The Wind Waker

XVII

LINK DROPPED the book on the bed, and slowly raised his hands up, not daring to turn around.

"I am annoyed by hitchhiking stowfish," Tetra's voice declared. "I despise trespassers. And the only reward I have for those who rob me is a trip to the bottom of the ocean."

Link said nothing. He was barely able to breathe.

"You have now committed all three," she stated. "I unfortunately do not have time for putting you in a bag with a cannonball at the bottom, nor do I desire to waste the spoils we've recently obtained.

"So I will give you this one chance to explain yourself. Otherwise I will have to finish this quickly. My only regret is that I will have dirtied the floor of my room. I would choose my words extremely carefully."

"Tetra," Link quivered, "you cannot take the treasure at Outset Island."

"By the name of Din I'll take whatever the gerudo I want!" she cursed. "And you were spying on us! That's a fourth crime!"

He was dead for sure.

"What does a little stowfish like you want with some treasure anyway?" she interrogated. "You don't seem like the kind of kid who'd be in pursuit of rupees."

"It's not money Tetra," Link said, "I don't want to sell it. It's something very important, and I need it. It's going to help me rescue my sister."

He heard the gun click, and he winced. It didn't fire.

"Turn around and face me like a man," Tetra commanded. "Put your hands down. It accomplishes nothing. I know you don't have a gun."

He did as she asked. There was a look of utter disdain on Tetra's face.

"How in the entire great sea did you get here?" she asked, sliding her pistol into its sleeve.

"Do you... want me to start from the beginning?" Link asked.

Tetra tightened her lips. "I have time. And my curiosity is piqued. Talk."

"Well," Link said, "I got into the fortress, and was able to get to the tower where my sister was being held."

"How in the name of Hylia," Tetra exclaimed, "did you get that far?"

"I... I don't know," he stuttered, "anyway, I saw my sister, but the giant helmaroc grabbed me before I was able to set her free. It tossed me out into the ocean, and I was sure I was going to drown."

"Yes," Tetra said, "we saw that happen. Now... how did you survive."

Link was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure if he could think up a lie fast enough. He wasn't sure if he'd survive telling the truth either.

"I woke up in a boat on the shore of Windfall," Link said.

"You just somehow got all the way here?" she said in disbelief.

"I didn't know what'd happened either," Link lied.

"You're gonna have to come up with something more convincing than that," Tetra said. "I don't like liars, but I hate bad ones even more."

"Good thing I'm not a liar," Link said. In a sense he wasn't lying. He knew the King of Red Lions had saved him. But in the moment he hadn't known how he'd gotten there.

Link gulped. "Anyway, someone told me that if I got Nayru's Pearl, it would help me save my sister."

"Why did you steal cannon ammunition from our stores?" she asked, her hand hovering near the handle of her gun.

"I was told that I needed to break into a cave on the backside of Outset," Link replied.

Tetra didn't press his burglary further.