TETRA STEPPED out of the King of Red Lions onto stone that, in the past thousand years, had only felt Link's boots upon it.

She gawked at the beauty of Hyrule, and Link did as well. Now that it was no longer a grey, timeless world, color illuminated it, made it become more real somehow.

"It... this... this is really here...," Tetra said.

Link nodded, smiling slightly.

It was nice, seeing Tetra acting a bit more relaxed. She had complained about the quality of his vessel compared to her own, and she'd complained about being left behind.

But she had also seemed to display more varied emotions. At times, she'd even been a bit pleasant to be around.

Link led her through the gardens, overlooking a now flowing river below them. It was very impressive. The river at the Forest Haven was but a twig to this trunk of a river. It looked big enough that a boat could've traveled down it.

He walked briskly towards the castle, but paused when he saw Tetra hanging back.

She was stooped down next to one of the patches of flowers, feeling a lavender petal in her hand. That look in her eyes... she was genuinely moved.

The gardens were beautiful. There were wildflowers on Outset, and he saw some cultivated flower beds on Windfall, but nothing like these grand designs.

Something about this... seeing Tetra this way... she ceased to be just a common pirate. She appeared less rough to him. She was more than just the persona she put on.

Tetra saw that he'd been looking at her, and expected a sharp quip. Instead, she stood up straight and acted aloof.

"It's all quite... impressive," she said.

"Yes," Link agreed, "it is."

He walked in step beside her as they entered the castle. She ran her fingers along the grain of the pristine white stone, tracing her fingers along reliefs chiseled into the blocks.

Then they entered the central hall. Tetra stopped, and stood with little movement for a while.

Color restored to it, the intricate tapestries were now on full display. The light from small windows in the ceiling now caused stones to sparkle. Even the shadows seemed to have beauty.

"It's real...," Tetra said. "Isn't it? There really was an ancient kingdom beneath the ocean."

Link gave her a confused look.

"I thought that was obvious," he said.

"Well," her face darkened, "some of us aren't so quick to believe everything we see."

"We sank beneath the ocean and you saw the entire land laid out beneath you."

"Yes," she said, "but... but now I'm seeing it up close. I can touch it. I can see the tiny details. As though... as though long forgotten voices are heard again."

There was something... very un-Tetra-like about those words. They were words that he himself had thought, in different phrasing.

Their lonely footsteps echoed through the hall, and Link stepped before the statue of the ancient hero, holding aloft the sword Link now held.

Link initially felt a pang of fear; the statue covered the way ahead. But when he came close, the stone grinded, and slid away in his presence.

Tetra blinked wide eyes.

"I'm not even sure what to say about this anymore," Tetra said.

"Trust me, I know the feeling."

Tetra hesitated before coming down the stairs after him. She seemed uneasy at the magical air Link seemed to have around him.

When they reached the foot of the stairway, Link started.

There was a large, hulking man standing in the room. His back was turned, facing the broken stained glasswork.

Ganondorf.

Link moved in front of Tetra and drew the master sword.

"Calm yourself, Link."

Link held his guard. That voice... it was familiar...

The man turned to face them. He was wearing bright red robes embroidered with gold, and had a thick white beard. A golden crown rested atop his head.

"Who... who are you?" Link asked cautiously.

"I am the one who has guided you for much of your journeying," the man replied. "I am the King of Red Lions."

Link slowly returned the master sword to its sheath.

"But...," Link began.

"You are rightly confused," the King of Red Lions said, "allow me to explain. Though that is my title, my proper name is King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule."

"You - you were the king of ancient hyrule...," Link said in shock.

"Yes," the King replied. "In the very age that the hero of time fought against Ganondorf."

"How in the name of Din are you still alive?" Tetra exclaimed.

The King ignored her coarseness.

"At the time the kingdom was buried," the King said, "I was too infirm to be able to escape with the rest of my people. After urging my daughter to leave me behind, I petitioned the goddesses that they would allow me to slumber until the time a new hero could be awakened."

The King looked thoughtfully around him, at the stained glass artworks that remained intact.

Link realized that those immortalized in the glass were people that the King had actually known. He had in fact met the sages. His own name was on the very first page of the Codex of Time.

"Did you know the hero of time?" Link asked.

The King turned back to face him.
Link regretted his question. It seemed that the King had more important things to talk about.

"No, Link," he said. "I was never able to see the hero with my own eyes. But... but I have seen you, and that is enough."

Link shoved away a thought of the King's confidence being ill-placed. He could feel Farore's comforting presence in him.

"If you're here," Link asked, confused, "then -"

"Ah," the King guessed his question, "when I awakened from my sleep, I projected control over a vessel from the ancient kingdom. It is in this form I have traveled with you."

The King sighed.

"However," the King admitted, "I do not believe I will be able to control the vessel for much longer. My mind must remain here, as doing this for you has strained myself, and I must preserve my strength."

Link stood quietly for a moment in the still air of the chamber.

"King of Red Lions," Link said, "I've failed again."

"I would hardly say that," the King said. "Your sister, and the other imprisoned girls are now safe. You bested Ganondorf's helmaroc, ceasing his means of capturing them as well."

"Yes," Link acknowledged, "but now Ganondorf is going to be enraged. And the master sword did little to harm him. He simply rehealed his wounds. And not only that, but -

"Link," the King said, raising his palm to quiet him, "you have overcome great tasks, ones that seemed impassable."

Link took a deep breath.
"What do I need to do?"

The King walked forward, and gestured his hand toward Link.
"May I see the blade?" He requested.

Link drew the sword, and handed it to him. The King examined it, feeling the metalwork with his hand. His fingers paused on the crossguard.

"It... has been a great deal of time since a hero has wielded this sword," the King said. He returned the blade to Link.

"Before the hero of time," the King said, "a hero would come at least once every few centuries. It has now been a millenia since the hero's day."

The King paced around the empty pedestal in the room's center.
"Something happened long ago," the King said. "Our kingdom was filled with joy and hope following the hero's victory. Then it was lost."

"Ganondorf," Tetra said.

"The Triforce," Link added.

"You are both correct," the King said. "The goddesses broke the triforce into pieces. Ganondorf already had the triforce of power. If he had obtained the others, he could have had anything he desired.

"So the godesses broke the triforce of wisdom and the triforce of courage apart, and hid the pieces about the land."

The King looked upward, with a forlorn look on his face.

"Ganondorf seethed with hate, filling with madness," he continued. "He scrounged the land for the pieces. He dug into the dunes of the deserts. Blasted apart mountainsides. He began to raze the forests to the ground until much of the land we'd renewed was more desolate than before.

"So the godesses began to flood the land, and Ganondorf and his minions were buried, with me, beneath the water."

"What does this have to do with him defeating Ganondorf?" Tetra asked impatiently, pointing to Link.

The King turned to face her.

"Ganondorf cannot be defeated unless the triforces are united against him once more. The blade of evil's bane must be purified."

"How do I do that?" Link asked.

"You have gone above the ocean," the King said, "and beneath it. You havs gone above in earth, now you must descend in earth."

"Please speak Hylian," Tetra said in a commanding tone.

"I am speaking Hylian," the King responded matter-of-factly. "You are the ones who are speaking something more impure."

"But how do I purify it?" Link asked, trying to get a word in before Tetra said something else rude.

"Such an act requires a sage," the King explained. "Perhaps even two. I discern that Ganondorf has ever so slowly attempted to destroy the master sword. Though the triforce of power alone cannot be used to completely end the blade, he has drained much of its power. It can only be restored in one of the ancient temples - as of now, only one is accessible - the temple of wind and earth."

"After that," Link said, "I need to find the pieces of the triforce."

"Yes," the King answered.

"How do I find them?"

"I believe a better question is how they will find you," the King replied. "The triforce of courage wants desperately to find you. It hungers for a conduit to release its power. It seeks to free its counterpart from Ganondorf's clutches. I have no doubt you will find its fragments."

"You said I need both the triforce of courage and the triforce of wisdom though," Link said. "How do I find the triforce of wisdom?"

A slight smile appeared on the King's face.

"You do not need to find it," the King explained, "it is here with us."

The King drew his hand into his robe, and brought out a single triangular shaped piece of gold.

It was as small as a rupee. Smaller even. This was the fabled triforce of wisdom? A treasure for which wars had been fought?

"This is the triforce of wisdom?" Link asked somewhat skeptically.

Without warning, Tetra slowly took the ancient treasure and held it in her hand.

The King made no reaction.

Link was about to say something, but paused. There was a look of deep concern in Tetra's eyes. The piece of gold sat in her palm. She stared at it, doing nothing.

"Um... are you alright?" Link asked.

"That is only one piece of the triforce of wisdom," the King said. "Tetra has the other piece."

The color drained slowly from Tetra's face, and she shivered. She continued to stare at the relic in her hand.

"Tetra?" Link said, walking closer to her.

"The triforce of wisdom desires its conduit," the King explained. "It would be unwise to keep it waiting."

Tetra slowly, timidly slipped her hand into her bandanna, and revealed a simple pendant. Her arm trembled as she dangled it in the air.

At the end of it there was an arrow shaped piece of gold. A triangle, with a triangle shaped empty space taken out of the bottom.

Link stared in a daze.
"Why... why do you have that?"

"M- my mother gave it to me," Tetra stammered.

"Tetra is to be the vessel for the triforce of wisdom," the King said to Link, "as you are to be the vessel for the triforce of courage."

Tetra's trepidation soon descended into grave dread. She finally looked up at them. She fearfully began backing away.

"No...," Tetra uttered, "I... I can't..."

"Tetra," the King urged, "you must claim this responsibility. The destiny of the great sea is dependant upon it."

"No!" Tetra exclaimed, her face becoming red with anger, "I'm a pirate! I have nothing to do with this! I just walked in here, and now I'm being keelhauled into -"

"I am not fooled by your lie," the King made clear. "You have been feeling the voice of Nayru speak in your heart for a long while now."

Tetra froze. Her breathing became ragged and heavy.

"I can't do this," she protested, clenching her teeth. "I..."

She saw that the King of Red Lions was not going to relent.

Tetra stared at the triforce fragments in her two hands. Squinting her eyes tight, she brought them together.

A flash burst in the room, and Link shielded his eyes. Tetra became a sillouhette of light, her features indiscernable. Loud rushing sounded in the room, like the waterfalls from the forest haven.

After a few moments, the light faded.

A pale-skinned girl stood in the room. Golden hair streamed down from her head, a jeweled white band cresting her forehead.

She wore a light pink dress, with an intricate pattern evoking the image of the triforce running down its white center.

The girl blinked, her eyelids decorated with a light touch of fine blue makeup.

"Tetra?" Link questioned in astonishment.

The girl held her hand in front of her, a silk glove covering it. A faint glow eminated from the back of her hand.
It was the image of the triforce, and one of the triangles shone brightly.

"Not Tetra Link," the King of Red Lions corrected. "She is Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

On both sides of the room, there were two grand mirrors reflecting into each other endlessly. The girl walked up to one. She stared dumbstruck at her appearance, then turned around.

Her eyes connected with Link's. Was that really her?

Gone was her sun-tanned skin. Her haphazard arrangenent of clothing. But depressingly, also gone was her permanent look of resilience.

"I... am... not... a... princess," she said.

"You are descended from the royal family of Hyrule," the King once again rebutted. "The blood of ancient Hylian royalty flows through your veins."

She turned around.

"Please...," Tetra pleaded, "there has to be someone else."

"You are the only one that I know of," the King said. "And the goddesses have chosen you."

"I'm not some doodied-up dainty princess!" Tetra yelled suddenly. "I knew I never, ever, should've helped this kid! He's caused me nothing but trouble!"

"You are troubled because you are complacent with who you are," the King noted.

Tetra angrily reached for her flintlock, but it was gone.

"Augh!" She shouted, "I don't have time for this nonsense!"

"But," the King remarked, "you have time to aimlessly, purposelessly drift about life like a forgotten bottle on the waves."

Tetra fumed, stuggling to think of a reply.

"And despite having longed years for a purpose," the King continued further, "you now reject that opportunity when it comes."

"Stop getting in my head old man!" she commanded.

Once again, the King of Red Lions was unrelenting in his expression.

It was a very odd scene to see a girl in such regal attire acting this way. But it also felt weird for a girl like Tetra to be in that kind of clothing.

Tetra's body tensed as she seethed with rage. Link was surprised as suddenly, she shone brightly again like before.

When the light dimmed, Tetra was her normal self once again.

Tetra's anger disippated somewhat. She wheezed uneasy ragged breaths, and looked back at her reflection in the mirror.

Link now saw that while she was her normal self again, she now looked less rough and dirtied. Her hair had a smoother sheen to it also.

"Even though you have rejected it for a moment," the King said, "you cannot hide what is within you."

"That is IT!" Tetra raged. "I'm done with all this! I'm getting out of here!"
She started for the stairs.

"Tetra!" Link called to her, "I... I need you. I need the triforce to defeat Ganondorf. I can't stop him without your help."

She glanced down at the back of her hand, and sure enough, the golden image still lightly shone there.

"Kid," she glared back at him, "I've gone back on what I've said too many times. I told you not to expect any help when you first barnacled onto our ship, and I've started to become more impartial cause' of you. You've taken advantage of me, and ruined me in the eyes of my crew. I. AM. DONE."

And with that, she ran up the stairs. Link glanced to the ancient King of Hyrule for support.

"Pursue her Link," he instructed. "You cannot, in any measure, succeed without her."

Link stared for a moment, at the man who had been his companion, and then ran after Tetra. She was still in the central hall, but when she heard him coming, she began to run more swiftly up the stairs to the second level, where the exit was.

"Tetra," Link attempted to speak to her again.

She didn't reply.

Link didn't stop running. He couldn't. Not only could he not succeed without her, Link had seen that Tetra was not the person he'd thought she was. He was not going to let her be a pirate.

As Tetra was about to walk down the hallway that led to the courtyard, she paused. Link walked slowly up beside her.

"The only way out," Link reminded, "is on my boat."

She met his gaze. Her clenched fists trembled. "Fine!" she snapped. "let's go. I want to be away from this as soon as possible."

She continued to walk, and Link hurried back up beside her.

"No," Link persisted, shaking his head, "I don't think you understand. I don't have time to be a passenger service. You're coming along with me where I plan on going."

Tetra was silent, and emotionless. Link had used her own words against her.

A metallic ring echoed through the hall.

"No," she threatened, pointing her cutlass towards him, "I am not."