Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, settings, etc. in this story.

A Note on Languages:
Characters speak two languages in this story, English and Hylian (aka the common tongue). When text appears in double quotes, it's in English. Text in single quotes is an English translation when characters are in fact speaking Hylian. Italic text in double quotes is the original Hylian.

Queen of Pirates

Y'all can all stand back

I'm breaking free

'Cause this big ol' world ain't ready

For a little girl like me

Prologue—Goodbye Again

Pirate captain Tetra stood at the prow of her ship, beaming at the sight of the sunlight and the waves spreading out infinitely before her. This was the life she wanted. She could easily leave behind the quest she had just finished.

'Let's go!' she shouted to her crew. 'Our destination is wherever the wind takes us.'

As the ship creaked into motion, she glanced overboard at the vessel next to her own, where a lone figure, a boy her own age, was hoisting his own small sail on the mast of a little red boat. He looked up and flashed a grin in her direction, one of those smiles that she couldn't help returning.

She knew that he, too, would go with the wind. What else would he do? He was, after all, the Hero of Winds.

---

Several weeks later, she was watching in frustration as her ship tossed in the waves, creaking against the ropes that held it back from spiralling away across the ocean. They had landed on a small, uninhabited island, intending just to explore and see if there was anything worth bringing with them, then move on in their voyage. A storm had sprung up, though, and Tetra's men refused to sail in such weather; some harm would come to her, they said. She knew they were right, but simply because they had told her to stay put, she wanted to do anything but. Now she was sitting by herself under a palm tree whose leaves were heavy with rainwater, wrapped in a blanket that was serving to protect her only by keeping next to her skin that water her body heat had warmed. She had been sitting still for what felt like hours; probably it had only been about one.

'Come on,' she muttered, glaring at the dark clouds overhead, 'go away.'

'That's a real nice greeting.'

Certain she was hallucinating, Tetra whipped around so fast that the sudden flow of blood to her limbs made them tingle in protest. Her face broke into a grin when she saw that she hadn't been wrong. The rain-soaked, green-clad sailor who had once been a hero flashed her the grin that made her own face break into a smile.

'So we've stumbled into each other again,' he sighed, attempting to look displeased with the situation.

'Looks like it,' she agreed, in the same attitude. She couldn't help thinking, though, that now she wouldn't mind if the storm held out.

---

When she awoke the next morning, it was to find that the sun was shining as brightly as if it had never left, and her crew was already shouting that they were ready to be off.

She glanced at her old friend, who merely shrugged.

'We'll run into each other again, I'm sure,' she said.

He nodded. 'Of course.'

'Bye.'

'See ya.'

---

Over a month later, she and her crew had come into port on another small island, this one notably larger than the last, and the home to a rather uncivilized tribe of people—whose religion, they had discovered, depended on human sacrifices; the pirates therefore didn't plan to linger. Her men were already preparing the ship to embark; they insisted on doing all the work themselves, because her father would have wanted it that way. As for Tetra herself, she could never resist the temptation to do a bit of exploring, and so she had ventured further inland.

Her heart was beginning to pound in her chest, like a warning, as she journeyed deeper into the wild and began to fear, somewhere deep down, that she might encounter one of the cannibalistic people…

She would have screamed when an arm wrapped firmly around her waist as someone grabbed her from behind, but another hand was clasped too tightly over her mouth. A voice was whispering harshly in her ear, so close that she could feel the rough stubble against her skin, 'You'll make a good sacrifice.'

It took her several seconds of terror to recognize that voice, and when she did, she was so irritated at his gall that she bit his hand.

Her old friend yelped and released her, upon which she turned around with her hands on her hips and demanded in a furious hiss, 'Are you trying to get yourself killed? I was about to take your head off!'

He snorted and rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, you were a serious threat.'

'Not funny.'

Nothing, however, could prevent him from smiling, nor her from returning the expression. There was a moment of silence between them, until he spoke.

'I just landed here, actually, and I was heading off to look around when one of your guys asked me to let you know if I found you… You're all ready to go.'

'Oh.' She found she was disappointed. 'Well, then… Bye.'

'See ya.'

---

Nearly two months later, they both landed on a fairly well developed island at about the same time, and after a joyful reunion, Tetra proclaimed that they weren't leaving until she said they were. This time, she would get to see him for more than ten minutes. And she did—They spent just about every minute together, catching up on old times and making new ones.

But it was only two days before he told her as they sat on the beach, 'I have to go.'

Stunned by his bluntness, she looked at him, and though he was still staring into the sun, she saw that he was serious. 'Why?'

He shrugged. 'I have a family. A world. What was the point in saving it if I never get to see it?'

It was true; he had roots, which she didn't.

'You'll miss the adventure,' she warned him. The sullen note in her own voice made her feel oddly guilty.

'Probably,' he agreed, 'and when I do, I'll head off.' He broke off his gaze to look at her. 'I'm sure we'll see each other again.'

Tetra nodded mutely, and still couldn't find her voice when he rose and brushed the sand off of himself. He still wore his hero's clothes all the time.

'Bye.'