Author's note:

I lol'd while rereading this. Link does something that is physically impossible in this chapter.

Chapter 9: The international housing of pirates

The sun was rising just as the group of four rowed up to the side of Tetra's ship. Since it wasn't moving, they decided they could get close enough to shout.

"On the count of three..." Quill said. "One... two... three!"

"TETRA!" they all yelled in unison. "TETRA! TETRA-"

"We hear you!" someone on deck hollered back. The length from the railing of that ship to the water was quite a distance, and it was an amazing fact for them to find that someone could actually hear them!

"Who is it?" the man continued.

"It's Link and Aryll and Quill and Natasha!" Link yelled.

"That adventure boy from a year ago?"

"Yeah!"

"A rope'll be comin' down, hold on! It'll be comin' down at the stern!"

The group then rowed to the stern of the boat, where there was a rope hanging. The end was in the water. When the boat was right next to it, Aryll picked up the rope out of the water and found a good yard of it was wet.

"They gave too much rope, didn't they?" she asked.

"Guess so." Link replied. He dragged the rope on board the boat and tied an overhand knot on it.

"As I go up, I'm going to tie these kinds of knots so that they'll offer a good hold... and they'll be tight enough so that they won't come undone." he explained. True to his word, he started climbing the rope, and every several feet, he tied a knot. Finally he got to the railing, and pulled himself aboard. Tetra was a few feet in front of him.

"Hi, Tetra," he said, slightly out of breath.

"Whenever I talk to you in person, you're always out of breath," she observed, smirking. "I wonder if that's an omen?"

"Very funny," he replied. Then, he turned around and leaned over the railing, looking down at the others.

"Come on up!" he yelled. "And leave the boat." They saluted in reply.

"So where are we?" he asked, turning back to Tetra.

"Somewhere in the southern Northern Seas," she replied.

"...Huh?"

"Northern Seas."

"Oh. Are there any islands nearby?"

"Well, I have never been here myself, so we'll have to chart a whole new Sea Chart." Tetra looked a little stressed at this, and Link looked down at his fingernails.

"Did you get the Golden Talon?" Tetra asked.

"W-what did you say?" Link asked, worried, not sure if he heard right.

"You get the Golden Talon?"

"Wha- damn! I forgot it!" Link stamped on his own foot as he started to blush. "Dammit! Dammit! Stupid me! I'm such a butthead-"

By now, Aryll had joined Link, and Natasha had just come on deck, with Quill not far behind.

"It...was...windy..." Aryll said, completely out of breath.

"I like wind," Natasha said to her. "You'll get used to it." Then Quill climbed over the railing, onto the deck.

"What'd I miss?" He asked.

"Nothing," Tetra replied bluntly. "Join the party. If you feel you have to heave, do it over the railing on the stern. I don't want a mess on the side of my ship." As if on cue, Aryll ran to the railing and stuck her head over.

"Look, a new feather," Quill said proudly to Link, like a young child showing his lost tooth. He pointed to a small white feather on his arm. "My first one."

"That's great," Link replied. "At this rate, you'll have your wings back in no time."

The two were in the crow's nest, looking out at the wide, open sea, while Natasha was with Aryll on the stern. Apparently, Aryll still had an upset stomach, and Tetra claimed that if she (Aryll) heaved one more time, they would have to land at the first island in sight at get some sea-sickness medicine. This had made Aryll giggle uncontrollably. However, she was still well enough to give Link her telescope, so that he could spot land.

Link peered through the telescope for the hundredth time and scanned the horizon.

"I suppose there aren't very many islands in the Northern Seas," he thought out loud.

"You're not looking it the right direction." Quill pointed out.

"Huh?"

"See, you're facing the stern, the back of the ship."

"Ehehehe," Link chuckled, embarrassed, and changed his position.

"Whoa!" he said as he spotted a large land mass ahead of the bow. There was trees scattered throughout the island, and lots of shrubs. Building were placed here and there, and there was a large dock with many boats, and large ships (like Tetra's) were off to a far side of the dock. The whole island looked like a fishing village version of Windfall Island.

"I remember you yelling 'land ahoy!" earlier, but I didn't know you meant this!" Link exclaimed. "I thought that Rito eyes were much better or something..."

"They are. Look, another feather."

"What's up?" A voice next to them said, and they both turned to see Tetra standing right next to them.

"We should probably land at that island, don't you think?" Link asked.

"Yes, since Aryll is still sick and we need a Sea Chart." A smile formed slowly on Tetra's face. "Now we've got this whole new area to search for treasure." Then, she focused her attention on the deck below, looking down from the crow's nest.

"All hands on deck! Prepare for docking at the ship's moor!" she hollered. Then, she turned to Link and Quill.

"All hands, on deck," she repeated, and climbed down the ladder. Link and Quill followed.

Everyone on Tetra's ship, except for Aryll and Natasha, had helped out to docking the ship, and Link and Quill have lowered the deck plank. Only Tetra, a couple of pirates from her crew, and the team of four had boarded off. Several natives to the island had noticed them, but didn't dare to speak to them.

"Wow, this island is smaller than Windfall!" Link said as he stepped off the plank. "But even so, it looks just like it."

"What's Windfall?" Aryll asked as she was close behind.

"Do you think they have a mail overseas system?" Quill wondered.

"I'm hungry," Natasha stated, and stood beside Quill on the dock. She spotted a man on the dock nearby, and waved. He spotted her, and ran to the inland.

"Remember, the people on the island are very different from us," Tetra reminded them all as they walked off the dock and toward the inland. "They may be kind, or mean, or simply ignorant. Don't communicate with them unless you have to." The others saluted in response, and they were about to break off into different directions, until a woman ran up to them with a crowd of people close behind. Then they stopped about 10 feet away.

"Hello...newcomers!" she said slowly in a loud and clear voice. "I...am...the...leader...of...this...island! Who...are...you...?" Tetra looked at her with a look of amusement.

"We're from the Great Seas," Link called back. "That's south of here, right?" His group nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, are we welcome here?" Natasha continued. The woman looked surprised that they spoke her island's language.

"Uh... well, um, yes, of course," she stammered. "Feel free, to... walk around, and things..." Tetra walked up to her, and looked up into her face.

"Who are you?" Tetra asked.

"I'm Martha. I'm the mayor of the town. And you?"

"I'm Tetra, and the guys over there are Link, Natasha, Link's little sister Aryll, Quill, and part of my crew."

"Your crew?"

"I'm a pirate," Tetra said with a hint of significance. One of Martha's eyebrows rose.

"We get pirates all the time. This," she motioned toward the small town, "is like Pirate Central. And this island is called Fisher's Cove." Tetra looked around, and then back at Martha.

"Nice." she replied. Link came up behind Tetra and whispered in her ear:

"Shouldn't we be going?"

"No, I want to take a look around here first."

"Alright." Link went back to the group and told them what Tetra said, and then Tetra walked over to them, having finished talking to Martha.

"Be back here in two hours!" she announced. "Then, we're moving on to catch the SHIPSEEKER!"

Link and Aryll walked off together by themselves, and so did Natasha and Quill. Tetra and her crew (the rest of the crew boarded off) broke off into different directions, off to find supplies for the next journey, as well as riches.

Aryll spotted a small flower on the road, growing from the plain dirt road. "Oh, look at that flower, Link!"

Since there was no one walking in their street, she ran over, picked the flower, and ran back.

"Isn't it pretty?" she asked as she put the blue flower in her hair. "It's so tiny and delicate."

"It is," Link replied. "I'm hungry though. Let's find something to eat."

Walking down the street, they spotted a cafe and walked inside. It was warm, cozy, and had an ocean theme to it - there were nets on the ceiling and other ship-themed items on the walls. There was a bar, and some tables around the room, along with a few windows. There weren't very many people, except for Martha, seated at one of the tables in the back. Link and Aryll walked over and sat down at her table.

"Oh, hello," she said, pleased for company. "I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier- could you please forgive me?" The siblings just nodded.

"Fisher's Cove isn't a very popular island among non-pirates," she explained. "And there aren't very many pirates on the Northern Seas these days, and they come here all the time. So, I guess I was a bit surprised to see pirates that I've never seen before..." She focused her attention on the napkin that she was wringing with her hands.

"Don't worry, we're not pirates," Aryll spoke up. "But you wouldn't believe how far of a way's we have come."

"How far?" Martha looked back up with curiosity. Link pulled out his Sea Chart and showed her the Great Seas.

"There's Feather Flats... yeah, it says Forsaken Fortress... there's Windfall, a large village, much like this one... and there's Outset. That is where Aryll and I were born."

"Wow, that's a long way," she commented. "I assume you must be hungry. Care for some cocoa?" Aryll and Link nodded, and Martha got up and went to the bar as Link rolled the chart back up. She came back with two steaming cups of cocoa.

"I know it's hot outside, but this bar's hot chocolate can really perk you up and give back all of your energy," she said. "The cook never says how he does it. He added some ice cubes though, so drink it before it gets cold. All expenses on me."

"Thank you," Link said. "That's really generous..." They accepted the cups and drank, and then when they were satisfied they bid their thanks and good-byes, then went outside.

"I'd have to say, by the position of the sun, we have about an hour and thirty minutes left," Link said, squinting at the sky for a second.

"Showoff..." Aryll said, and started looking around nervously. Link noticed her behavior.

"What's wrong?"

"I hear something... and one of the voices... c'mon!" she said, and started running up the street. Link, surprised, followed and they turned a corner.

"Ah!" Aryll gasped, as they stopped to see a group of people, seeming to be crowding around something. The two weaved their way around the people, and they came to the edge of a large clearing, where four pirates were standing, and all four had swords drawn out. Three of them were obviously from the Northern Seas, and the other was none other than Tetra!

"These pirate duels are uncommon around here," a man muttered to his neighbor. "But they're loading on the odds here..."

"You ain't a pirate at all! You're just a little gallie!" one of the pirates on the left yelled to Tetra on the right, who was ten feet away. "You not meant to be a pirate!"

"You're so dumb you have two people to help you fight a girl!" Tetra hollered back. "And you need some work on your speech!"

"We'll beat you alright!"

"You're being unfair to the Code of Pirates in section 23 -"

"We don't care about that black book, gallie!"

"So you're not pirates!"

"Oh yes we are!"

The two fired insults at each other for a little longer, until the pirate launched forward and sliced with his sword at Tetra. Surprised, she fell back, and there was now a fine tear on her red bandanna that was tied around her neck.

"Stop!" Link yelled, and ran forward, helping Tetra up. Tetra stood and shrugged him off, with a fiery look in her eyes.

"Always acting before you can think," she hissed at him. "I need no help-"

"Ahahahahaha!" the pirate laughed. "You got yourself a boyfriend! You are not a pirate!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Tetra shot back, and then to Link, "Help me here!"

It suddenly became clear to the crowd and Link that having a boyfriend was Tetra's weakest point; she looked truly desperate now. Link drew out his shield and sword, and Aryll walked up to him and drew hers out, and the three faced the pirates.

"Oh, now you have kiddy backups, how schweet!" the pirate laughed, and his friends did the same. The crowd murmured. Then he tried a horizontal slice on Tetra, she blocked it with her own knife with a clang, and the battle began!