A/N: Evening! It's been awhile. It's a slight AU. Yes, you'll understand why when you read it! Ha ha. ;D
000
At first, it had been little things, little changes that the others just didn't notice as they sailed north from Outset, but Tetra did. Link smiled less. He talked less. He even slept less…and worked more. Link, her lazy Hero of the Winds, was not the kind of boy to take a sudden liking to cleaning the deck or, even worse, washing the dirty, pirate underwear.
Something was wrong, but any time she tried to ask, he would just shoot her a smile over his shoulder and go back to work. This night, Link sat at a table in the café on Windfall, staring at his untouched soup, stirring the broth with a wooden spoon.
The others didn't notice. They were all too drunk or distracted to care. Senza flirted with Gillian. Zuko, Gonzo, and Niko were having a drinking contest; or Niko had been, he had already fallen unconscious. Even with all the clamor in the café, she heard him snoring from under the table where he lay. Nudge sat in the corner, knitting a new shirt; and Mako sat beside him, reading from a massive tome and sipping wine from a long fluted glass.
Tetra nudged Link's arm. He didn't even give her a side-glance. The pirate frowned, then pulled on his sleeve. That didn't catch his eyes, either. Time to do something dimwitted, the one thing she would never do if things weren't so desperate.
Tetra snatched his hat off his head.
His eyes, somehow, remained glued to his bowl.
"Hey, Windboy."
The kid stopped stirring his soup, Link sighed.
"Let's talk," she said. "Now."
At long last, Link stared at her. His eyes were empty, cold and lifeless. Dear gods. How had she not noticed before?
"No thanks," he answered.
He got up and left, leaving the pirates in befuddled silence.
Tetra stared as the door clicked close softly behind him. Flabbergasted by his behavior, she studied the hardwood door, tracing its grain and whorls with her eyes. What had she said to make him so angry with her?
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't," Nudge said. Tetra turned her head, cocking her eyebrow at Nudge. She glanced at the glass of wine resting on the bookshelf. He had barely touched it. "Go on, Miss Tetra, me and Mako can keep an eye on this lot."
"Don't worry, Miss," said Mako with a nod.
She looked back at the others. Zuko and Gonzo were now singing a broken ditty, voices out of tune. Niko had woken up, for a moment, and vomited on Link's empty stool. Senza had asked Gillian for a dance. She nodded then fled the café on quick feet.
Outside, a cool breeze greeted her, and the dirt roads had turned to muck. The recent rain made the island smell fresh, having washed away the garbage and grime into the sea. Quietly, Tetra made her way towards the docks where her ship laid at harbor, but unlike before, the small, red dinghy was not docked beside it.
A strong gust of wind brushed through her hair, as though it were awoken by some unseen magic. He wouldn't…, she thought, her heart falling, Daphnes…
Realization hit her like a fierce gale. Tetra sprinted down the beach, uncertain where her feet were leading her, only that she needed to get there in time.
If there's still time. For all she knew, he could've jumped in his boat and sailed off already. Link could've left them, left her. Left everything because...because she hadn't…
She entered the small cove under Windfall's green horn. There, Link stood, back to her. Already, he had hoisted the sail, but now, he hesitated, staring at the starlit horizon.
She read the question in his dark eyes as plainly as if he had spoken it aloud: do I really want to do this?
"No!" she shouted, though he did not seem to hear or notice her.
Tetra leaped, slamming her shoulder into his chest and tackling him into the foamy sea beside the red dinghy. A moment later, both came to surface, swallowing salt water and air.
"Why the hell did you do that?" he said between breathes. "You didn't have to toss me into the sea to…"
"Because you're an idiot." Which, of course, couldn't be more obvious. "What was I supposed to do? Let you sail off into the sunset and never see you again? We have a land to find!"
He didn't answer, instead, glancing down as the sea bobbed steadily up and down around them.
"You're not getting off that easily, Windboy." She grabbed his sleeve, and tried to drag him back to shore.
Link latched onto the boat. "Enough with that nickname, princess."
She let him go, both shocked and disturbed by her…title.
"Don't you ever call me that."
"It's who you are," he said, "it's who…"
"Of what kingdom?" There it was, salt on her tongue. "It's gone."
He nodded.
Yes, Daphnes had given them a future. Had hoped they might find some mystical, new land, perhaps. But in the present, it was hard to see so far ahead; only a week ago, they had fought Ganon under the waves and lost everything. The kingdom that should've been theirs, their destinies, and…and their king…
Gods. She was so stupid. So much for holding the Triforce of Wisdom. She couldn't even read this gullible fool.
Tetra rubbed her eyes. The air was awfully salty tonight. "And he died with it."
Link nodded again. Tetra took his hand and guided him back to shore. The empty, yellow eyes of the king watched them go. On the beach she sat, legs stretched out far enough that her feet touched the edge of the sea, her toes caressed by seafoam. Link sat too, but on an old, stone wall, his gaze transfixed on the starry sky.
For a time, they stayed like that, neither speaking.
"Do you hate me?" he asked.
That was a strange question, but Link could be a strange boy. "For what?"
"For running like that," he answered. "I really was thinking of just…"
"Not coming back?" Tetra shook her head. "I tried something like that too, ya know."
He shifted his gaze to her. It was still mostly empty, but she saw a flicker of curiosity in it…or hoped she did.
It might have just been moonlight, though.
"After my mom died."
Tetra could picture it in brazen detail, even now. Her mother, Dazel, scimitar in one hand, gun in the other, shooting down the rival pirates who had kidnapped her eight year-old daughter. Dazel had handed Tetra off to Nudge, and commanded him to cover her daughter's eyes.
It hadn't worked. Despite Nudge's attempts, Tetra had seen it all. Dazel was shot in the stomach before the last words left her throat, and in a mad dash, she charged their rivals, giving Nudge and her crew enough time to escape.
If they ever found her mother's body, the crew had never told her.
"I tried to run away," she said, "I took our life boat, and pushed off our ship, paddling as quickly as I could, but Nudge swam out and stopped me…"
Link sighed, then took off his hat. "He wasn't my father."
"Yeah."
He squeezed it, wringing a few droplets of water from the still-wet fabric. "He sucked at it. He put Hyrule before us, he always did. I didn't matter, Tet. And when he died, he just gave me even more duties. He didn't give a damn."
She said nothing. In the moonlight, Link's eyes glistened.
"Ever."
"Wait, if he didn't care, Link, then why would he wish for us to have a future?" she asked. "He should've put Hyrule first…"
He blinked back tears, staring at her in silence again.
"My mom was a hard woman. She was a pirate, so she had to be, I guess." Sitting up, Tetra folded her arms. "Sometimes, I thought, she was too hard, too insensitive, and never that good at showing affection, 'specially when I needed it."
"But she ended up dying because she…cared," she said, "Daphnes..."
"Didn't say goodbye." He bit his lips.
"Yes, he did," she said, cocking an eyebrow. Hadn't Link heard him? "Beneath the waves, right before he told us to find the new kingdom…"
"I didn't hear it." They meant each other's eyes. "Tet, you told me that he said to find it. But all I heard was water rushing in my ears, his kingdom flooding under the waves. I didn't hear what he told you."
She placed an arm around his shoulder once more, understanding suddenly why he was so distressed. It didn't matter how many times she told him that Daphnes had bid them farewell, just as it didn't really matter how many times the Nudge promised Dazel said she loved her.
If you don't hear it, it doesn't matter.
"I hoped, when we got back, that he'd be in the boat," now he spoke quickly, words running together, knocking into each other, "that he wasn't actually gone."
She squeezed his arm.
"But he hasn't," he bowed his head, tears falling onto his lap. "King isn't coming back."
Link wasn't running away, she thought as she held him closer, his head resting on her chest. He just wanted to find his friend.
000
"You are sure this is wise?" Fado asked, standing on the green cape which covered the sheltered cove, watching the two children on the beach. Besides him stood the spirit of the late king of Hyrule, Daphnes Nohansen, his back straight, his hands clasped behind it, his robes bellowing slightly in the wind. The Sage of Light had always said Daphnes liked creating melodramatic scenes, and Fado had to agree. Funny, he hadn't thought of the other Sages in sometime, for a moment, he wondered what had become of those who hadn't fallen to Ganon hands like he and Laruto…but he had other problems to deal with before he could search them out, such as his foolish king and his foolish children. "Leaving him without an anchor like this might be detrimental…"
"They have each other."
"Oh, of course," Fado said, looking up at his king. "It's romantic! Two kids, younger than thirteen, taking on the fate of the world together. Certainly your guidance would cause them to go astray, perhaps they would go a little off the goddesses' preordained path."
The king cocked an eyebrow, for a regal man of his age, it wasn't a fitting expression. It made his face look like a deformed Kargarok. That was, it was not one bit cute, unlike when a certain pirate princess used a very similar expression.
Bloodlines sucked, sometimes.
"The gods abandoned us," Fado said. It wasn't what the legends said, but it was far closer to the truth than either had admitted back then, when they, and others, fought to protect Hyrule from Ganon's wrath. "Now we hope they keep their part of a bargain, and worse, your wish was vague enough they can skirt along the edges of it. With our luck, they'll make those kids run into numerous disasters before they can even land on the beach of their new kingdom, and when they get there, it won't be the end of their trials and tribulations. Oh no! They'll have to defeat whatever evil lurks within as a final test of their wit and courage!"
Daphnes sighed, watching the pair as Ze—Tetra held Link close, the Hero of Winds resting his head against her. Neither child noticed the poes on watch above them.
"You're not going to listen to wisdom, are you?"
Silence greeted him, wonderful. Daphnes still liked heavy silences a bit too much, melodramatic pauses were just his cup of tea.
"If you don't, you'll regret that too," said Fado. "For all eternity, a poe drifting along the waves, wishing he hadn't been a damn fool."
At least that made Daphnes nod. Though his king probably had enough regret and pain that he would stick around as a ghost for a few more centuries. Probably enough time for old Hyrule to deflood, and that…
That would create its own host of new problems. Some boy clad in green would pull out the Master Sword, Ganon would return, and all hell would break loose again…but those were issues for another day.
At times, Fado really wished the gods had given the hero the Triforce of Wisdom instead, then, at least, they wouldn't have to deal with courageous stupidity. (1)
"The very least you could do," said Fado, "is apologize. Bid them farewell, my liege, as you wish you had done to those whom departed this domain long ago."
"It will not, I think, destroy whatever plans ye think the gods have set," Fado added after the king still did not reply; he closed his eyes, breathing in the salty air. He hadn't expected ghosts could still smell, but then, they could also see, hear, and feel things. Life—death was weird like that, it seemed. "Go, unburden some of which binds you still to this plain."
By the time he had finished, the king had gone, leaving him alone on the cliff over the sheltered cove. Fado smiled. Sometimes, his plans still worked after all.
I wish you luck, King Daphnes.
000
Froth tickling his toes, ocean spray spitting in his face, head resting on Tetra's shoulder; Link wasn't sure how long he had stayed like that, only that it must have been a while because his legs were stiff and his neck was starting to ache.
Link.
And, grudgingly he admitted as he slowly regained consciousness, he had cried himself to sleep. What kind of a hero did that?
Link?
What kind of a hero heard the voices of the dead?
Perhaps, a child who had seen too much, he thought, bitterly, still half-asleep.
Tetra, unfortunately, slammed her elbow into his stomach. That woke him up as intended.
Couldn't even let—
Link blinked, then stared at the figure in front of him, a small yelp escaping his throat. Well, somethings didn't change. Red robe, white beard, tan face, and piercing, blue eyes under a heavy brow. It was King. No, he was hallucinating. This couldn't be real.
Another blink, however, didn't make the hallucination fade into fairy dust. Dear goddesses…
"Link."
"You're…" he wasn't sure what to say, "fake, right?"
Tetra elbowed him again. Harder. He nearly lost his supper.
"Stop being daft," she said, shooting him a glare.
King chuckled. If it was just a hallucination, Link thought, whoever made it knows King just as well as I do. Got his character down pack and…
He was semi-transparent, floating above the waves, his kingly robes tussling in the wind. Finally, Link put it all together.
"You're a ghost."
"That is correct," said King, he looked down at his regal form then back at Link. He gave the child a curt nod. "I have done much that I regretted in this life, so I am yet bound to this world…"
"A poe," Tetra added, "the old-fashioned type, not just the things you find in haunted places when huntin' for treasure."
King nodded.
"I…thought you were dead," Link started, but his surprise was quickly melting into anger. He sat up straight, gripping the wet sand between his fingers. "Where were you? Why…why in Hell did it take you so long to come back? I thought you were…"
Dead. Sank. Buried. King was all those things. The air grew tenser with each word he spoke.
"Just leaving us to take care of your duties. Course, that's all you left us." He stood, glaring daggers at the king. His tongue continued to run wild as anger dragged him on: "you're a worthless king, a useless friend, and a lousy father!"
Link paused, blinking, realizing what he just said. What…?
Zelda slapped him.
The next thing he knew, he laid on the sand, one side of his face sinking into the silt. Tetra had hit him that hard, and his cheek still burn. His nose burned too, it was probably broken (again). Warm blood seeped from it, dripping down his face onto the beach.
I probably deserve that.
Both Tetra and King hovered over him. She had her hand on her hip, shaking her head. King placed a hand on his brow, it was cold, but somehow solid. Something white and ethereal glowed as the old man touched his nose.
Even as a ghost, King could still use magic. Link's nose healed, bone and marrow kneading together, skin closing as though Tetra hadn't hit him at all. All he was left with was a dull ache, perhaps he'd get a small bruise.
For a moment, Link wondered why King hadn't used it on his adventure, then he recalled that he'd spent most of his time as a boat. That probably had used up too much of his power for him to do other things with his magic.
"I…," Link started, as even the dull ache left and the last sign of white magic faded, "I shouldn't have said those things."
"Those accusations were correct," King admitted, there was a mixture of emotions in his dark gaze. Grief, worry, regret. "Do not apologize, child."
He stared up at King.
"But…" Link muttered.
"I was wrong." Link had a feeling that was something that King rarely told anyone.
Time passed, the first light of dawn peeking over the ocean, turning it red. Light didn't seem to effect the regal ghost all that much, however; that didn't surprise him.
"I don't want an apology," Link said, "And knowing you, you just wanted to say farewell, get it over with, then go on your merry way into the afterlife."
Tetra gave him a look.
"We don't want you as king, Daphnes," he said, and realized with a start, that it was the first time he had used that name for the old man. Link closed his eyes. "But…"
"We could use your advice," said Tetra.
"And your wisdom," Link added, nodding his head at her words.
"We've never done anything like this before," Tetra concluded, a smirk touching the edge of her face as she no doubt realized what he was trying to do. "A pirate and kid hero…we have no idea how to govern a kingdom. He barely knows how to lace up his boots!"
"Hey!"
"It's true."
Link rolled his eyes. He could lace up his boots just fine. That wasn't why the stupid things didn't have laces, grandma had made them that way! (2)
"Please, Daphnes," she said, "we'll need your help to set up that new kingdom."
Daphnes nodded, gaze focused on the sea as the sun rose. "When you come to the new land," the old man looked at hidden cove where Link had first awoken on the ship's desk, "look for the red ship."
Blown away by a sudden wind, the ghost was gone. Leaving both children to stare, blankly, at the spot where he had stood. They exchanged a glance, understanding passing between them. Tetra dashed towards the café to gather her pirates, Link ran to the hidden cove.
The cove was empty. The King of Red Lions had set sail anew, leaving before he even had a chance to reach it. Link smiled, catching a glimpse of a small, red dot as it sped towards the horizon.
"We'll see you soon," said Link, staring out at the horizon, Tetra took his hand.
"Thank you," they said, and as the sun rose on that morning, they rejoined Tetra's crew. By the gods, they had a ton of sailing to do.
And he still had to wash the pirate's dirty underwear.
000
(1) Then you run into the problem where the hero doesn't have the courage to run, head-first, into countless dangers! You'd get Lorule, Fado, you don't want Lorule, dear.
(2) An obvious lie, Link can't even tie his laces. What a sucky hero.