Chapter 10: Threat and Safety
Sick and twisted. That was a perfect description of the smile that had inconveniently (for anyone who was misfortunate enough to see it) taken shelter on the face of Ganondorf the evil pirate fiend. Usually smiles contained the pretense of happiness or any other such positive emotion. His smile was only present because he was writhing in malevolent anticipation. His smile was the outcome of his hope in the dubious deeds he was plotting as the coast of Windfall became a small speck on the horizon. He was about to have it at long last. He felt it. The Triforce was his at long last!
Elsewhere, Tetra's crew looked on at the same coast in the horizon. The Amara II had definitely owned up to its reputation as the fastest ship on the Great Sea. Nabooru just hoped that it was enough. Dark, foreboding clouds had begun to form in the once cool firmament, a sign that danger was afoot.
A leaking pipe dripped somewhere nearby, and the water or whatever liquid leaking through fell incessantly against the cold steel floor, and the noise of it against the steel stirred Tetra from her slumber. She moaned a little and rubbed the back of her neck. The skin was tender and the gentle touch inflicted an undescribable amount of pain. She flinched and laid her hand in her lap. Trying to grasp the whereabouts of her surroundings, she saw that it was a cool and damp cell, probably in the dungeons of the castle. Now the only question was how had she managed to get there? The last thing she remembered was Link… and Aryll. She moaned slightly. Aryll… The poor girl. She had it all wrong! Tetra didn't mean anything by the kiss. It was nothing. She touched her lips. Surely there was nothing to the kiss. It was as hallow as the cell she now resided. Never mind that it was the kiss she'd dreamed of ever since her childhood. The one from the High Knight… the Hero… her arch nemesis. So, he was her foe but… he wasn't all bad. He was actually very romantic… And thanks to him, she now had courage to confront her past. A small smile creased in her lips unconsciously. She was only grateful to him really… So it was a thank you kiss. That was all… right?
Though Tetra was still denying her feelings for a dreadful pirate hunter, she was correct about Aryll, though not so much so in the way that she thought. Oh no. Aryll was indeed wrong but only just because she had wrongly interpreted her feelings of affection for feelings of infatuation. Truly, she loved Link, but only as a sister loves a brother. She sat now in her sanctuary, the dusty old library of the castle lamenting her confused feelings. Her sorrowful tears fell onto the pages of the old text that was opened in her lap. It was the same book that had revealed to her the secret of the two blood lines, but that was all. The young woman couldn't divulge anymore secret knowledge from the forgotten language printed on the page, nor did she care to. She was just comforted from the fact that she had gotten closer to the Triforce's whereabouts and Tetra didn't know anything about it. If Tetra believed that she could steal the only one person that had given Aryll any kind of happiness without suffering, she was about to have a rude awakening. The maiden in gold wiped her eyes and scrutinized the small print in the book with a malevolent smile evident on her sweet face (a paradox unfitting of our distraught heroine if I do say so myself). It was decided, out of smite, pain, and vengeance, but decided nonetheless that she was going to find the Triforce, the one thing that gave Tetra any kind of happiness, and take it for herself. An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, the old saying proved to hold extreme significance to her in that one moment. The little pirate was so lost in her pain that she hadn't even noticed the commotion going on outside. If she had looked, she would have seen that Zelda's quests were leaving abruptly and disappointedly. The king ordered Zelda off to bed early and had his men escort Link to the dungeons along with Tetra. The guards kept watch, making sure no soul left or entered the castle that night.
Link was awakened from his induced slumber with a painful blow to his face. Grumbling, he rubbed his offended cheek and focused his blurry vision until he could make out the snide ruler of New Hyrule standing before him. The king frowned a little and punched Link again, this time knocking the wind out of him with a powerful blow to the abdomen. Link doubled over and coughed.
"How dare you? You're already being unfaithful and you haven't even been blessed with my daughter's hand yet!" the king snapped, "How unbecoming of you Link, to go sneaking around with some other maiden on the eve of your wedding day! After all I've done for you! Ungrateful whelp!" The king made to strike Link again, but the boy grabbed his wrist and glared at him coldly, his killer intent evident in his lightless gaze. The king didn't falter but instead pulled himself out of Link's grasp and used the other hand to punch him meaningfully in the jaw. Link's head turned with the force of the blow and he growled.
"Have you nothing to say for yourself? Such as explaining to me the corrupt thinking that led you to commit such a lewd act?" Link didn't answer. For one, he felt he didn't owe the man before him an explanation of why he did it and secondly he honestly didn't know why he did it. Sure, Tetra was gorgeous and he was attracted to her… but lust didn't really seem to explain his actions correctly. It was much deeper. She was an enemy, but then she was a friend because she understood him. She understood him better then he did, or so he felt. And her goals seemed to coincide with his. They lived for the same thing. Revenge. To see Ganondorf die… The king's patience wore thin from Link's silence and he began to pace the room angrily.
"Well, if you aren't going to tell me why you kissed her, at least tell me… tell me who she is to have cast her seductive spell upon you so easily." Link's lips were sealed shut. The king frowned and he stomped his foot childishly.
"Stop being so difficult! I'll have you know, that I already know who she is… No, not the duchess Arett from Lybranna but the mischievous pirate Tetra…" Link's stomach flopped dangerously.
"I bet you're wondering how I know about such a thing, and the answer is quite simple. I didn't trust her the moment she landed on the island. Few come in contact with Tetra and come out safely. I decided to hire a few private eyes to investigate my suspicion, namely I had them look into Arett's existence. Sure enough, they came to me just yesterday and confirmed my apprehensions. No such duchess exists. And neither does her sister, Llyra. And I also noticed that if you switch the letters around in Arett's name it spells Tetra. Of course, you already know all this though don't you? Why else would you have her watched so closely? What I don't understand is why you let her roam about, knowing what a threat she is!" The king shouted. Link closed his eyes. Tetra…
"…She's not as dangerous as you are! You've damned us all with your secret alliance to Ganondorf!" The captive retorted. The king laughed full belly chuckles that sent chills down Link's spine.
"Really? Well, then. You obviously don't know as much as you let on little hero… You see, Ganondorf is only coming on account of the girl. He wants her! Or rather, what she possesses…" Link's eyes widened and he looked at the king in disbelief.
"The… treasure?" He asked. The aristocrat nodded dubiously and a sick grin filled his face.
"Yes Link… The Triforce! I never would have guessed she was the one to possess it, but now that you both confirmed it tonight, it all fits into place perfectly… The missing piece to the puzzle, gone for ten whole years, finally returned… I will finally get it!" The king laughed maniacally and Link just watched trying to make sense of the new information. Tetra was the bearer of the Triforce? Ganondorf wanted Tetra? Ganondorf wanted Tetra! Link's anger blazed and he stood from his crouched position on the chair he'd been sitting in.
"I won't let him harm her! I don't care what good the Triforce is to him or us all!" The king's laughter died to low chuckles until his smile was changed into a stoic expression and he no longer laughed.
"Link, m'boy, are you that naïve? Honestly, do you know nothing of the Triforce's history? Surely, even if you were to protect her, who'd be there to protect you?"
"What… do you mean?"
"Link. Why else did Ganondorf send Outset Island to hell and leave none alive? All but you died. Why, that's what you used to ask me after I had taken you in. The answer is Link, that you too share the same fate as Tetra for you too possess a piece of the Triforce…" Link's jaw dropped and he slumped back into his chair.
"Wh..what?"
"I admit. I feel rather dirty for being in cahoots with a fiend such as he, but how else was I to get you alone Link? As a descendant of the High Knight, you were chosen at birth to continue the age old duty of keeping the Triforce at peace by keeping it out of reach and separate from the other two pieces. And if you had died it would just move onto the next member of your family, such as your little sister. I wanted you to be the sole heir to the Triforce… less of a hassle for me." Link's cold eyes traveled slowly from staring at the steel flooring to meet the taunting eyes of New Hyrule's king. His fist trembled on its own and his teeth clenched threateningly.
"You mean to tell me…"
"Yes. I told Ganondorf to destroy Outset and kill everyone but you. Because… you alone hold the key to returning prosperity to a damned land…" Link's eyes watered and he looked at his fist. The anger was pulsing through his veins like it was apart of his blood, his soul. His heart pumped erratically with its newfound strength in the blind rage that would soon overcome the boy against his will.
"You… after all these years… you… proved to be my greatest enemy… luring me into false security… having me blame pirates for my pain…"
"Yes, yes. I don't deny it any longer. But believe me, I never meant to lure you into a false sense of security all these years. I meant to kill you and extract the Triforce years ago, with my sister dead and out of power, leaving me to the treasure that for so long had been out of my grasps…," Daphnes stated as he slowly stalked around the cool cell as though bored, "But Tetra… Tetra got away… She's not at all whom she seems Link… You see, my sister, Amara, was the previous ruler of New Hyrule. The one who was blessed by the goddesses as protector of the Triforce of Wisdom. I would have killed her myself so that the piece would simply transfer over to me but… not without risking my own life. So, she married and had a daughter… I foolishly believed that she still possessed the piece never once thinking that Tetra had it… Well, of course, Tetra wasn't exactly Tetra back then. That was the nickname Amara had bestowed upon her. Her real name is… Princess Zelda Hyrule XVI." Link's mouth dropped once more.
"What??? Then who have I been engaged to this whole time???"
"Oh, my daughter Marin. I couldn't let the people know that their dear heir to the throne had disappeared one day out of the blue, after all, the people weren't enthusiastic about my temporary leadership then either. So I had Marin pronounced missing, and my daughter simply took Tetra's name while I took my sister's throne. But back to my tale of woe… my mistake was in disregarding the little brat and so when I had arranged the raid of Windfall with Ganondorf, I had him kill the wrong person!! Grah!! How infuriating!! And then Tetra had to go and disappear for ten whole years… Can you believe it? All this time, the pirate fiend has been the true heir to Hyrule's throne and protector of the Triforce! It's almost laughable if it wasn't so pathetic! Don't you agree?" Link's anger had reached its boiling point and filled him to the edges of his soul. He looked at Daphnes with the eyes of a tiger ready for the kill. He stood slowly and Daphnes was oblivious to his gradually approaching figure with his idiotic laughter. He hadn't realized it until it was too late. Link leaped on him and started his deadly onslaught, socking the king repeatedly in the face with deadly force, drawing blood. The king called for the guards and when they arrived they saw the king's battered body crumpled in a pained heap on the floor. They looked around for the perpetrator but were met with silence and the slamming of the cell door. They ran to the bars and proceeded to try and open it but the rusted metal refused to budge.
Link ran through the winding corridors looking for any sign of Tetra, as well as paying close attention to the guards in order to avoid them. His head was buzzing with all the newly revealed information and his body was victim to fatigue. He was still weakened by the substance within the dart. Hiding behind a wall and waiting for some rushing guards to pass by, he prayed that he made it in time to get Tetra safely off the island.
Aryll finally exited the library and was nearly trampled by a group of herding knights and guards. She watched them disappear down the corridor and huffed angrily.
"You're excused!" She called after them. She turned around and collided with someone.
"Ow!"
"Oh, Miss Llyra! There you are!" The girl blinked confusedly at the woman before her and noticed the distraught look on her face.
"Impa? What is it? What's the matter?" She asked concernedly.
"Oh it's just horrible! The king's really lost it now! He's had Link and Miss Arett locked up in the dungeons!!" Despite being thoroughly pissed with the both of them, Aryll couldn't help but gasp in shock.
"Why? Are they alright??"
"Well, they found the king mauled in Link's cell, and now Link is nowhere to be found. Oh it's so awful! We were all having a good time too…" Impa's voice trembled and tears cascaded down her cheeks in rivers of genuine sorrow. Aryll brought her into a comforting embrace and guided her back into the library. She sat the distressed female down and rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Don't worry Impa… everything will be alright. It must all be a misunderstanding…," the girl offered. Impa nodded and accepted the handkerchief that Aryll offered, gently blowing her nose.
"I sure hope so dear… The skies have been ominous as of late… nothing good to come of it," Impa said slowly. Aryll only smiled meekly and prayed that her superstitions weren't correct. She and Tetra had to leave now!
"Oh… what's this?" Aryll looked at Impa and saw her pick up the old text that Aryll had been futilely trying to interpret. A smile creased in the woman's rosy lips and she stroked the cover lovingly.
"The Royal Family's History Book. Oh my, I haven't seen it forever… not since Queen Amara's death…" Aryll gave her a confused look. Amara?
"Amara?" She repeated. The sheikah nodded.
"Yes. She was the previous ruler of New Hyrule. She died in the raid of Windfall a little over a decade ago…" That was the name of Tetra's mother… and her mother was also deceased.
"Did she have a daughter?" Aryll asked.
"Yes… unfortunately, it is not the girl you know as Zelda. Her daughter disappeared a little while after her mother's death. I think it was too much for that young dear… I'll never forget her though. Such a beautiful girl. Ya know, sometimes I look at Arett and I see an uncanny resemblance to the princess… Possibly the result of wishful thinking, eh dear?" Aryll nodded grimly. It was no coincidence. Tetra was… a princess.
"Are you interested in the history of the Royal Family Llyra? I'm sure this book has proven to be of little assistance to you. Only ones alive that can read this text have long since passed. Amara was the last… I do happen to know a little of the ancient tongue though," Impa said simply.
"… Do you know where the Triforce is?" Aryll asked bluntly. She knew that was strictly confidential information, and as a servant to the Royal Family, Impa was even possibly out of the loop. The nursemaid looked at her for a moment before flipping the book open.
"Oh. I'd forgotten that Amara had translated a few portions of the book… no wonder…"
"So. Do you know?"
"Well… it's an interesting tale really…According to this book the whereabouts of the Triforce lie in the bearers of the pieces, those with either the Royal Family blood or the blood of the High Knights. And… the map that reveals the location of the end of the world…"
"Who's the descendent of the High Knight?"
"Why… Link is dear. And it wasn't just him. He had a little sister once… Oh… her name escapes me at times… oh! Aryll! But she died in the raid of Outset… so it is only him now…" Aryll's mouth dropped. And now, she knew exactly why his face was familiar. Why she felt safe in his arms. Why she loved him.
"Oh my gosh…"
"Llyra? Honey?"
Tetra mumbled a little in her sleep. The cuff around her wrist dug mercilessly into her flesh and the cool damp air begun to affect her negatively, taking its toll on her worn body. Sleep had been her only haven and now it was disturbed with tantalizing nightmares…
She was in a low cut silver gown that flowed like a mystic river on the marble flooring. The sleeves were puffy at the shoulders, but then held tightly onto the contours of her arms. Her hair trailed down her back in long golden tresses and a diamond tiara sat on the top of her head. The diamond earrings weighed heavily on her ear lobes and the diamond necklace she wore glittered like the stars at night and caused her plain triangle necklace to stand out. She opened her eyes to the dream and was overcome with fascination. The ball room. It had been restored to its glory. She looked up at the giant chandelier that hung like a divine ornament made for the goddesses themselves and a feeling of nostalgia overcame her.
A memory… that was forgotten…
Tetra jumped
"Who… said that?" She received no answer. Cautiously, Tetra walked over to the large window that overlooked the sea and night sky. Her dress trailed after her, and her jewelry dangled as she walked.
A melody… A song… and dancing… here…
She turned around in a rustle of fabric. There was no one. She breathed uneasily and then she gathered her skirts. As she made her way to the exit, a soft tune filled the air. She stopped abruptly. There was no band and yet there was music… The melody overcame her, filling her with its softness.
Dance…
Tetra seemed to be in a trance when she turned and saw a man standing in the middle of the room. He was clad in black velvet with a cape draping eerily down his back. His crooked smile was familiar, but Tetra couldn't remember. The man smiled and bowed with gentlemanly courtesy. Tetra took her dress and curtsied. They walked closer to each other. The music seemingly drawing them together. Once they found one another, the man took one of Tetra's delicate hands in his own and placed his other strong, masculine one on her waist. She placed her other hand on his shoulder and slowly they swayed to the beat of the music before they danced the length of the large room, twirling in rhythmic synchronization with the melody's sickening influence.
"You're very good on your feet…," the man remarked as he spun her. Tetra gracefully recovered and then she took his hand again and they continued dancing across the floor.
"…I never knew…" she told. He smiled.
"…I suppose then… that you didn't know…"
"What?" The music picked up tempo. The man took Tetra and spun her again while he pulled away from her, causing her to spin outward before he pulled her back towards himself and carefully ducked her with one arm. With his other hand he slowly caressed her neck down to her collar bone and touched her triangle necklace.
"That…," he said slowly, "I want the power you possess… and to do that… I need your life." He grabbed her throat causing Tetra's eyes to widen in shock and for the first time, she saw him without the drowsiness of a dream. Ganondorf.
"Princess… Zelda Hyrule… now your life as well as the Triforce belong to me!" Tetra gasped. She tried to pry his hand from her throat but was unsuccessful.
"I… don't… even… know… where the Triforce… is!" She gasped. He smiled ferociously and tightened his grip.
"Of course you must! You must remember that night… it was just like this… right here… where she died too…," he said, "You must know… that it was because of her powers… that she died… The powers you now possess!" Tetra's eyes fluttered closed as the last of her oxygen left her body, causing her eye lids to droop with the heaviness of sleep. The music and ballroom were beginning to fade…
"Tetra? Tetra??" The girl awoke slowly and was met with Link's cerulean eyes. He cupped her cheek and she relished his warm touch.
"Oh Link… I…"
"You were having a nightmare."
"Everything here is a nightmare for me…," she said slowly. Link's expression was saddened a smidgeon at the news and he rubbed her cheek with his thumb as a means of comfort.
"I suppose so… it's not everyday that one returns to face the ghosts of his or her past… Tetra…" She searched his face meaningfully.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… I know who you are… Really." The pirate's heart thumped painfully against her chest and she looked away from him. He continued to stroke her cheek affectionately and said, "It's alright Tetra. There's no shame in it. I myself have faced the skeletons in my closet. Daphnes… he and Ganondorf…" Tetra faced him again when she heard the raw pain in his tone. His eyes watered once again but he refused to cry.
"He didn't…"
"He had this set up from the start Tetra. Your mother… my family… It was all part of his plan to get the Triforce!"
"But… Link! What does ruining our lives have to do with the Triforce?" Link seemed hesitant to answer. They sat staring at each other and then a loud ruckus could be heard not too far from where they were. Link grumbled incoherent obscenities and proceeded to break the cuff that bonded Tetra's wrist with a crowbar he'd found during his escape.
"Link! Answer my question!"
"No time! I have to get you out of here before Ganondorf comes!" Link retorted. The cuff snapped and clanked to the floor in a loud ringing of heavy metal. Link pulled Tetra to her feet and hurriedly pulled her along behind him as he hurried out of the cell and maneuvered through the tricky passage ways of the dungeon. Tetra allowed herself to be dragged mercilessly along as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening.
A/N: YAY! An update! Woot! Hope you all enjoyed! Ain't I so bad? The plot has at last been brought to light! What will happen now? MWAHAHAHA! Only I know and you will have to wait and see! Thanks for reading now please review!
