely known name?"

"Uh not really," Link said, deciding whether or whether not to tell the man that he was the Guardian Hero of Hyrule.

"I know I've heard that name before," the Captain said. "Lets see. You're from the East side of Hyrule, right?"

"How did you know?" Link asked.

"Your hair," Captain Samir said. "Only people from the East have blond hair. Even the Princess has blond hair. Wait..."

The Captain stood there thinking for a second, before sighing and shaking his head.

"I don't know," he said. "I'm sure I've heard that name though."

Just then the door opened. Link immediately leaped to his feet and drew his sword. Massa'an stepped into the room, and froze when he saw Link standing there with his blade drawn. When Link saw him, he smiled sadly, and sheathed his blade. The Captains eyes were wide with amazement when he saw Link's actions.

"Is dis the way you usually greet foreigners?" Massa'an asked.

"No," Link said. "I'm sorry. I've... Sorry, its just a habit I've developed over the years."

"A habit!" the Captain said in disbelief! "You mean to tell me you draw your sword whenever you hear a noise like that? Have you been living in the jungles of Terano or something?"

"No," Link said.

"Well," the Captain said. "These waters are quite a distance from Hyrule, and it is doubtful that one would see a Hylian around here unless he be on military business. So tell me, where you out on one of the islands around here?"

Link nodded. "I guess you could say that."

"What Island?"

"Koholint Island."

"I haven't ever heard of that," the Captain said.

"No one has," Link said sadly.

"Captain," Massa'an said. "You wish to be speaking me?"

"Yes," Captain Samir said. "I would very much like it if you would accompany Link until tonight when I introduce him to the crew. Take him down to his cabin and set it up for him."

"Yis sir!" Massa'an said. "I'll take care of it right now."

"Good," Samis said.

"Come with me good sir," Massa'an said with a flourishing bow.

At dusk the darkness slowly lowered down upon the waters, making sailing a more difficult chore. All the crew members met in the cabin for dinner and drinking. Dusk was time for a break. An end to the work for a night. Unless you had been assigned to be a lookout that evening.

"Oh cast me rod in the deep blue sea! Cast me rod in the brine. Name your price, but not too very high. I own my life and won't sell it for a dime!"

The crew sang together as they finished their dinner. The captain however was not present at this time. Everyone was singing, but then the captain entered, and everyone was silent. They were waiting for him to introduce the lost sailor that they had found drifting through the sea.

"Good men," Captain Samir began, "our guest is ready to meet all of you. Be easy on him, for he has suffered greatly. Don't bombard him with questions, let him reveal things to you slowly."

The Captain then turned and opened the door behind him again. Link stepped into the room, and eyed the seamen nervously.

"Everyone," the Captain said. "This is Link."

The sailors nodded, if only to contain themselves.

"Have a seat," the Captain told Link, and he did.

The Captain then sat down. Silence reigned over the table.

"Say Massahan," Rohan said, breaking the silence, "you never told us the end to your story."

"Oh, right." Massa'an said, scooting his chair closer to the table. "As I was saying before, Jack, he liked the food so much, that he decided to ask for some more. So when the Cook come over, Jack speak if he can have more. Cook not want to give food. Jack say he pay the waiter extra. Cook say he not give food because Jack getting too big to get extra. He need to lose weight."

"Jack was fat?" Rohan said with a grin. "Thats something I would have wanted to see."

Jack jokingly kicked Rohan under the table.

"Anyways," Massa'an continued, "Cook grab fork and tell Jack that he finish his food."

"He was crazy," Jack suddenly said. "He was chubbier than I was."

"So Jack grab his food and run away while Cook chase him with a ladle."

The crew burst out laughing.

"That's sad," Jesse said, "getting picked on by a chubby cook."

"Thats a good story," Rohan said.

Link even allowed himself the liberty to smile.

"Say stranger," Rohan said to Link. "You got any stories worth telling us? Its a good ice breaker, I'll tell ya."

"Oh," Link said, his voice filled with depression, "I don't know..."

"Come on man," Jesse said. "Tell us a story."

"I haven't had a very funny life," Link said with a sad smile.

"It don't have to be funny you know," Jack said. "We take any story as long as its true. You can get thrown overboard here for telling a lie."

"Says the man who claims that he can juggle three apples while tap dancing on a table," Rohan added, and the crew burst out laughing.

"Yeah," the Captain said. "But seriously Link. You can tell us any story. We'll take action stories, funny stories, happy stories, romance stories... And I'll tell you, these guys are suckers for Romance. I'm not just their Captain, I'm also a Babysitter."

His comment was greeted with protests from the crew.

"Now maybe Jack is a sucker for Romance," Rohan said. "But I'm a big tough guy."

"I thought you is one who tell us all about his wife before telling us his name," Massa'an said.

"Don't tell anyone," Rohan whispered, causing the crew to burst out laughing again. "So how about it Link. Tell us a story good man."

"Okay," Link said. "How about I tell you the story about how I got out here, seeing as I'll have to tell it eventually."

"Sounds like a worthy plan to me," Rohan said.

"Well," Link began. "I come from Hyrule. I am a warrior."

At this, Link drew his sword, holding it out so everyone could see it gleam. The crew ooed and awed his weapon.

"Probably one of the best in Hyrule," Link continued. "I defended the Princess of Hyrule from the forces of Ganon during the three wars in which we fought against him."

"I knew I'd heard that name before!" the Captain exclaimed, sitting up in his seat. "You are that warrior! That... that... Link! The Warrior of the Royal Family!"

"Yes," Link said.

The crew was clearly impressed.

"Anyways, I repelled Ganon's attacks so many times that he finally stopped attacking. I felt useless. For I had not wife, no house of my own, and no life outside my life as a warrior. The Princess suggested that I take a ship off to search for another country in need of a hero. I took her advice. But the ship I took went into a storm, which sunk it and..."

"Her," the Captain said.

"I beg your pardon?" Link said.

"A ship... it should always be referred to as a female."

"Why is that?" Link asked.

The Captain smiled a contented smile.

"Because all of us shipmates, we act tough, and are thought of as tough, but we are humans just like everyone else. Why do you think we sing so often? We are really soft inside. And when your on the sea for as long as we are, separated from our families and wives, the ship becomes the only one there for us. The ship is like a mother to its crew."

"Oh," Link said, fascinated by this. "Anyways, I washed ashore on a strange island out here. Koholint Island."

"Koholint Island?" Rohan mused. "Never heard of it."

"No one has," Link said. "And no one ever will again. I was rescued from the shores by a girl named Marin. She was one of the islanders. She nursed me back to health, and helped me regain my strength. Then, one day a strange owl appeared and informed me of the legends of that island."

"Legends?" Captain Samir asked.

"Yes," Link said. "You see, in the center of the island rested a giant egg. It seemed to be the source of the islands problems. Strange creatures known as Nightmares had entered the peaceful island and began to terrorize people there. Apparently this could only be ended if the Wind Fish, the guardian god of the island, was woken up. Apparently he had been asleep for some long time."

"Guardian god," Captain Samir mused quietly to himself. "I didn't know this got so religious."

"I was kind of doubtful when I came to the island as well," Link said. "But the Owl lead me across the island to discover these eight instruments and learn this 'Song of Awakening' which would be used supposedly to awaken the Wind Fish."

The Captain then noticed a lone tear flow down Link's cheek as he was saying this.

"Is this a sad story?" the Captain asked.

"Yes it is," Link said, wiping the tear away.

"Why is it sad?" Jesse asked.

"Because of love," Link said. "You see, Marin... I fell in love with her as I stayed on that island. And I think she fell in love with me as well."

"Then why did you leave the island?" Rohan asked, his face showing no emotion.

"I didn't," Link said as more tears began to flow down his face. "It was stolen away from me."

"What?" Jesse said, as any youth would, used to stories with happy endings.

"Let him finish the story," Captain Samir said.

"So, anyways," Link continued, "Marin and I shared a few precious moments together. But they had to end. They had to end. I remember sitting down to talk with her, and trying to find a way to express my feelings to her. But I couldn't. Before I even had a second chance, I was already ready to wake up the Wind Fish."

Link closed his eyes as the memories came flooding back to him. Th surge was so intense. He remembered awakening in the humble hut on the island as the beautiful maiden tended to his wounds and injuries. For days he lay there in almost complete unconsciousness as he watched a beam of light trace its way up and down his bed, shining in through the windows striking the sheets, and reflecting off of the face of the red haired angel that watched over him. Link opened his eyes, and his expression became one filled with anger.

"And then I woke the Wind Fish," Link said. "As instructed I defeated the Nightmares, and waited for the Wind Fish to awaken. I was happy then. My quest was completed, now I could live out my life on the island with Marin..."

"Why didn't you?" Captain Samir asked.

Link sighed. "Remember what I said about how the Wind Fish was asleep? Well it turned out that the island had only been a product of his dreams. As he slept he created a dreamworld in his mind, and dragged me into it as well when my ship was wrecked. And dreams end when the dreamer wakes up. So as the Wind Fish began to wake up, the island began to disappear. I refused to awaken with the Wind Fish, for I couldn't stand around and let him cast the island away like that. But I had no choice. The island disappeared, and the Wind Fish took to the sky, leaving me to die in the cold waves of the sea."

Link then broke down, and began to cry. Captain Samir walked up and put his arm around him.

"I know how you feel Link," he said. "My wife died a long time ago from a disease."

Captain Samir then stood, and lead Link to his room.

"I'm sorry for the pain this has caused you," he said. "I'm sorry that we reopened the wounds."

Link stopped sobbing but his tears continued to pour down his face in a constant stream. The Captain lead him to his room, bid him goodnight, and left. The crew perked up when he walked back in. Tears were streaming down Rohan's cheeks, as he imagined if his wife were to disappear as Marin had.

"So Captain," Jesse said. "Do you think that his story is true?"

"I have no reason to disbelieve him," the Captain said.

"Then you believe all that stuff about that Wind God," Jesse asked, "or whatever it was called?"

"There are things in this world that we do not understand," Captain Samir said. "But as to whether I believe it is a god? I don't know. There are many people who wish of others to believe that they are greater than they are."

"And the Wind Fish?"

The Captain gave him a look.

"It can say it is whatever it wants to say it is."

With that the Captain turned and walked out of the room.

Link lay on his bed mourning for his lost love. Tears came pouring down his face as he felt the wounds of his lose being cut open again and filled with painful fluids. His heart had been torn apart, and now he tried to pick up the pieces again. But how? Link looked up towards the sky, facing the full moon which shone above him. Why did it have to be this way? Link then noticed the Captain entering his room. Link wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded out of respect.

"Its not easy is it," the Captain said. "Losing love. Its not easy to let go."

The Captain walked up next to Link, and looked out the window at the moon.

"But I look at the moon and see the reflection of the world in it. God knows how I miss my wife. I've prayed many times for her soul. But my time with her has not ended."

Link sniffed. "But I just don't know where to look for my fulfillment now. What life is left for me? What good is left for me to experience."

Link gazed up at the face of the moon.

"Please help me, I am dying inside. My life has been ruined and nothing is left for me. Please save me from my heart. Save me from the love which has cast me down."

"I will do my best to help you Link," the Captain said. "But you must make sure that you work to find your place on this world as well."

"Huh?" Link said, turning to the Captain.

"You asked me to help you because you were dying inside," the Captain said, "and I said that I would do my best."

"I didn't say anything," Link said.

"Yes you did," the Captain said in disbelief. "I just heard..."

The Captain stumbled over words, not knowing what to say.

"Well if you didn't say that, and I didn't say that, then... who did?"

An icy feeling ran down the Captain's back as he suddenly felt as if something wasn't right. On impulse he unsheathed his sword and turned around, searching the room for the source of the voice.

"It didn't come from inside this room," Link said quietly. "It came from outside the boat."

The Captain walked back to the window, and gazed out across the dark horizon. In the cold and eerie moonlight he could almost make out the shimmering outline of some being. Then it disappeared into the dark sky behind it. The Captain looked at Link.

"What devilry is this?"

Alright, I'd better straighten up a few things. First of all, I am writing this book under the assumption that the Link in Link's Awakening is not the same as the Link in the first to Legend of Zelda's. Why? Cause in those two Link and Zelda were going for each other, and I don't want to screw up such a wonderful romance by throwing Marin into the picture. Thats just not nice. Remember how every Princess is named Zelda, and how Hyrule's "Chosen heroes" are all named Link. There you go. Different time, different Link.