Warning: REVIEW ANSWERIN' time can cause head asploding. Proceed with caution:
[NAME UNKNOWN (lilgreenfox? Is that you?)]: About the art, of course you can upload it to DeviantART first. In fact, that would be the preferred method (be it DeviantART, Photobucket, My Space, etc.), so I can link and recommend your art in the video description. On your comments, Thanks for your kind words, though I know I have a long way to go. I did try to make the previous chapter quite good, what with the boss pestering from the get-go and all. And I also tend to pull stuff outta nowhere as well. Hence, this chapter.
Shadows of brilliance: Good review as usual.
The Legend of Zelda
Overlord of the Land
Chapter 13:
Seas of Memories
"LINK!"
The young hero woke up from his mid-day slumber in a snap. The shock of the sudden call made him stumble across the crow's nest, which made him trip backwards over the guardrail to fall over the pirate ship's sail, rolling down several times before having his leg stuck on a loose rope and free-falling down to the ground until the rope stopped his fall mere feet before meeting the wooden floor. As he swiveled helplessly upside down, the all-too-familiar frame of a certain golden-blonde pirate princess approached him.
"Just so you know, I called you three times." Tetra addressed a hanging Link, in a rather annoyed tone. "Now cut yourself loose. You're late." And with no further explanation, Tetra about-faced and headed for the lower decks.
Late for what, Link wondered. He would've definitely heard if there was a reunion sometime in the day. Then again, he was catching up on some much-needed sleep time, so he probably missed any announcements on the matter. Well, when Tetra looked like she looked just then, Link knew it wasn't wise to keep her waiting, so he cut himself loose with his sword. Afterwards, he wobbled to the door leading below deck with a massive headache.
"Gentlemen, good news." Tetra began speaking as everybody sat down on the table at the mess hall, which served today as their meeting room.
"You mean besides our generous paychecks?" Nudge commented, beaming over his very fat rupee bag.
"Yes, as a matter of fact." Tetra said, nodding at Nudge and recognizing his giddiness. "I have been making a bit of a comparison between the Ancient Hyrulian Book and the pages we've recovered, and if my calculations are correct, we're only four pages away from restoring the book back to its former glory."
"So the book's almost complete?" Senza asked to confirm, to which Tetra nodded. "Well, that's great, Miss Tetra."
"I'll admit that when you first told us this, I thought it was gonna be an impossible mission." Nudge spoke out. "But now we're just steps away from reality."
"So, do we know which place to go next?" Mako asked.
"Nah." Tetra answered plainly. "The Compass of the Goddesses can sometimes go on for days without pointing anywhere. I've gotten used to it, and when the time comes, I'll be sure to tell you."
"But... have you tried using your mystical powers?" Gonzo proposed.
Tetra's eyes widened as her mouth managed to remain closed tightly. She looked around the table at their curious faces, and it seemed like her iris was shrinking more and more. "Eh... Moving on." she finally said, deciding to focus instead on some other matter. "Our last expedition left us a bit on the red, so if you can make some small donations to keep our home shipshape..."
This was met with some general groaning by the pirates, who were hesitant to pull out rupees from their bags. "I knew this was a bit too generous..." Nudge complained.
"Oh, speaking of that last trip." Mako interjected. "Have you had any time to read through the pages that were found?"
Tetra felt once again like they were hounding her. "Well... I try to keep up with everything that's written on the book, and I try to put everything to practice, so..."
"Yeah, remember that one practice we did on table manners?" Senza commented.
"Do I ever!" Nudge concurred.
--ONCE AGAIN, IT'S FLASHBACK TIME!--
"So why are there so many different spoons and forks and knives?" Niko wondered when he saw the mess of cutlery in front of him. "I don't have so many hands."
"They're supposed to be used in different parts of the meal." Tetra tried to explain, while still looking over the pages of the Hyrulian Book to try and understand which spoon did what. "Now, this is a soup spoon... or is it a tea spoon? So then what will this other spoon do?"
"And what about this knife?" Nudge asked, picking up a small, completely dull piece of cutlery that was somewhat rectangular in its supposed sharp side.
"That would be... a butter knife." Tetra explained.
"Oh, so they can only cut through butter and stuff..." Niko said, probing the butter knife and proving it did not harm him at all. "Nice, this is like the politically correct dagger." Then, on a whim, Niko got atop the table and pointed at Nudge with the butter knife. "Avast, usurper of the throne, surrender, or feel the cold steel of my worthless dagger!"
Nudge was taken aback for a second. He rebounded rather quickly, however, and hopped on top of the table as well, wielding his own butter knife at Niko. "Not before you taste MY butter, knave!" Nudge boasted playfully. Suddenly, the two were locked in a fierce butter knife battle, and the other pirates were cheering them on, with the clear exception of Tetra... and Mako, that is, who made his way up the table and held both their hands. "Stop it, you two. You're being ridiculous." Mako scolded the two, much to the anger of the crowd. Mako, however, took a nearby butter knife and held it in a more combative way. "THIS is how you hold a dagger." He said, letting go of them and seeing them hold the butter knives better. "Now you may fight." Mako announced, leaving the table and joining the rest of the male pirates in egging on the two guys atop the table. Only Tetra wasn't joining in, burying her head on her hands in shame and anger.
--END FLASHBACK!--
"WILL YOU STOP REMEMBERING THAT?!" Tetra yelled, having turned red in anger over her botched attempt to do something straight off the book. "Anyway, I've yet to read the more recent pages, so..."
"How about now...?" Zuko suggested, to which the other pirates concurred.
"Hmm.." Tetra thought about it for a few moments before looking forward and deciding. "Well, why not. Let's see here." She went through the papers and found the most recent ones in the bottom. "'Queens and Princesses through the history of Hyrule'. Interesting..." Tetra commented. She saw a description on top, followed by a list of names. Tetra decided to go straight to the names first. "Queen Zelda Lyna Hyrule. Princess Zelda Regina Hyrule. Princess Karin Zelda til Hyrule. Queen Zelda Dianne Hyrule. Princess Zelda Dianne Hyrule the second. Princess Valerinia Zelda til Hyr... wait a minute..." Tetra let go of the loose page as she tried to comprehend what was going on. She rubbed her temples and breathed in as she tried to go on. "Queen Zelda Mercury Hyrule, Princess Zelda Josselyn Hyrule, Queen Zelda Alexandria Hyrule, Princess Zelda Marine Hyrule, Princess Zelda Camillix Hyrule... What is going on here? Is this a joke?"
The pirates seemed as perplexed (or at least, as lost) as Tetra was. Not only did the royal line seemed longer than they had predicted, there was a certain odd common denominator in there. Mako decided to relief Tetra off the paper and began reading the description on top. "Hmm... 'It is tradition for the princesses who are to be next in line to be named Zelda after the first queen of Hyrule. In order to retain individualism, the female monarchs have been commonly given a second name, though to the general public, they are only referred to as Princess Zelda or Queen Zelda. Although it is encouraged for other princesses within the main royal line to bear the name, it is not obligatory.'" Mako read.
"Well, that is messed up." Gonzo commented. "So every one of those women were just called 'Princess Zelda-Something-Hyrule'."
"Strange..." Senza spoke out. "I've been here since you were born, Miss Tetra, and I don't remember anybody calling you anything other than Tetra. Not even your mother called you by any other name."
"Maybe Tetra's just a code name!" Niko ran his theory. "Or maybe Tetra's your middle name, captain, like 'Zelda Tetra Hyrule'."
"Yeah... that really makes sense..." Zuko commented sarcastically. "... or not."
"This list goes on, you know." Mako announced. "And they're written in different handwriting, so they were probably keeping it for generations afterwards." Mako then began looking at the more recent entries in the list, and read them aloud. "Queen Zelda Emelina Hyrule, Princess Zelda Chere Hyrule, Princess Zelda Wendelia Hyrule, Princess -they're all pretty much princesses after this point- Princess Zelda Onnise Hyrule, Princess Zelda Reldam Hyrule, Princess Zelda Jacqueline Hyrule, Princess... huh?'
"What? What does it say?" Gonzo wondered.
"Nothing..." Mako responded. "It just says 'Princess' and the rest is just one big blank. My guess, Miss Tetra,..." he said while looking at the captain square in the eye, "... this is where your name should be."
"So? Just write it, then." Tetra ordered.
"Write what, exactly?" Mako rebutted. "Virtually every name on the list follows the same design. There may be something here we don't yet know."
"Wait..." Gonzo interrupted, looking like he's made a big discovery. "Mako, read that last one again."
"What? Princess Blankety-blank, A.K.A. Miss Tetra?" Nudge questioned.
"No, the one before that." Gonzo reiterated, getting a bit annoyed.
"You mean... Princess Zelda Jacqueline Hyrule?" Mako said. "What about... wait, 'Jacqueline'?"
"Is that...? could that be...?" Senza tried to utter the complete question.
"Yes, no doubt it's her." Gonzo explained.
"Madam Jacques!" Zuko said, rather impressed (well, by his standards) "Our previous captain..."
"My mother?" Tetra asked, bewildered at the discovery. She quickly took the paper from Mako's hand and inspected it on her own. "Princess Zelda Jacqueline... and on her handwriting, too. This means she must've known. She knew all along."
"Well, she DID gave you that golden 'A', and we all know how that turned out." Senza pointed out, which made Tetra rub her right hand uneasily.
"But wait." Nudge interjected again. "Madam Jacques was old enough to be queen... so why is she written there as 'Princess'?"
"Must you ask such a silly question?" Mako rebutted. "Think, no Hyrule, no kingdom, no need for coronation. Naturally, then, that every heir since the Great Flood has been stuck in Princess Mode. Now, what's more important is that we figure out whether Miss Tetra has a proper Princess name."
"How are we gonna figure that one out?" Tetra questioned. "I specifically remember being called nothing other than Tetra through my life, and there's nothing anywhere else to tell us otherwise."
"How about birth records?" Niko suggested.
"As if!" Tetra scoffed at the mere suggestion. "I was born of the sea! And I doubt we'd get any old schmo in the sea to write up a birth record."
"... Unless it's Beedle." Nudge added, making everybody laugh instantly.
"Ok, seriously, though." Tetra spoke again. "I was born in this very ship. I doubt I have any birth certificates around."
"Eh... actually..." Senza raised his arm sheepishly. "I remember those days. We were in Windfall for a whole week, and you were born then. There was a doctor and everything, so maybe... just maybe... a birth certificate does exist somewhere."
"Wait a minute... I was born in Windfall?" Tetra questioned, incredulous over this revelation. The five oldest pirates nodded once. "Why didn't I know this? People, this stuff is kinda important to me. You could at least try and make sure I know." She flopped on her seat cross-armed and started looking at everybody with a rather bad eye. "So..." she continued, "... let's say I do have a birth certificate somewhere, where could it be today?"
"Your mother must've had it hidden." Mako suggested.
"Yeah, that works." Senza concurred. His face then slowly turned less and less confident. "Only we cleared the captain's quarters of her personal stuff when you took over, Miss Tetra. We took it all away and stuffed it in a crate."
"And where, pray tell, would that crate be?" Tetra asked as she held a fist in the other hand, possibly waiting for the worst.
"Oh, it's still on the ship, I'm sure." Senza explained. "It's probably hidden behind a lot of other crates on the cargo hold, so you never really saw it."
"Well, that's a relief." Tetra smiled brightly as she spoke. "I thought I had to send you guys on a rowboat to retrieve the crate from a faraway island." The faces of the pirates dropped significantly, particularly disturbed by Tetra's incessant beaming. "So I guess that's settled then. Our next scavenger hunt will be right here on this ship. Everybody to the cargo hold!"
Upon hearing this, Link suddenly got active again and shot out of the mess hall, decided to beat the rest to finding the previous captain's things first. "Poor kid." Gonzo commented to the equally burly Senza. "He thinks he can move all those heavy crates all by hims..."
Suddenly, a huge wooden crash was heard all the way to the mess hall, making the pirates shut up and look at each other with frightful eyes.
"Whoa, Link! Calm down, boy!" Nudge screamed as he and the rest of the crew rushed out of the mess hall.
The pirates worked hard all day, moving crates and barrels around the cargo hold. They didn't really know they had so many crates (many of them only half full or nearly empty) until they did this massive cleanup event. The pirates were trying to focus more on the older crates, the crates that were hidden under the newer-looking ones and seemed like nobody had touched them in a while. Sadly for them, this scratched very few crates off the list.
"This is gonna take us forever." Niko complained as he rubbed his poor muscles from excessive strain.
"Don't worry." Senza reassured the poor young pirate. "If my memory doesn't fail me, we'll be able to easily notice Madam Jacques' stuff. It was pretty much the last things we got in that crate."
Link, Nudge and Tetra were working on a rickety old crate in the corner (which had a rusty lock to boot), when a sudden shove by Nudge made it sound like some glass object broke inside. "Let's just hope that wasn't anything valuable, for your sake." Tetra threatened, to which Nudge simply nodded frightfully. Eventually, the lock was broken, and the crate's contents were exposed.
"Is this...?" Tetra stopped mid-sentence as she appreciated the long object that was at the very top of the pile of stuff in the crate. "My mom's cutlass." She carefully grabbed the rather large black sheath and took out the blade to admire it more. "Still as beautifully crafted and as sharp as I last saw it." She marveled at the spectacular shine and composition of the blade, silverish in color, adorned with strange markings all along the length of the blade. Its hilt was a dark bronze, rather comfortable and easy to grasp, and it was adorned on the tip by a golden chain that held a golden triangle on its end. Tetra fixated her eyes on every part of the cutlass, a nostalgic look permeating her face, until she took a good look at the markings on the blade, then, she gasped audibly. "Link! You know what these are?" Tetra shouted, shoving the blade's blunt side at a dangerously close position from Link's eyes. "It's the same writing I saw in the book sometimes. This is old Hylian writing! I don't know what it says yet..." She admitted, inspecting the sword to see if she recognized any of the signs, "... but at least it tells me more about my mom."
"Well, that IS great. I'm happy for you, captain." Nudge complimented as he reclined himself on the rickety old crate... which made it create various strained creaking sounds. Nudge quickly stepped back form the crate, but it was too late: the crate's sides gave in, unleashing everything inside in a perilous avalanche of debris. Tetra had no time to react, and the rolling objects got trampled under her jittery feet, making her slip and crash on the floor by the side of her head. The last she heard were the panicked cries of her crew.
Tetra opened her eyes lazily, her eyes unfamiliar with the bright shine of the sunlight. She began looking around, and noticed she had been dragged to her bed. This was definitely not where she had slipped into sleep, she remembered. She threw her bedsheets aside and sat on her bed before she remembered that there was something important happening today. And when she remembered exactly what was going on, she whipped out the widest toothy grin she could muster.
"Today's the day." She whispered to herself. "Today's the day!" She then yelled at the top of her lungs while hopping on her own bed a few times. She then began running wildly across her room. "Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the day! Today's the... oof!"
Tetra did not see the tall lady in red and white clothes enter the room. "What day would today be, Miss Tetra?"
"Don't be silly, Pami." Tetra responded to the large, muscular woman over double her height, about as tan as her, with striking red eyes and silver hair done in a ponytail. "You know that today is my birthday!"
"Your birthday?" Pami asked in a mock-quizzical way. "And how old is the young miss today?"
"I'm seven years old today!" Tetra announced beaming, raising eight fingers from her tiny hands. Pami reached and lowered a pinky for her.
"And, what does this all mean, young miss?" Pami kept asking.
Tetra's head turned around, as if she was trying to find the answer somewhere. Finally, she faced Pami and beamed at her. "That I'm seven years old today!" She said while raising six fingers from her hands. Pami reached and raised a pinky for her.
"Well... yes." Pami said, giving in on her charge's explanations "But it also means that you're finally old enough to begin your sword training. So let's start today."
"Oh, yeah... About that..." Tetra said hesitantly, lowering her gaze to the ground. "Hey, Pami? Why don't we wait till tomorrow to begin? You know, since it's my birthday, and there'll probably be cake and presents and stuff. We won't have time to get a decent practice in, anyway."
"No can do, Miss Tetra." Pami said stoically. "Madam Jacques' orders. She wants you to start as soon as possible."
"Mom?" Tetra wondered. "Why? It's not like I'll need it anytime soon. Besides, I don't like them."
"You don't...?" Pami was taken aback at this statement. "Miss, I've seen you ogle at Madam Jacques' cutlass, and if she didn't hide it well at night, you'd probably go around with it."
Tetra turned her face over to the side, putting a pouty face like one who would rather not face the music. "I might have... on that time. But... now it's different."
"Come on, Miss Tetra." Pami called, kneeling in an attempt to be level with the young girl. "What exactly is wrong?"
"Well... it was that last time." Tetra explained. "I saw Mako get hurt with his sabre and blood came out of his wound... I don't want that to happen to me."
Pami laughed slightly at this. "First off, Mako isn't the best when it comes to fencing. In fact, you should be thankful he's gotten better over time. Second, if you're gonna get squeamish with a bit of blood, then you were born on the wrong ship. And third, this is just practice. I'm not gonna let you get hurt, see?" She then pulled out a small wooden sword from her back and showed it to Tetra.
The small girl looked intently at the wooden sword and touched its sides, and after noticing how it didn't hurt her at all, she beamed at her instructor. "You really think of everything, Pami."
"Don't I always?" Pami responded, pulling a sly smile. "Now change your clothes, you need to get some breakfast in."
After an intense and informative initial training session, Tetra and Pami decided to raid the mess hall for a couple of cookies. They then sneaked to the cargo hold and quietly enjoyed their snack.
"You did good for a first time." Pami complimented the spunky girl.
"Don't be so nice." Tetra quickly shot back. "the sword slipped from my hand. Twice. I hit you on your thigh in one of those."
"Well, then, you're lucky I'm made of tougher stuff than most!" Pami joked. "besides, nobody will be perfect on the first time."
"But you make it look so easy!" Tetra complained.
"Well, that's only because I've been practicing for years." Pami explained. "I've honed in skills that I once thought impossible when I first began practicing."
Tetra nodded in silence, preferring to savor more of her cookie in silence for a moment. "But when is mom coming back? She's gonna miss my whole birthday!"
"Well, it's not her fault you're such a sleepy-head." Pami commented, making Tetra do a mock-pout. "If you'd woken up sooner, you could've talked to her before she left for Windfall."
"And what is she doing all the way in Windfall today?" Tetra inquired yet again.
"I've told you, little one." Pami said. "I cannot tell you. Madam Jacques told me to not tell. And I'm not just about to go against a direct order from my captain, you know. That would look bad."
"Come on!" Tetra pleaded. "Not even for me?"
"Sorry, Miss Tetra, but especially not to you." Pami said, with a firm finality on her voice.
"Ok, fine." Tetra declared, standing up from the floor. She dusted herself off and started walking away from Pami. "If you're not telling, then I'm sure someone in this ship will. I am the captain's daughter, and I will get answers. Especially on my seventh birthday." And with those words, she disappeared from view.
"Well, if you find someone who knows, let me know." Pami said quietly before returning to her cookie.
On the top deck, a young man in a green shirt and a red handkerchief on his head full of black hair was having a hard time swabbing the deck. Apparently, somebody had spilled a barrel full of ink last night, and it was becoming an incredibly hard hassle to clean it up. "If Madam Jacques ever decides to transport ink again, I'm steering clear off the mop!" He stated as he mopped furiously in a vain attempt to finish up faster.
"Hey, Gonzo!" a youthful voice rang from beside the man. "I was just wondering if you knew if... what happened here?" Tetra asked, distracted by the large black stain on the floor.
"Ink. Don't ask." Gonzo answered, obviously annoyed by the hard work.
Tetra looked intently as the hard-working pirate raised the already pitch-black mop and squeezed its contents into a bucket full of black water, only to insert the mop into the very same water. "Shouldn't you get some clean water for it?" Tetra wondered.
"This IS clean." Gonzo began to explain. "That..." Gonzo then showed her a bucket of water that was so thick it looked more like tar than anything else. "is dirty."
"Ew..." Tetra exclaimed her honest feeling, Suddenly, she remembered what she was dpoing over there in the first place. "Oh! Gonzo, do you know where my mom went?"
"Madam Jacques?" Gonzo repeated, not really bothering to look anywhere other than at the mess he was charged with cleaning. "Well, I know she went over to Windfall. What is she doing in Windfall, I don't know. She's bound to do some brash things and doesn't really speak of some stuff beforehand. But if she's just gone like that, then you needn't worry, 'cause if it were something important for the crew to know, we would've had a reunion."
"Oh, I see." Tetra said, nodding her head slowly. She stood there for a small while, watching Gonzo doing his duty and trying to do his best with what little he had to work with. Due to his amazing display of effort, the ink stain was slowly becoming fainter and fainter. "Wow, you're working hard, Gonzo."
"Thanks, Miss Tetra." Gonzo said as he took a small breather to wipe his forehead off sweat. "I doubt I'll be finished today, though." He commented as he contemplated the true scope of the stain.
"Oh, don't worry." Tetra reassured the black-haired pirate. "You've done a mighty good job here. And if anything happens, I can put up a good word for you to my mom. She'll listen to me. And with today being my birthday and all..."
"Today's your birthday?" Gonzo asked, finally taking a quick glance at the young girl beside him. His eyes shifted suspiciously as he tried to put the pieces together. "So maybe that's why she..."
"'Why she' what?" Tetra inquired, feeling this might have something to do with her mother. "Do you think my mom is doing something specific at Windfall?"
"Well, I was thinking, since Windfall is a merchant island, and since it's your birthday, after all, she..." Suddenly, Gonzo voice was reduced down to a stammer, his eyes bulged out of his sockets, and he began fidgeting with the mop handle nervously. He then fixated his sights down to the floor again, and began mopping with even more intent. "Eh... I mean to say... Madam Jacques is probably scouring a tip nearby and... she'll tell us if she finds something... maybe. Yes, that's it."
Tetra was about to ask him about his sudden change of heart, but she noticed how his incredibly concentrated form intensified, and decided to leave him be. When she turned around, though, she noticed how Pami was just entering the lower decks slowly, but not before shooting a quick glance backwards to where Gonzo was. Tetra thought it weird, and sighed in defeat, realizing the futility of her quest at this point.
Pami scoured the top deck, making sure there was nobody around. She looked behind the crates, atop the crow's nest, and even on the ship's outer walls, and when she was satisfied, she turned on a flare and waved it at a nearby island. After the signal, a small rowboat began making its way to the pirate ship. Inside the rowboat, a woman in a red captain's vest lined with golden borders and an equally colored captain's hat waved at Pami when she got close enough, which prompted the tall woman to throw a rope ladder to let the woman aboard.
"Madam Jacques." Pami addressed the woman who, despite being shorter than Pami and of a noticeably less muscular build, exuded a dignified air of authority. "I trust everything went well."
"It sure did. Thank you, Pami." Madam Jacques told her first mate. She then took off her hat, uncovering a long, flowing brunette hair and letting her blue eyes sparkle with the sunlight. "I trust there were no problems in my absence."
"Everything is shipshape, captain." Pami informed. She then looked around again to make sure there was nobody around, and addressed Jacques again. "So? What did you get her?" she whispered, dropping her more formal attitude in favor of an unyielding curiosity.
"Just a little something." Jacques said as she raised a small square chest closer to Pami's eyes and opened it. After looking into the small chest, Pami drew up a small satisfactory smile on her face and nodded in understanding.
"I think she's gonna like it." Pami commented.
"So where is she?" Jacques asked, wondering if there was a way to slip unnoticed.
"I'm sure she oughta be in the cabins now." Pami gave an educated guess. "The guys have been going on about stories today, and you know how she loves hearing them."
"Well, good. That gives me time." Jacques said as she began walking toward the lower decks. "If you see her, stall her. Don't let her enter the mess hall, ok?"
"Aye, aye." Pami responded. After seeing her captain enter the lower decks, she took a precautionary look around the ship again, and then entered the ship's interiors herself.
And from within a barrel hole, a small sly blue eye witnessed the entire encounter with rasp attention and giddy excitement.
"Miss Tetra?" a squat pirate with thick-rimmed glasses called out the small girl after noticing how she was running left and right around the cargo hold, rearranging several items such as rope, gloves, a small telescope and a few pieces of wood. "Can I ask what you're doing?"
"No can do, Mako." Tetra answered quickly as she rummaged through yet another crate for more rope. "Unless you're willing to help me quietly."
"Oh, I don't know..." Mako hesitated upon hearing the request. "Does Madam Jacques know about this?"
"Of course she doesn't!" Tetra said with a smile plastered on her face. "That's what makes it so fun. Besides, that's exactly the point here, she can't know I'm doing this."
Mako looked at the small girl as if she were asking for something impossible. After thinking it over a few moments, he finally answered. "I'm sorry, Miss Tetra, but I cannot cooperate wit you here. If Madam Jacques finds out, I'm gonna get in trouble, and I don't need that. So while I'd prefer for you to just stop and forget about this, I'll just leave you and wish you good luck doing this on your own." And with those words, Mako began walking away form the cargo hold.
"Well, ok." Tetra said casually, then: "How you doing over there, Nudge?"
"Perfect!" a rather high-pitched voice rang from behind some barrels. Mako quickly turned around and cranked his head to notice a long pirate with neck-length hair and a soul patch closing up a couple of heavy bags that looked filled with sand. "These sand bags will give us the perfect counterweight. Now all we need to do is bring everything upstairs."
Tetra gave a giddy laugh as she saw her little plan come to fruition. "All right! To the top deck it is! Mom thinks she can surprise me, but I'll be the one to surprise her!" And taking a good deal of rope and the wood in her hands, she left the cargo hold, leaving Mako standing on the door frame slack-jawed.
"Oh, I just love this!" Nudge said to Mako as he followed behind the young 'leader', carrying a sack of sand in each shoulder. "You know, you gotta admire her initiative. She's got the makings of a true leader, she does."
After Nudge disappeared from view, Mako stood dumbfounded for a good while on the very door frame to the cargo hold. Finally snapping into reality, the thick-glassed pirate sighed deeply as he held his head with his fingers. "The less I know... the better." He said to himself.
The mess hall looked like a completely different area once Madam Jacques finished rearranging it along with Gonzo and Senza. The table was set near a wall, adorned with a green tablecloth patched in several places with some odd color combinations, atop it were a couple of plates and a couple of jugs filled with juice ("No liquor today!" Jacques declared), and on the center there was a long cardboard box and a square chest right behind the box. The walls were decorated with streamers and a couple of balloons, and the whole place reeked of festive. "Okay, everything's set. Gonzo, go and get everyone. Tell Pami to make sure Tetra's last. Senza, go check on the cuccoo in the oven."
"Aye, aye" both pirates said in unison and left to do their assigned duties.
After a short while, almost everyone was in the mess hall, anxious to begin the celebration. The only people missing were Nudge, Pami and Tetra. The pirates in the mess hall breathed an air of quiet tension, shifting along awkwardly in an attempt to simmer down and not ruin the surprise.
"I swear, if that Nudge ruins this, I'll get him good." Gonzo whispered to the next pirate beside him.
"I'll make sure he's punished properly If he does." A strong, female voice came from behind them. When they looked, they saw the stern face of Madam Jacques staring at him. "Now shhhh." She finished while she moved to another location. The pirates, in their silence, could not help but stifle a laugh considering the punishments Jacques could come up with.
"I know nothing..." Mako muttered to himself when, despite trying his best to remain outside of the crowd, had to suffer Madam Jacques' stare for all of one second.
"Guys, someone..." Zuko, in all his stoic, baggy-eyed glory, told the rest of the crew. "It's Pami..."
"Quick, blow out the lamps. Cover the window. Quiet down, everyone."
The pirates made a hiding place of the very darkness in the mess hall, standing eerily still, and waiting for Pami to arrive with the person of honor. Through the corner of their eyes, most could see how Pami's shadow closed in on the entryway. They were more than ready to jump out and begin in an explosive way, when...
"Madam Jacques!"
Pami's sudden shout made everybody stop in mid-action. The female first mate appeared into the decorated room, a mild hint of frustration on her normally fiery red eyes, though the rest of her factions were still expertly locked on a stoic form, and approached her captain, who looked at her weirdly. Trying not to make a scene, Pami decided to speak to Jacques in a whisper and avoid the rest of the pirates to find out.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T FIND HER!?" Jacques' sudden angered yell startled everyone in the room.
"I checked everywhere." Pami said, knowing it was futile to try and keep things secret. "The cargo hold, the cabins, your room, the top deck... I didn't find her."
Jacques rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Oh, where could that child be?" She paced around the room, thinking about what he should do... when suddenly, there was a loud bump on the wall of the mess hall. "What was that? Quick, check the window." She ordered. Gonzo quickly removed the curtain that covered the window and looked outside, only to emit a short, high-pitched scream and dive to the side. Suddenly, the window was slammed open and a small golden-blond girl appeared as if from nowhere, landing face-first on the floor with arms spread out and feet twitching randomly.
"Surprise!" Tetra's muffled shout greeted the stupefied pirates.
"Tetra!" Madam Jacques scolded her daughter for bringing such a spectacle. "W... what is all this?"
"Come on, mom." Tetra defended herself as she began to pick herself off from the floor. "You haven't been able to surprise me ever since I was four and a half. Everything was just too suspicious today: leaving early, Pami's lessons, keeping Gonzo in the dark, clearing the top deck so nobody saw you arriving... You really need to work on your stealth game."
Jacques noticed the playful tone in which Tetra adorned every word in her innocent-like rebuttal, and was willing to let her off with a smile... if it weren't for the inescapable fact that the girl had just burst in through the window, meaning she had been dangling by the side of the ship with little more than a rope. "That... may be true... but the window! Did you even think this through?"
"Oh, don't worry, mom." Tetra reassured her mother. "I had Nudge to help me. He made sure I was ok every step of the way."
"Oh, so Nudge helped you." Jacques said loudly with a sly smile on her face, emphasizing on the name. Three seconds later, a large splash was heard from outside, followed by very rapid splish-splooshing of someone swimming away. "He'll be back." Jacques finished.
After the incident, the birthday party had passed relatively peacefully (at least, as peaceful as a pirate party could get) and it extended until the sun hid behind the horizon and the moon began its patient vigil. Tetra did not want it to end, but alas, as Pami so painfully informed her, it was already time for her to sleep.
"We'll continue your lessons tomorrow, Miss Tetra." Pami told the small girl.
"So they're for real, then." Tetra acknowledged the seriousness of Pami's words and nodded. "Tomorrow then. Good night."
"Sleep well. You too, Madam Jacques." Pami said before leaving the captain's quarters.
"Well, in you go, you little troublemaker." Madam Jacques said as she picked up Tetra like a baby, who began giggling and screaming at every swing and dip her mother subjected her to before finally being deposited on her bed. "So, are we ready?"
"Wait! Not yet." Tetra raised her arms to stop her mother from tucking her in. She went to her cabinet and pulled out the small square chest she had received in her party and opened it. Inside the chest were three crudely colored pictographs of Madam Jacques and Tetra together in various stages of the little one's life, and carved on the inner side of the chest's lid was the message: 'To the most precious treasure a mother could ever have. Happy Birthday, Tetra. Love, Mom.' Tetra then set the open chest on a table and set the three pictographs on the wall by her bed. "There. Now I can look at them all the time."
Tetra then lay flat on the bed, signaling to her mother that she was ready to sleep. Madam Jacques pulled out a quilt and wrapped her daughter in it, and then knelt by Tetra's bed and kissed her forehead.
"So now you're seven, aren't you, Tee?" Jacques asked her daughter playfully, calling her by her preferred nickname. "You know that means you'll soon be a young lady, and you will eventually take control of this ship when I'm too old to be captain."
"Oh, but you're still young, mom!" Tetra replied.
Jacques couldn't help but laugh at that comment. "That I am, yes siree." she said, beaming all the way. "But still, you have to start learning some deep stuff."
"Aw, mom." Tetra whined immediately. "Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"But I wanted to tell you something special. You know, since it's still your birthday and all." Jacques told Tetra. The small girl turned to her mother in order to be more attentive. "Now, Tee, I only want you to know that you have more potential than you can imagine. There is something about you that you probably wouldn't understand now, but in due time you'll discover. It's something great, but at the same time very scary, and should you stumble on it one day, know that there is one thing you should never do."
"... What, mom?" Tetra asked, not completely sure what her mother was talking to her about. Jacques decided to lean on her and whisper quietly in her ear what she intended to tell her. "Whoa." Tetra reacted. "All this sounds like some sort of weird mumbo jumbo woo-doo thing."
Jacques mused over her daughter's statement for a small while before answering. "Well, I promise you it's not some woo-doo thing."
Tetra then let out a wide yawn out. "Mom?" Tetra asked, her voice showing clear signs of being tired. "Will you be here tomorrow? All day?"
"Hmm... Why not?" Jacques answered. "Like there's anything better than spend the day with you." To this, Tetra raised a fist slightly in victory. "Besides, I don't want you to slack off in your learning. I need to teach you some important stuff." To that, Tetra faced her mother with an face of indignation, followed by a none-too-pleased pouty face. "Don't give me that. Or do you wish to be dumb and lose this ship faster than you could say 'macadamia'?"
Tetra looked at her mother straight at her eyes, still with that pouty face. Even though she knew how stern and tough her mother was, inside those eyes she could always find the love her mother had for her, shining brightly like the Northern Star. "Oh, all right." Tetra finally relented, dropping her facade, and deciding to turn around and get comfortable. "Good night mom."
"Good night, Tee." Jacques said, letting her daughter set sail on the sea of dreams, and finally deciding to journey into that sea herself as she approached her bed right across from Tetra's.
"M... Mom?" Tetra's groggy words came out laboriously from her mouth as she woke up from her sleep. Her vision was blurry, but she could clearly make out two faces looking down at her. "Mo-o-o-om?" she called again, trying to reach out to someone in front of her.
"I hear and I wonder, what dreams are those that the little miss has dreamt, for in those dreams, many secrets like to hide."
"Huh" Tetra's reaction was all confusion. Her vision started to clear up, which showed a small man with thick-rimmed glasses and a young fellow with a green cap.
"Uh... sorry." Mako quickly apologized. "I read that in a book somewhere."
"Mako?" Tetra asked, recognizing the guy in front of her. The other guy's name was becoming easier to remember after this moment. "L... Link?" The green garbed hero nodded solemnly after hearing his name. "But... where am I? What happened?"
"You can thank Nudge for that." Gonzo explained, appearing from the background. "The clumsy fool leaned on that old crate and broke it, and everything inside it just spilled out. There was some heavy stuff in there, and some of it hit you square in the head. After that, we carefully carried you to your bed in your room. It's been... I'd say 20 minutes since then, give or take."
"And where is Nudge?" Tetra asked, starting to make an effort to sit on her bed and look and everyone square in the face. "And was there stuff from my mother there, not just the cutlass?"
"Oh, Nudge's cleaning the mess now. He'll have to lift the heavy stuff himself." Gonzo replied.
"And about your mother's stuff... we found this." Senza added, carrying around an opened cardboard box, which he put beside Tetra on the bed. Inside the box were various papers, many of them with official-looking signatures and apparently odd data. "I think I saw something like a birth record in there."
"Really?" Tetra mused, looking at the box full of papers beside her. She then faced forward with a stern, serious look. "Did any of you look at this beforehand?"
"Uh, no!" Gonzo quickly said. "We expected you would want to know first, so..."
Tetra nodded in acknowledgment, and without a second thought, began rummaging through the old papers in the box. Some of the papers were nothing more than random scribbles and annotations about treasure, rival pirate bands and whatnot, while some others started showing a more official-looking design that would not be out of place in a government office or, perchance, among royal documents. After a while, she saw it: an old, semi-tattered, but quite sturdy-feeling piece of paper from a Dr. Korvotain with the heading 'BIRTH CERTIFICATE' in it. It read:
Dr. Marcus Korvotain – General Medicine and Surgery
Windfall Island
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Medic in charge of operation: Marcus Korvotain
Nurse in assistance of operation: Felicia Silvina
Matron in assistance of operation: Pami
Name of Mother: Zelda Jacqueline Hyrule
Name of Father: Not Available
Name of Child: Zelda Tetrilynn Hyrule
Gender of Child: Female
Weight of Child: 7lbs, 10oz
Height of Child: 22 inches
Tetra's mouth slowly opened in silent awe and her hand trembled vigorously as she read the official document carefully and let her mind get past the shock of the recently revealed truth. In the process, the certificate slipped from her hands and landed on the floor, and was then picked up by Mako.
"Zelda Tetrilynn Hyrule." Mako read out loud. "So that is your real name, Miss Tetra. A tad odd, but pretty at the same time."
"Ha! I knew it!" Niko shouted in glee, raising his arms in victory. "I told you all, didn't I?"
"No... you said something dif...[mmph]" Zuko tried to correct Niko before having his mouth covered by the buck-toothed pirate.
"Oh, shut it and let me have my moment!" Niko demanded.
"Tetrilynn..." Tetra repeated, trying to will herself to get used to the name. After thinking over it for a moment, she couldn't help but draw up a smile and let out a slight chuckle. "Oh, mom. I guess you had one final surprise after all."
"So..." Niko began, looking directly at his captain. "Does this mean... we should..."
"I said it before, and I'll say it again." Tetra said, pointing at each one of the guys in her room. "I may be the princess, I may have this mouthful of a name, but I'm still me. You can still call me Tetra, all right? Heck, even after we're all done with this and everybody in the world calls me Princess Zelda and stuff, you guys can still call me Tetra, ok?" Every one around Tetra's bed nodded courteously at this. Link, on his part, seemed curious, and raised his hand to get the young lady's attention. "No, don't you call me Tetrilynn." Tetra said plainly, as If reading Link's thoughts. The young hero dropped his hand and began darting his eyes awkwardly, though sporting a goofy smile.
Link suddenly had a brilliant idea, and thought this moment could use something to top it off. Thus, without explaining himself, he rushed out of the room and ran all the way to the cargo hold. On the hold, he could see how Nudge was still painfully busy in cleaning the place where the old crate was broken, making sure he did not overfill the other crates he was dumping the other stuff in. Off in a corner were two crates set so close together and rebuilt to make one huge extra long box. Link opened the side of the crate and entered the cramped compartment, which looked like a miniature amateur photographic studio from the inside, with several pictographs hanging from the top. Link lit up a red lamp and pulled out his picto box from under a small table and began working on developing the pictographs he had on the device.
It took him quite a while, but finally he had the three pictographs ready for the outside world. He took the pictographs and gave them one final shake to dry them completely, and he took out a postal envelope and carefully inserted the pics inside. He then put out the lamp and opened the side of the elongated crate to leave.
"Fancy meeting you again, pretty boy!" A gruff, ugly snarling voice greeted Link as an equally ugly mug stared him down. The dirty, buff man, who was accompanied by equally dirty and ragtag comrades, grabbed Link by the neck collar and dragged him through the cargo hold's floor, leading him outside. "Ye be the last one of this here pathetic ship, ye know. Captain Mendoza is sure to be pleased."
**To Be Continued**
(A/N: I'm still asking people who are willing to donate art related to TWW, PH and ZOoL. Details on my profile.)
And before you ask, here's a partial list of middle names I thought up for Tetra (all starting with "T", of course): Tetrina, Tezmily, Tetris, Tetrin, Tervina, Terelin, Terra (Believe it or not!)... I even considered 'Tee' for a short while.