How to be a King

Cats

"I'll be off on a walk," Link told the soldiers. "Kogam and Ralph are in charge."

He headed down through the canyon. Suddenly, he heard a mew. A small calico cat was sitting in the middle of the road.

"Mew?" the cat meowed.

"Awww!" Link said happily.

He raced over to pick it up. It ran off. Link dashed after the cat.

Wait, Link thought. I'm getting distracted. At the same time, his mind was screaming, GET THE CAT! GET THE CAT! GET! THE! CAAAAAAAAAAT!

The 'GET THE CAT' part of his mind won, and he kept running after the cat.

*****

"Hello sir," Annika said. The sailor didn't look up.

"I SAID HELLO SIR!" Annika raised her voice.

The man looked up finally.

"Don't raise yer voice," he huffed. "I's rude, y'know."

"You weren't paying attention," Annika pointed out.

"Good poin'" the sailor chuckled. "I din' pay attention. Why are yeh here?"

"I need to travel by ship to the Hyrule Castle docks," Annika said.

"Why?" the sailor asked.

He looked surprised.

"I must see the King and Queen," she said.

"King Link and Queen Zelda aren't home at the moment," the sailor said. "But I'll take you anyway."

Annika thanked the sailor, and she climbed on his ship.

*****

"We've got to follow the girl's trail," the Lidoran slaver said gruffly. "It goes to a village."

"You're right Zotik," their leader said. "Promotion to captain."

Duron saw Zotik's face lift slightly, then fall as he noticed Duron looking at him.

"Zotik," Duron's wife, Aphe, scolded. "You shouldn't make such claims."

"I'm not making a claim," Zotik pointed out. "I'm stating the facts. There's footprints."

"So there is," Duron said, flashing a look of triumph at Aphe.

Tuza, the smallest Lidoran, took the initiative and scouted ahead. Soon, he returned.

"The footprints Zotik found do, in fact, lead to the village," Tuza reported.

"Good," Duron smirked. "We'll find that princess, and make her work harder than any of the others."

*****

Still following the cat, Link ran on.

Cat cat cat cat cat cat cat CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT! Link's mind screamed.

Not realizing until it was too late, Link realized the cat had dashed out into the desert.

"Have an unusual weakness of cats, eh?" a Gerudo laughed. "Mellie did her job, I guess."

She picked up the cat. Link drew his sword.

"Get back," he growled.

The Gerudo kept the cat in her arms.

"I'm not here to attack," she informed him. "I just want peace."

"Who are you?" Link asked.

"Ameis," she replied.

Ameis seemed far gentler and kinder than most Gerudo.

"How do I know you aren't lying?" Link asked suspiciously.

"I promise on my honor of a Gerudo," she said, "that I am perfectly trustworthy. That is the greatest promise of all in my tribe."

She held up a hand and crossed her index finger and thumb, then uncrossed them.

"Unless, of course she is crossing her index finger and thumb," Ameis said. "Which I was not."

Link had an uplifting feeling that Ameis was a Gerudo he could trust.