Link walked into the forest. It was full of grass, & trees as far as the eye can see. He looked up, and saw the girl, hanging from a branch.

"There she is." Link said "Now how to get her down?"

Link saw a hollow log in the distance.

"Maybe there's something in there." Link wondered

Link crawled through, and found 20 rupees.

"Who would leave money in here?" Link wondered

He climbed out and saw a tall, skinny blue thing. It ran over to Link. It jumped at Link in an attempt to bite him! Link quickly jumped away, & slashed at it.

"Phew." Link panted "What was that all about?"

He walked over to a log, acting as a bridge to a higher ledge. He climbed up it, jumped off & looked up. 2 birds carrying 2 more monsters flew past, and dropped the monsters down at Link! They landed and snarled!

"Alright...let's go!" Link challenged

Link slashed at 1, but the other bit him from behind! Link backed off, and faced them. He remembered Orca's training. Link closed his eyes.

"Now Link," Orca said "Try a spin attack. Take your sword, and slash while doing a 360 degree turn."

Link opened his eyes with unmatched speed, & spun. Both monsters were thrown back, & exploded into purple smoke.

"YES!" Link shouted

Link's shout was so loud, it woke up the girl! She wriggled and the branch broke! Making her plummet! She landed with a thud.

"OOOWWWWCH!" The girl moaned

Link ran over to her, she stared at him.

"Wow. What's with that get-up?" The girl insulted

"Link was quite annoyed by that insult.

"We'll, whatever. So, where am I?" She asked

Link was about to remind her, when she remembered.

"Oh, that's right! The giant bird came and-" the girl said

"MISS TETRA!"

Link followed the voice to the entrance, where a man was standing. He ran over to the girl (apparently named Tetra).

"Oh! Oh, thank... Goodness! You're safe!" He said "When I saw you get dropped on this summit, I thought for sure you'd-"

"Summit? So that bird dropped me on top of a mountain?!" Tetra realised

She looked up to the sky.

"Well, wasn't that nice of it?!" Tetra sarcastically said

Tetra ran off.

"Well don't just stand there. LET'S GO!" Tetra ordered "Time to repay our dept to that bird in full!"

The man pointed at Link.

"But miss... What about this boy?"

"Don't worry about him. COME ON!" Tetra ordered

"Sorry, kid." The man ran after her

Link followed shortly after.

Once they got outside, Link saw Ayrll at the other end of the bridge.

"Ahoy, big brother!" Ayrll shouted

Link waved. She giggled, and went to cross the bridge. She got to the middle of the bridge, and something came out of the distance! It was the bird that snatched Tetra, coming for Ayrll!

"AYRLL, LOOK OUT!" Link shouted, but it was too late

The bird swooped in, & snatched Ayrll!

"BROTHER!" She screamed

"I'M COMING AYRLL!"

Link ran to her, but fell off the cliff! Tetra grabbed his arm in the nick of time. Link struggled but Tetra kept a firm grip.

"Uhhn! Stupid kid! Get a hold of yourself. She's gone. There's nothing you can do!" Tetra yelled

The bird flew off with Ayrll in it's talons! All Link could do, was watch.

Later

Tetra gasped.

"What?! You want to come with us on our ship?!"

Link nodded.

"Do you understand what you're asking? We're pirates! You know... PIRATES! The terror of the seas! Tetra shouted "What do we get out of bringing some helpless little kid with us? I'll tell you what we get...a headache."

The man nodded.

"I know how you must feel, with your sister being kidnapped and all..." Tetra said "But that doesn't really have anything to do with us, now does it?!"

"And how do you figure that?!"

They all turned to see the postman standing there.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there! Just who are you?! Where do you get off butting in on someone else's conversation?! The man asked

"Please! All I mean to say is that if you big, bad pirates hadn't come to this quiet little island..." The postman started "That poor girl wouldn't have been snatched away by that bird."

"And just what do you mean by that?" Tetra asked

The postman put his hand up.

"JUST BE QUIET FOR A MOMENT AND I'LL TELL YOU!" The postman ordered

He put his hand back down.

"Now, as my work entails delivering letters, I spend much of my time traveling amongst the many different islands. As a result, I hear many things... Haven't any of you heard word that young girls have been getting kidnapped lately from all regions of the Great Sea?" The postman asked "No matter, wether you've heard it or not, that seems to be the case. Young girls with long ears like yours have been getting kidnapped, never to be seen again."

Link shivered at those words. Would he never see Ayrll again?

"And unless my eyes fail me, the young girl who was just kidnapped from this island also has long ears, does she not? Much like YOU do, Miss Fearsome Pirate!" The postman explained "My point is that the bird mistook that poor girl for you, and that's why it grabbed her!"

Tetra had a guilty look on her face. The postman turned to Link.

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was young Link here who saved you from the monsters in the forest, wasn't it?"

Link blushed.

"Oh! And while I'm at it... I may as well tell you the bird who kidnapped both you & Link's sister has made it's foul nest to the north, on the heights of the Forsaken Fortress." The postman told them

"The Forsaken Fortress?!" Tetra asked "Isn't that the place where...-"

"So what are you going to do?" The postman asked "Under the circumstances, I don't think it would be unreasonable for you to give Link a little help, now would it?"

Tetra put her hands on her hips.

"Hmph... I don't need you to tell me that!"

Tetra turned to look at Link.

"Even if I were to consider it... Lately, I've heard nothing but evil rumours about this Forsaken Fortress..." Tetra warned Link "you can't possibly go in there with nothing but that cheap little sword. It's not brave, it's stupid!"

"She does have a point." The postman said (NEW ADDED LINE!)

"I mean, come on! Even a simple little island like this has to have something you could use as a shield. You know, something to protect yourself with? Anything?" Tetra asked "Tell you what. If you come back with something like that, we'll let you stow away on our ship. Oh, and one more thing: once we leave, you won't be coming back here for a while, so you'd better go say good-bye to your family while you have the chance. I don't want you getting all weepy-eyed and homesick on me!"

"Okay!" Link agreed

At Grandma's House

Link walked in, & climbed up to where the shield was. He planned to sneak it outside without Grandma noticing, but it wasn't there! Link jumped down, & saw Grandma's back turned to him.

"Link..."

She turned.

"Is this what you're looking for?" She held out the shield

Link was speechless.

"Take it with you." Grandma said

Link took it, but he really didn't want to.

"I guess it is true." Grandma started

Link faced her.

"Ayrll really has been kidnapped...hasn't she?"

She wiped a tear away.

"What kind of monster could take such a sweet, young child?"

"I'll get her back!" Link announced

"Oh thank you." Grandma said

The Beach

Link walked up to Tetra.

"Wow, that's a decrepit old shield." Tetra said

Link wanted to stab her.

"Are you sure you can still use that thing? Are you going to get splinters and cry?" Tetra mocked "Well, whatever... If you're ready then let's go!"

Author's Note

I'm sorry of the time it took to come out, & the cliffhanger ending. Please forgive.