"By Your Side"

It wasn't like Tetra had chosen to be Princess Zelda.

She didn't know the first thing about this kingdom under the sea. She barely knew the legends of the Hero of Time, much less the princess he'd saved and her own lineage. It wasn't like she'd signed up for this!

But she'd been locked under the sea, then kidnapped, all because she was 'actually' the Princess Zelda.

Well, what if she didn't want to be Princess Zelda?

Maybe she wanted to be Tetra, the fiercest pirate on the sea. Maybe she wanted to go on with her life, leading her crew and exploring the seas. Maybe she wanted to be free to be herself.

But did that King of Red Lions care about that? Of course not.

He just wanted to save this kingdom that had already been drowned under the sea. Well, maybe it had been drowned for a reason! Maybe Hylians had been meant to live on these oceans. Maybe they didn't want to go back into the valleys under the sea. Maybe they were happy with their lives! Maybe they liked the smell of the sea, and the freedom the ocean provided, just like she did!

But for all the agitation Tetra felt at her life being ripped away from her—

For all the times she'd wondered what would become of her, down there below the waves—

For all the times she'd cursed that king for ever bringing her to this strange ancient kingdom—

That boy had gone through so much more than she had.

Though she'd certainly had her life turned upside down—without her choice at all, mind—Link had his turned upside down, inside out, and sideways. Sure, he'd had more choice in the matter. He'd chosen to go and save his sister, he'd chosen to continue on saving the world after he'd rescued her, and he'd chosen to go and save Tetra once she was kidnapped by Ganondorf.

But he'd faced things so much more dangerous than Tetra had—and despite his age, despite his inexperience, and despite his tiny size, he'd won every time.

She wasn't privy to every detail, of course. But word traveled fast across the ocean. She knew that he'd saved Dragon Roost Island from the monster plaguing Valoo. She knew he'd battled off against a monster in the Forbidden Woods. He'd been the one to raise that gigantic tower in the middle of the ocean, too—and she could only imagine what trials had awaited him inside.

Tetra could only guess what else he'd gotten up to after that.

But he was still here—and he was still fighting.

Even after he'd fought Ganondorf once today, even after having the Master Sword knocked from his hands, even after he'd been beaten around like a ragdoll, he was still fighting.

The world was ending around them, water raining down in a torrential downpour, but Link was still alive, and breathing, and Tetra knew instinctively that as long as he had a pulse, he'd get back up to fight. And Tetra knew just as instinctively that as long as there was breath in her body, she would help him.

Link had made her reconsider everything she'd ever known.

Before Link, she had been perfectly happy getting on with her life. She had her crew, and her ship, and the smell of the ocean air. Sure, she had that strange necklace her mother had given her, and those legends her mother had told her. Sure, there were strange things starting to happen on the seas. But her life was simple and straightforward. She was just a pirate, living her life the way she always had.

And then Aryll was kidnapped, and Link turned Tetra's world upside down.

Suddenly, Tetra had more roles to fill than she knew what to do with. She couldn't just be a pirate anymore. Suddenly there was a world under the sea that she was supposedly the princess of. Suddenly she was the heir to a legacy she didn't know what to do with. Suddenly she had to be a damsel in distress and take a backseat to her own destiny, letting some island boy save her and the rest of the ocean while she was left below the sea.

Suddenly, she was just a girl filling shoes too big for her. She prayed that Link had an easier time filling his than she had filling hers.

But fate didn't care that Tetra was just a pirate, just a princess, just a girl—because it didn't care that Link was just an islander and a hero and a boy. They had so many roles to fill, and it didn't matter how young they were, or what they preferred to do. They had jobs now. And if they failed, the consequences would be tremendous.

Link had risen to the occasion.

It was time that Tetra had done the same.

So as Tetra woke from her enchanted sleep, she knew what she had to do.

She knew that whether she was Princess Zelda, or Tetra the Pirate, or just a girl filling shoes far too big for her, she was going to fight by Link's side till the bitter end.

Though only a truly pure, wholly courageous heart could wield the Master Sword, Tetra didn't hesitate as she reached for it. If they were going to succeed—if Link was ever to finish this battle against Ganondorf—then he would need it.

She lifted it with ease.

"Link, I'm sorry," she said, walking to Link's side, watching as he pulled himself up off the ground. "I overslept."

And the look he gave her was enough to cement her decision. She couldn't abandon this boy. She wouldn't. They were a team now, both playing characters larger than life from an age long past, buried in ancient history and this world below the sea.

So it didn't matter that the rain was pouring down around them. It didn't matter that they were alone here, and they would either live or die here below the sea. It didn't matter that Ganondorf struck her when she fired Light Arrows at him. It didn't matter.

All that mattered was that every time Ganondorf landed a hit on Link, Tetra felt a fire burning in her belly. All that mattered was that there was no way, by land or by sea, or by the gods in the heavens, that Tetra would let Ganondorf go unpunished for it.

And as this months-long journey finally came to an end with the Master Sword in Ganondorf's temple, Tetra felt a grim satisfaction.

It wasn't like Tetra had chosen to be Princess Zelda.

But no matter who she was, she knew her true role. And that was to support Link, whether it was during the battle, or the lifetime they would have together now that it was finished.

So when Link wavered, when he clutched his side and started to fall to the rain-soaked ground, Tetra ran. He wouldn't fall, not now, and not ever—not as long as she was there to hold him up.

Whether they were hero and princess, or islander and pirate, or just two kids trying to find a place in this brave new world, she knew what her role was.

Now, and forever, Tetra belonged by his side.