Zelda sat on the water's edge of the beach, staring into the sea with a studied expression. There was a small fish that had caught her attention, one that was almost on the sand with the pirates, managing to avoid the rip currents and the sifting sands of the ocean floor.
She had her chin on her knee as she watched. Sure, she was burning in the sun again, but this time, she wore a hat.
Revali had come up to her the day before, just a day after their conversation, and wordlessly handed her a wide-brimmed hat. It looked new, and never worn, and she'd stared at it curiously.
"Take it."
"Who's is it?"
"Yours now."
She did, but not without an abundance of hesitation. It was circular, and evidence of handmade care was obvious all around. But why?
"Did you kill someone for this?"
"Depends on your point of view. But you were burning up here, and we can't have our prized Miss Nohansen returning to her father with peeling sunburns, looking like we never took care of her. So just put it on."
He hadn't said anything after that, but Paya had, scoffing in disgust at it.
"It makes you look even more like one of these people. As if the clothes they got you into didn't do enough of that."
But the hat had helped relieve her eyes, if nothing else, from the harsh sunbeams. And unlike Paya, who was content to stay under a tarp the entire time, Zelda started wandering the beach.
Not far, of course. She'd been corralled back by Daruk once when she'd strayed too far, but she went far enough to see what the crew was doing.
The carpenters were making repairs, bringing planks of wood to and from The Epona. What they did exactly, she couldn't say, but she watched with intrigue as they labored.
If she could block out everything else around her, they looked much like the carpenters on Hyrule who built new buildings and labored from sun up to sun down to complete their work quickly.
Zelda sighed as she stared back down at the little fish in the water. "What do you think? Do you like my hat?" It didn't acknowledge her. "Well I do."
"So, you've finally gone mad here," Link said, sauntering up to her.
She looked up and made a face at him. Despite the hot weather, he wore his jacket for some reason that was beyond her. His hair was tied up and out of his face, but there was still sweat on his neck.
"It took longer than I thought," she muttered, turning back to the fish, listening to his soft chuckle as she did.
"Mipha and I are headed into town for supplies. Did you want to get off the beach?"
She perked up immediately, her spine straightening like a flower given water after drying up. As much as she didn't like this place, she had to admit that even she could succumb to boredom.
"Would Paya be allowed to come?"
Link hesitated. "She refuses to wear something less conspicuous."
Slinking back down, Zelda shook her head. "I'll stay with her then."
"Suit yourself."
He headed back, and she watched him wrap his arm comfortably around Mipha as they walked inland until they disappeared.
Zelda glanced at her little fish. "If you're still here in a few hours, I'm throwing you in deeper waters so you can swim away. I'd do that for you."
Goddess, maybe the heat was finally getting to her.
The sand was even warm against her shoes, radiating heat upwards and roasting her like she was on a spit.
Paya sat miserably with her head in her third book.
"What's happened now?" Zelda asked, eyeballing the page.
"She's just joined the Priestesses of the Goddess."
"And?"
Paya looked up at Zelda and playfully narrowed her eyes. "I won't know until I read it." But she closed the book, using her finger to mark the page. "I want to be home. I miss my routines, and my expectations." She paused, sighing wistfully before glaring out at the sea. "I want to have a life again, rather than sitting here while this lot lollygags about."
"Do you miss lacing up my bodice, Paya?" Zelda chuckled.
But Paya looked like she was struggling to smile, her voice too serious, her face too melancholy. "Yes. Yes, I do. I miss all of it. The simplicity. The safety."
Zelda's own grin fell. "I know what you mean. I would love to be able to talk to someone from our world, too. I miss that. Conversing with people. You're sent by the Goddess, Paya, but I do believe people need more than one person they can speak with daily."
Paya's eyebrow lifted, and her mouth set into a line. "You speak with the pirates far more than is good for you."
"There are few other options."
"Don't speak with them, please, Miss Zelda. They're trying to influence you with their horrible ways, and I hate to see how hard they push them on you."
Zelda pushed her hair back, her nails brushing the brim of her hat. "My dress was ruined and you know that. Besides, this is all they had, and it's cooler. The hat wasn't my decision."
Paya looked skeptical of the whole thing, but didn't say any more.
Zelda sighed, defeated. There was no way she was going to win this one, as Paya had made clear since the day she'd returned.
"Do you think my father will rejoice when we return, or will he just see my clothes, as you do? Will he think I've been corrupted?"
Well, in many ways, she had. Again, not something she wanted to share with Paya, but it was enough to make her hesitate. Perhaps her father would see though her and find this new person she'd started to become completely by accident.
She took off her hat.
"He'll be pleased to see you again, Miss Zelda. The clothes might be a shock, but he'll be overwrought with joy. It wasn't your decision to get kidnapped, after all. And your fiancée will likely feel the same."
"Our first view of each other, and he'll probably see me like this."
"If he goes ahead with the engagement after that, he's a keeper."
"Of course," Zelda muttered absently.
She didn't want to meet Rivan in these clothes, but she had little choice. The scandalous bare-shouldered dress she saw in the market was hardly a better substitute, and she hadn't seen anything else remotely appropriate. So, it seemed meeting him like this was all she could do to get their engagement settled. But something about it set Zelda's teeth on edge. That he might not accept her if he believed her reputation had lessened in any way. If the governor's daughter were even suspected of being a pirate sympathizer, well, the scandal would likely cost her father his position. And she'd be shamed for her role.
No, she couldn't face that level of failure. All she'd ever been taught to do was to uphold the family name, and to support his position in any possible way.
"'Scuse me, ladies," an unfamiliar voice asked as a man in his fifties or so appeared in front of them. Zelda's hand flew to her knife, though she looked to an outsider like she was simply shocked more than reaching for a weapon.
He looked them over with an unapologetic slowness that set Zelda on edge immediately, lingering on their clothing for far too long and then back up to their faces. "Pretty ones. Don't know why I ain't been with you yet. Where can I find you? Are you one of Telma's? Or maybe Jovani?"
"We're not associated with this crew," Paya said quickly, and with a huff. Her eyes dropped down to her book, but Zelda could tell she was acutely aware of everything.
Zelda narrowed her eyes at him, thinking hard as something clicked together in her brain. She grabbed her hat and used it to discretely shield her body from his prying eyes. "We do not work on this island, in any way."
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, as if Zelda's denial was a simple brush off of his proposition. "Pretty girls in a camp? You ain't crew, that's for sure." He looked between them again before momentarily relenting. "Well, don't mean to bother you from your hard work. D'you know where I can find Captain Urbosa?"
Zelda looked around, seeing Revali nearby polishing a gun in his lap. She pointed to him and raised her voice a bit so he'd hopefully hear her mention of him. "That man there with the purple hair can assist you. I suggest you ask him any questions you might have."
He grinned mischievously, and Zelda stepped protectively towards Paya, who was reading her book, entirely unaware of what this man thought of them. Goddess, Zelda wished she didn't know. Her… misadventure at the brothel had sunk in far more than she realized.
Revali stalked over, seeing the outsider with them. And the man glanced over his shoulder, and with exaggerated politeness, gave them a single nod goodbye.
"What's going on?"
"Thank you, ladies," the man said before turning to Revali. "I'm looking for Captain Urbosa…"
Revali glared at Paya and Zelda, as if they'd done something wrong, before leading the man away, loudly questioning him.
"Where do you think she is?" Zelda asked, suddenly aware that Urbosa was not on the beach.
"Perhaps she got bored and needed to kill something."
Zelda rolled her eyes and peered at every face she could.
But she didn't find Urbosa again until Link and Mipha returned later in the day.
Urbosa and Link were alone, engaged in a hushed conversation down the beach, a short way from where Zelda and Paya usually stayed. Link's hands were flying as he spoke, harsh, sharp movements met by Urbosa's angry expressions. Zelda watched them for a moment, wondering if it had anything to do with that man from earlier and what he wanted to find her for.
Perhaps it had been something from her father?
No, he'd never send a skeevy man as the messenger, but now, she had to know.
"I'll be back," she muttered to Paya, bounding to her feet before Paya could muster a protest.
She made her way across the camp, pretending to be interested in a seagull overhead. Few paid her any mind, because for the last two days, she'd done little else but wander around and get in the way.
For a moment, just a brief moment, Zelda could pretend that she was back home in a gorgeous ball gown, following the lords and ladies and hearing the gossip that they spread when they thought they were alone. Because no one thought anything of the young hostess who was soon to be married and sent away to another world to live in. No one believed she was listening. No one noticed her. And even when they knew she was there, no one believed she understood something so far above her head.
There was nothing written of the Goddess saying eavesdropping was a sin.
"—to ask Sidon again. You know the stakes, Link."
"I do. And I know my stakes as well. Miss Nohansen needs to get to her father immediately. I want her released."
"Right now, I don't give a damn what you want," Urbosa said, a little too loudly. She lowered her voice to a hush, though none of the anger dissipated with volume. "My child is more important to me. This letter proves that my time is almost up."
They were talking about her and Riju?
That didn't make sense. They had no connection, nor competition with each other. So she moved a little closer down the beach and turned, keeping herself behind a group who was standing together as they spoke. It was harder to hear Urbosa and Link, but she blended in better.
"I would never devalue Riju, Urbosa. But you're not uprooting our fucking plan. Not when we're so close. It was your idea in the first place."
"And I can change it."
"Tell that to the crew. Or better yet, I will. See if they want to lose their shares."
"Just do as I say, Link. Miss Nohansen might not be enough anyway."
Not enough? Zelda peeked around the group to see Link shaking his head. "I'm not fucking doing this again. I can't."
"She strike a nerve?"
Link seemed to hesitate, glancing at the ground for a long moment before speaking. "I mean it, Urbosa. If you change any of this plan, I will… I'll go there myself instead, if I have to. I'll find her."
"And where does that leave me? Without a plan. Besides, you'll be dead the second you make landfall."
Her? Certainly not her, as in Zelda? She didn't need to be found. Well, not by Link, anyway.
"You better find their fucking route before you make any plans, Urbosa. I swear on the fucking Goddess, ten years is enough, dammit!"
Link's words came back to her from his drunken rant on the beach: "Urbosa and I have been at this for a decade. We're both tired. You're our last real hope."
Zelda leaned forward, not breathing. Not making a sound.
"My daughter is worth every year I spend out here. Maybe you don't have the same devotion or loyalty to your family, but mine is everything to me. No harm will come to her. I won't let—"
"Wait!" Link hissed, cutting her off.
Zelda let out a breath and started walking away as inconspicuously as she could.
"Miss Nohansen?" Link asked, jogging up beside her. "You look a little lost. Anything I can help you find?"
Her eyes widened as she turned to him. It wasn't often someone actually noticed her. "Y-yes, actually. I was looking for…" she looked around. Mipha was where she always was, so that was useless. "…Mr. Revali."
"Revali? Why?"
"I—um, I mean, he purchased this hat for me. I wanted to express my thanks. Today really showed me how much I needed it. My eyes are no longer burning in the sun."
"I'd wondered where you got it. Odd time of day to thank him," he said suspiciously, leading her away from where he and Urbosa had been. "But he's just there." Pointing to the edge of the beach, Revali stood watch.
Zelda fisted her skirt. She didn't really want to go thank Revali for this hat, but Link made no move to walk away.
"Thanks," she muttered as she headed over to where Revali stood.
She was desperate to sit with her thoughts to connect the dots between her kidnapping, Riju, Link, and Urbosa, but she could feel the burn of Link's gaze on her back.
Thanking him was more awkward than she'd anticipated as she muddled her way through a very inarticulate thanks for her hat.
Well, she'd either made him believe that Hylians were insane, or that she was hiding something.
Turning on her heel to leave before she could make things any more awkward, she gave Link a nod before brushing past him to return to Paya.
She looked up from her book. "What did you run off for?"
Eavesdropping wasn't a sin, but Paya wouldn't look kindly on something that rude anyway. "I just remembered I wanted to thank Mr. Revali for my hat."
"He doesn't deserve your thanks," Paya muttered, returning to her book.
Zelda sat down stiffly, trying to make sense out of any of it.
Well, Link wanted her to go home. That was a good sign. And it seemed to align with his drunken ramblings about being tired.
But Urbosa?
What was she talking about?
"Miss Zelda?" Mipha asked, when Zelda and Paya returned their bowls after eating. She took them and set them aside from where she stood by the fire she cooked at. "Would you care to join us by the fire once we're all cleaned up? We're playing cards."
"Cards?"
"Crowns, Pirate's Hoard, Royal Flush: you name it; we play it."
"I don't know what any of those are."
"Nor do I want to," Paya muttered to herself behind Zelda.
But Mipha looked surprised. "What? None of them? What did you play back home?"
Zelda shrugged. "Hearts. Kings and Queens. The Goddess's Bow."
"Fair's fair, I suppose; I don't know any of those."
The three of them stood silently together for several long moments. Mipha returned to her work, and Paya continued to be a weight on Zelda's shoulder that she could almost physically feel.
"I'm going to head back with Paya."
Mipha looked between them, a sad smile of understanding gracing her features. "Of course. The offer is open, though, if you change your mind."
Zelda withstood the whole of thirty minutes before succumbing to boredom. She'd stared at Paya and the sand at her feet for days. At least Mipha was tolerable to be around, and if she were being honest with herself, she wanted to listen in on whatever they might say while playing. Hopefully, something could help her make sense of Link and Urbosa's conversation.
Zelda went to the fire with a reluctant Paya in tow and made her way over to Mipha. There was still light in the sky, and the air was warm, so she didn't understand why they had to have a fire going at all, but she was thankful that Mipha was the one sitting furthest from it.
"Miss Zelda! Miss Paya. Sit with me!" She scooted over on a cut log that she was using as a seat.
There was room for three, but Paya crossed her arms and walked a respectable distance away: close enough to keep a protective eye on Zelda, but far enough that she wouldn't have to engage with anyone.
Zelda, however, sat on the log, feeling immediately uncomfortable with all eyes on her.
She recognized most of the people playing, at least to an extent. Mipha and Sidon, Yunobo and Daruk, and Revali sat together.
"You're here?" Revali asked, though it came across far less like a question, and more like an accusation.
"It's lovely to see you again, too," she said with a placating smile.
He cocked an eyebrow and returned to shuffling before passing out five cards to each player. He looked his cards over and then took a sip from a stein Zelda hadn't noticed set on the ground as he picked up a card, stared at it, and then set it down in the center of them all—on another chopped log, as it happened—starting the beginning of a long chain of cards that eventually ended up there.
The game didn't appear terribly difficult to follow, so Zelda watched intently. She could see Mipha's hand, and watched her collect a string of diamonds, setting all other suits aside. The game lasted a while, but Zelda was utterly engrossed.
"—right, Miss Nohansen?"
Her eyes snapped up, searching their expectant faces. "I'm sorry?"
Revali shook his head and scoffed. "Never mind. The moment is gone." He set all of his cards down. "Not my moment though. Pay up."
Zelda looked around and pushed her hair back. Some eavesdropper she was.
Everyone slid their rupees to Revali, and Mipha began to shuffle. But Daruk looked up and held out his arm. "All set, boss?"
Zelda turned around to see Link was the one being hailed. She'd have preferred Urbosa, but Link was second best.
He looked at Zelda, surprise and suspicion clearly etched into his features as he spoke, dragging his gaze away from her and to Daruk. "Urbosa and I just settled some things. Got room for one more?"
"Always, Link," Mipha said, scooting aside to make space on her other side. He sat on the log with them, kissing Mipha's cheek in a greeting as he got comfortable.
His eyes flickered over to Zelda's. "Have you ever played Pirate's Hoard, Miss Nohansen?"
Zelda dared a look at Paya, who was wandering around aimlessly after the long hand.
"I have not."
"You should deal in. Learn from experience."
Zelda shot Link an annoyed look as Mipha dealt. "No. I'm learning from Miss Mipha's hand."
He stared at her, like he was trying to figure something out. Whatever he found made him smile and pick up his cards looking far too smug for her liking.
"Hrmm," he mumbled, and Zelda fought to keep her eyes on Mipha's hand.
"Mipha," he said, folding his cards together. "Mind if I show her how to play a hand to her advantage?"
"And I'm not?" Mipha scoffed. "No, she's my protégée for this."
"I think she has her own set of skills she's trying to use. I just know all about them."
Mipha turned to Zelda, waiting for her to decide if she should move. Zelda swallowed hard, suddenly nervous. From the look Link was giving her, and the things he'd said… he knew she'd been listening in.
He wanted to know what she heard, and she wanted to know what he meant.
So, she nodded to Mipha.
Daruk coughed. "Can I start yet? Are you done with whatever this is?"
"Yes," Link said, stepping behind Mipha as she scooted over, and he took her place, smiling at Zelda as he did. "Go ahead."
Zelda rested her hand on her cheek. "Why not let me watch Miss Mipha? Do you usually win, Mr. Woods? Or do you overplay your hand more often than not?"
He smirked, and the rest of the group watched the exchange with piqued interest. Daruk leaned forward, setting his card down slowly so he could keep watching them, and Yunobo had gone red in her presence as soon as she opened her mouth. Revali couldn't care less, while both Sidon and Mipha watched Link more than Zelda, with a curious grin on each of their faces. This was entertainment, no matter what was said.
Zelda had been mostly quiet, though intrigued in the game, but with Link there—or perhaps with Paya gone—it seemed she was more willing to engage.
"I like winning when there's something to lose, even if that's my dignity for overplaying," he said finally.
For the beginning of the game, there was silence as everyone worked out their strategies. After learning with Mipha for the first few rounds before Link's arrival, Zelda watched Link rearrange his cards, clearly looking for a run of clubs.
Until, about six rounds in when he inexplicably discarded one that he needed.
Zelda made a soft noise in confusion and bit her lip when she realized that had been out loud. She could see the corner of his mouth tip up as he side-eyed her, uncaring that she was accidentally giving his game away.
Judging from the mischievous look Mipha was giving him, he was doing it on purpose.
But by now, there was conversation again. "You know," Daruk said, discarding a club that Link promptly ignored, even though, again, he needed it. "My brother wrote to me. He says that there are treasures we could pick up in Eldin. Real treasures, like gems and stones, not sugar and silk."
"Too far from the sea," Link said quickly. "We're pirates, not miners."
"What about Zora's Domain? That's the sea."
Link chuckled. "It's fortified, but I appreciate the suggestions. Besides, even Sidon couldn't get us through those narrow channels safely. It's no place for a ship like ours."
"Too much of a challenge for you?" Revali scoffed.
Link shrugged. "I said I'm a gambler. That also means knowing when to fold."
He dropped another club into the pile, and Zelda felt herself cover her mouth, earning another smug look from Link.
He moved his cards out of Zelda's line of sight and held them there intentionally. Zelda glared at him, and then turned her gaze to the pile of cards.
"Well, I'd like to take a break after we deliver Miss Nohansen. Yunobo can take my place. I'm gettin' old, Link."
"You're not old. But I have no objections to you taking leave. Tell Urbosa personally though. It'll be better coming from you. From me, it'll sound like you've done something wrong and I'm covering for you again."
"Alright."
"I could use some personal time myself," Sidon muttered, dropping a card. "Even when we're on land, I'm always working."
Daruk grunted. "Use your time well while you're young. Don't let others climb all over you. Take that next free spot and use your time for you."
"What if he wants someone to climb all over him?" Link asked, wriggling his eyebrows enticingly.
Sidon blushed but laughed. "Only for you, Link."
Zelda wasn't sure who blushed more: her or Sidon. But she kept her hand over her mouth and stifled any reaction to them, lest she become the joke. There was no need to rile them up with her mention of the Goddess' views that they clearly didn't share with her.
"I'm free Friday," Link chuckled, winking with a sly smile.
"Ugh," Revali scoffed, throwing his own card down. "Get a room."
"That's the plan," Link laughed.
"Japas would be terribly jealous," Sidon sighed. "Perhaps that is a good plan, then."
"Is that the musician in town?" Mipha asked, sitting forward.
"He is."
Mipha snorted and shook her head at Sidon. "Japas wouldn't know taste if it hit him in the face. Which is why I still don't approve of your infatuation. He's terribly rude. Mikau, on the other hand…"
"Approved," Link muttered, making a show of holding up the card he was tossing down for Zelda, though he still hadn't turned his cards. "How about you, Mipha? Anyone?"
"There's no one for me but you, Link."
"I love you too," he said, kissing the air.
"I hate this conversation," Revali said to no one in particular.
But Zelda noticed the look he gave her, one of caution, like he was checking on her, making sure she was okay. And for a brief moment—if that was truly what he was doing—Zelda felt touched that he was concerned for her. After the events at the brothel, Zelda was surprised that she was reacting as well as she was. Numbness was a good substitute for an overabundance of emotion.
Everything was shocking her. Their casual conversation of a taboo topic such as intercourse, their jokes, their openness. She couldn't imagine having a conversation even half as detailed as this, not even with Mila. But she was here to listen, so she grit her teeth and let them talk, hoping they simply forgot she was there and spoke more freely.
"I don't ruffle your feathers, do I, Revali?" Link snorted. "Unless, that's what you want me to do?"
Zelda could hear a distinct cadence in his tone. Though she didn't know what he meant exactly, she knew it had to be something unsavory.
Revali's eyes widened, and a genuine look of disgust solidified on his face. "I most certainly do not."
"Do you flirt with absolutely everyone, Mr. Woods?"
The words were out before Zelda could stop them, and all eyes were on her.
Link's, however, were positively sparkling. "Yes, in fact, I do. Though…" he turned and scooted closer to her, still careful not to touch her, but he was definitely in her personal bubble. "I have a particular weakness for blondes with a lot of burning questions that they want all the answers to. Know anyone like that?"
Zelda scoffed, ignoring his comment. "You amaze me. You'd attempt to charm a rock, wouldn't you?"
For the first time since Link walked over, an unbridled, charming, natural smile spread along his mouth, not his cocky or flirty one, but his. "Are you making fun of me, Miss Nohansen? I didn't think you had it in you."
"Is it making fun of someone if it's true?"
He leaned back. "I feel called out. what do you consider attractive, then, Miss Nohansen?"
Zelda knew he was baiting her. He didn't expect an answer, just a rise.
He liked her to an extent, she knew. He'd admitted it himself. So she made a show of looking him over, as if she'd never seen him before. And when she got to his face, he looked almost flushed, and definitely surprised that she'd even do that much. She paused at his eyes and raised her eyebrow.
"Personal hygiene, Mr. Woods."
Revali balked, nearly falling backwards in his laughter.
Link chuckled, but his eyes softened. He'd gone immediately from amused to—dare she consider it—smitten. She couldn't tell if it was a part of his act or not. But either way, her heartbeat sped up the longer she forced herself to meet his gaze. She wasn't going to look away first. If cards was his game, this was hers. And she was going to win.
He looked away first, the remnants of his grin staying with him, and she let out a relieved breath. But he picked up a card from the deck and turned to her. "Do you know why I kept throwing those cards out?"
"No."
He placed his hand of cards down, revealing a run in diamonds, higher numbers: the highest. His eyes sparkled as they met hers. "Sometimes, you have to gamble away what you know is a safe bet and play for a winning hand."
Zelda cleared her throat and looked away, leaning against her palm, trying to seem disinterested as he collected the bets and then the cards, shuffling them himself.
Well, if that's what he wanted to preach…
"Thank you for your lesson, Mr. Woods. I'll remember that."
He dealt the cards, and Zelda listened to the idle chatter around as the next hand started. She glanced at Link's hand. It was a mess of different suits and numbers. She didn't know where he planned to go.
"You're all so close," Zelda said, looking around. "How long have you been together? Do I remember correctly, Mr. Woods, that you said it's been ten years for yourself with Captain Urbosa?"
He lifted his eyes off the cards, staring straight ahead, and smirked. "Yes."
"I was with him. We joined up together," Daruk said, giving Link a triumphant grin.
"You know about us," Mipha said with a smile, gesturing to her and Sidon.
"Mr. Revali?" Zelda asked, needing to be sure she looked like she wanted to actually hear everyone's answer.
"Too long," he grumbled as he rearranged his cards.
When she looked at Yunobo, he looked away. "Oh, I- I- uh, I'm new. A year, maybe?"
"Wow," Zelda said, feigning interest. Link snorted beside her before he played his card.
But Zelda didn't stop. "The Captain is so interesting to me, as a Hylian. As you likely know, no females captain boats in Hyrule proper."
"It's a ship," Link muttered.
"And she has a family," Zelda continued, ignoring him. "I won't say I don't admire her for such a delicate tightrope. I don't understand how she can do it."
"Riju is such a good kid, she makes it look easy," Mipha said affectionately before picking up several cards in the pile. "And Nabooru gave up so much to make sure Riju had an excellent life."
Zelda could see Link's leg bouncing up and down. A good sign.
"What did she give up?"
"Us," Link said quickly, before anyone else answered. "She was on our crew. She and Urbosa used to swap between them for who'd stay with Riju, though sometimes they'd both come and leave the baby with a trusted family on shore. Nabooru gave us up to stay with Riju, and Urbosa stays on the ship with us now that she's Captain."
Zelda let out a small sigh. No one contradicted him, or even seemed to question the information. No one even looked interested. This had to be common knowledge to them, and not a lie, at the very least. And in a small way, Zelda was willing to concede that it was an admirable sacrifice to give up everything for one's child so they might have at least one parent.
My father didn't.
Shaking the thought away, Zelda wracked her brain for the exact wording she'd heard earlier. "Well, she's their child. She's more important to them than anything. I can understand, especially after meeting them both. Family is everything. You know," she said gesturing to Mipha and Sidon.
"We do!" Sidon said cheerily. "Though in truth, everyone here is a family, in our own ways."
"Shit," Link breathed, leaning back.
"What, Link?" Mipha asked, standing up halfway, ready to check on him.
"Nothing," he said, running his hand anxiously though his hair. "I just realized a played a card too early that I didn't mean to. Almost like I was drunk." He turned to Zelda with caution, still bouncing his leg.
"Well, there's nothing new there," Revali quipped.
She narrowed her eyes at Link. She remembered every word from when he was drunk on the beach, but did he?
"Do you have any siblings, Mr. Woods?"
Zelda wondered why she didn't state it as a fact, or even mention that name he'd said. Ar— something. But she felt easier asking him this way.
Especially when he answered.
"No. No, I don't."
He watched her, waiting. Waiting for her to call him out, she imagined. Her mouth dropped open slightly as they both stared at each other. Link wasn't under any pretense that she'd forgotten his mention of a sister. And Zelda knew he was at her mercy, caught in a lie in front of his crew.
She didn't imagine any of them would take her word over his, but it would put the thought there. It would give them cause to doubt.
"Oh," she found herself saying. And then she turned away to face Daruk, taking her knowledge with her.
She could hear Link's sigh of relief behind her even as Daruk talked on and on about his family from back home, family he hadn't seen in ages.
When everyone had gushed about their families, Zelda laid off the questions so she didn't seem overtly obvious.
Link nudged her arm and showed her his cards: three diamonds, the highest suit, all of varying numbers; and three consecutive spades, a lower run, but an easier win.
"Pick one to get rid of," he said, holding them out for her.
"Oh, I don't know how to—"
"You know how to play, Miss Nohansen. Better than you let on. This one is your call."
Zelda looked around at the others who were all waiting, and she felt herself warm up under their watchful eyes. Daruk stared at the card pile, Mipha at her, Sidon at Link. It was a show.
She bit her lip and tapped the tip of her finger against his highest card.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Link hesitated, clearly looking for the higher run, the greater gamble, and the bigger fall, but he listened and set down the highest card, leaving him with a fairly small scoring hand, trying to repress a sulk.
Daruk's turn came up, and he smiled widely, setting his cards down for the win.
Link chuckled softly beside her, paying out only a small amount from his bet. "You knew. How'd you know?"
Zelda turned towards him and scoffed. "Oh, I'm not telling you. I always play my cards close to my chest."
"I don't approve."
Zelda shrugged, unfurling her blanket inside the tent she and Paya shared on the beach. "I know you don't. I don't either, but I had to."
It was dark by the time the card game dispersed. And while she hadn't been able to discern exactly what Link and Urbosa had been discussing, she'd considered it a step in the right direction. And all she'd had to do was sit back and watch a few pirates play cards.
"You didn't have to, Miss Zelda."
But Zelda tucked the second blanket rather forcefully into her arms as she knelt back within the small space as they readied their tent for the night. "Yes, I did. From the moment we've arrived here, we've been puppetted around. We are pawns in their game, left out of our own fate. We don't know when we're going home, or what my father will do. So, I intend to find out whatever I can in the meantime. Either it's something that will help us here, or it's something I can report back to my father, but either way, it's something.
"I'll admit, when that man attacked me in the woods, I felt powerless. I was just this small Hylian girl fending off some large pirate. I don't like feeling powerless, Paya. I've had enough of it. I don't want to keep guessing what things mean; I need to know. I want to know what they're planning, and what our future holds."
"It doesn't mean you have to mingle with them."
Zelda thrust the blanket down, still on her knees beside Paya. "I saw you talking to someone earlier. Don't be a hypocrite and judge me. I'm trying."
Paya bowed her head, as if for the first time since their departure, she remembered that she was Zelda's lady's maid, and not her friend. "I'm sorry if I've offended you, my lady. Only, the man I spoke to was the one who asked us where the captain was earlier. He said he hadn't been able to get ahold of her, and wanted to know where she was again."
Zelda stiffened. "What did you say?"
"That we're not a part of her crew and I didn't know. Same as before."
"How odd."
"Yes, I thought so."
Zelda let out a breath and shrugged, her fingers thumbing the blanket thoughtfully. "I wonder what he wants so badly."
"Curiosity is a vice."
There was nothing Zelda could say to that, and thankfully, she didn't have to.
"Are you decent in there?" Link's voice asked from outside the tent.
Paya scoffed, and Zelda made a face as she spoke. "What?"
"I have to talk to you."
"I've just been speaking with you for hours. I've quite had my fill of socialization with you for the day."
"It'll be your loss."
"What do you want, Mr. Woods?"
"I'll only tell you if you come with me."
Zelda rolled her eyes and stared at Paya.
"Don't," Paya cautioned. "Curiosity, remember?"
Smacking her lips together, Zelda set the blanket aside. "I'll return immediately if it's anything useless. I'm tired."
"Miss Zelda…"
"I want to know," Zelda said with a harsh tone of finality. She hadn't changed her clothes yet, and neither had Paya, so she simply opened the tent flap and stood up beside him, smoothing her hair back. She'd taken it out from how it was usually tied up, and noticed a small smile playing at Link's lips as he looked her over, as if he hadn't seen her for days rather than ten minute ago.
Zelda was grateful for the darkness, because his scrutiny had her cheeks reddening from the attention. "What is it?"
"Walk with me."
"No."
He smiled, but this time, it was intentionally captivating, not a truly sincere one. Practiced and studied; he knew what he was doing. "Come, Miss Nohansen. Surely you trust me enough to walk along the beach?"
"What do you have to tell me?"
"You're regrettably immune to my usual charm. Either that, or I've lost my touch." He motioned with his head and started walking. "Urbosa has the news, actually. I've just been sent to bring you to her."
"Do you know what it is?"
"I do."
She scoffed but followed him.
They were silent, and she focused on her steps in the sand until Link held a tent flap open for her.
She peered through and saw Urbosa's red hair, but still, she wished she'd brought her knife with her.
"Ah, Little Bird. Sit," Urbosa said, gesturing to a spot in front of her in the small tent. Link sat off to the side, though there wasn't much room left for people, especially with the pile of things Urbosa had haphazardly thrown in the center of the tent.
Link's boot touched Zelda, and she pulled away. "You'd think as captain you might have a larger accommodation."
Urbosa smiled placatingly and handed a folded piece of paper to Zelda.
Zelda hesitated before she took and opened it, confused. It was a series of numbers. Shaking her head, she handed it back. "If I'm expected to understand that, I don't."
"Coordinates."
"Of?"
Link leaned forward and grabbed a different paper, handing it to her. "What have you been waiting for, Miss Nohansen?"
Zelda's eyes widened, and she snatched the page.
"Captain Urbosa,
I expect that when we inevitably meet, my daughter will not have come to any harm. On that condition, I will rendezvous with you at this neutral location for the exchange of Miss Zelda Nohansen and her maid. Any sign of force will be dealt with accordingly. My travelling fleet consists of three ships, and two will stay further off shore when we do meet, but I expect the same courtesy to be upheld on your end. I am loathe to take you at your word, but I want my daughter back. Allow me a fortnight to conjure up your requested sum, and we will meet at the above location on the 34th of Dinraal's month. As I said, should my daughter have been harmed in any way, I will not hesitate to make chase of your vessel and burn it into the sea with every crew member on board.
Governor Rhoam Nohansen"
Zelda nearly dropped the paper.
"He seems like the delight of dinner parties," Link scoffed, holding his hand out for the paper back.
Zelda absently handed it to him. "The 34th? That's not long!"
"We clearly got this letter late, so we will be heading out in the morning," Urbosa said, packing a few things neatly away. "We could have waited to tell you, but things will move very quickly tomorrow, so just be ready to go. That's all we called you here for."
A tear fell gracefully down Zelda's cheek, as though her father's words made her entire body return to civility and decorum. No wails or waterworks.
"I will. I'll tell Paya immediately."
She went to stand, her whole body in a numb haze.
"Miss Nohansen?" Link said, though he didn't move.
Zelda turned to him, her mouth still widened in shock.
"Are you glad you followed me?"
Running her hand through her loose hair, Zelda almost laughed. "There's a first time for everything, Mr. Woods. Goodnight to you both."
She couldn't have run faster back to her tent.
"Paya!" she called before even reaching the opening. But she pushed her way in. "Pay—"
She wasn't in there.
Zelda backed up and looked around, checking first near the food, and then near the edges of the forest where she might go to relieve herself. So, Zelda went over to the sentry standing watch at the edge of camp.
"Has my lady—"
The man turned to her, harsh looking, scarred face, blinded white eye. And a sinking sensation coursed through Zelda.
This man wasn't one of Urbosa's pirates.
"Sorry," she said quickly. "I've suddenly remembered where she went."
He reached out and snatched her wrist. "You made this much easier than she did."
Zelda tried to scream, to alert the others, but there was a hand over her mouth as she was pulled away.
Déjà vu.
Goddess above, she felt herself dragged around by a pirate through the trees and brush yet again, and nearly felt resigned to her repetitive fate.
Nearly.
She dug her nails into the hand over her mouth until she could see blood, but he never let go, not even marginally.
"Miss Zelda!" Paya whispered, appearing in the brush as the man brought Zelda out of sight. Two other crew members were with Paya, including the man from earlier in the day.
"Paya?" she muffled, and the man let go, leaving her gasping. She pulled Paya aside. "What's happening?"
Zelda looked over her shoulder. They were so far from the crew and in the woods now. Screaming was pointless. It had to be the only reason she'd been let go.
"I got us passage out of here. That man from earlier? Mr. Gruff. He was once from Hyrule as well! In the Hylian Navy, no less! He knows your father. He said that he was taken prisoner, much like we have been, and he's been with those vagrants ever since. He realized who we were when he came back, and they're going to set sail tonight to get us to Windfall immediately. He'll come with us, he said."
Zelda's eyes widened. "Paya! What possessed you?"
Paya wrapped her arms around Zelda's. "The Goddess, apparently! We're going home, Miss! Home! To our beds, and safety, and peace! To the people we know—civilized people, not horrid kidnappers and murders. No more sleeping with one eye open! We can get you clothes, we can go to the temple and I hear Windfall has a beautiful spring for Hylia as well. This is our chance!"
Zelda stopped in her tracks. "We don't know these people."
"We don't know the others either. And here, we have a Hylian to keep us safe!"
"He came back for us, you said?"
"He did!"
Zelda swallowed hard. "He didn't come back to help, Paya. He thought we were…"
She stopped. She couldn't say, not without revealing the entire brothel incident. And if Paya knew about that, there was no way Zelda would ever find freedom; not here, and not on Windfall, because she'd surely report such a horrid experience to her father.
"What?"
"That we were done with a shift… working for them. He's not here to help us, Paya."
"I told him who we were once he explained. He knows we're not with the crew now. He said his crew will get us home unharmed. The Goddess sent us this guiding light in the darkness. I had to follow the path it illuminated. Come with me, and She'll keep us safe."
She walked on ahead, but Zelda spun around to head back.
The man grabbed Zelda's arm, forcing her to keep walking. His grip was tight, reminding her of the man in the woods who, less than a week ago, tried to strangle her to death, despite the ransom.
As it all began to process to Zelda, she started to struggle more and more, but she was essentially being dragged through the sand at that point, even as Paya walked freely ahead, conversing with Mr. Gruff. His grip tightened again, bruisingly fierce.
"Let go of me," Zelda hissed, trying to pull her arm away from him.
"You're becoming difficult," he warned, pushing her up ahead.
Zelda hurried and caught up with Paya, pulling her away from Mr. Gruff. "Let's go back," she tried again.
"I will not! They were turning your mind against the Goddess, Miss; I could feel it. We just need to stay with our nose to the ground and then we'll be home."
"We were going home!"
Paya huffed and shrugged, painfully unaware of the letter. "Not fast enough. We'll be home in our beds soon, now."
The man held a bush aside, and Paya pulled Zelda through with her only let go when there was a skeleton crew of pirates in front of them.
Zelda nearly burst into tears at the overwhelming number of them all, all packed together. There was no escaping their watchful eyes, all leering at them as they entered the area. There was no running from them.
About twenty sat there, while the others ferried things on longboats to their ship.
Grabbing Paya by the arm, Zelda held her tightly. "Paya, what have you done to us? My father just sent word. That was what Mr. Woods told me. Showed me. We were leaving in the morning!"
Paya's eyes widened marginally, but she composed herself. "This crew can do the job just as well. They're all the same, anyway."
"No, they're not!" she hissed, running her hand over her throat where the bruise was still visible. "Not all of them care about the rupees. At least Urbosa's crew did. We were safer there."
"See? They have poisoned you. The Goddess is smiling on us, and you only want to see that it's not according to your plan to spend time with the attractive lecher and your scheming cook friend."
"Paya, please."
"No, Miss. I'm not sorry, but no."
One of the pirates grabbed Zelda by the arm and dragged her away. The woman had a firm grip as she led Zelda to the boat, and for all her struggling, the woman held her firm.
"Let go!" Zelda hissed, pushing the woman off of her.
Then, there was a small breeze in front of her, and the woman had a line of red trailing down her temple.
Gasping, Zelda watched the woman go limp and fall. Her ears didn't register the sound that everyone else did, because she was the last to turn towards the group emerging from the woods Zelda herself had just come from.
She had no sense of surprise when she saw Link and Urbosa leading about ten others towards the rogue crew, but she certainly hadn't expected their speed. She'd hardly had the time to panic, and they were already there. Someone had to have seen as they were pulled away because there was no other explanation.
She recognized the faces, but the expressions were anything but what she'd become accustomed to. They were more like the day they'd taken the Wanderlust, cold and calculated, stony and unaffected.
The world slowed down as Zelda watched the scene in front of her while she staggered back, away from the worst of it.
Revali was at the front of the group with Link, four guns strapped to various belts across his chest. Link held one in his hand, and a sword in the other.
One of the other crewmates that Zelda didn't know the name of lowered his smoking gun, and Link jerked his head aside in a silent command.
Zelda vaguely remembered Revali taunting Link. "You may lead the vanguard, but I'm its best fighter." And Link had claimed that title belonged to him, while Revali could have 'best shot.'
It became immediately apparent why.
Every member of the vanguard—who Zelda knew consisted of a crew's best fighters—stalked into camp with a serene and unnerving slowness. None of them ran, like the opposing crew did. Instead, they moved slow, carefully calculated movements taking people down with an ease that the others couldn't muster.
She couldn't even follow what Link was doing. She'd never even seen him fight before, not even during the Wanderlust attack, but he moved so quickly, each gesture deadly.
His arm swung down in a quick, hard cut across someone's chest just before he slammed his elbow into someone's nose as he passed, then spun his blade and sliced a man's neck before he kicked the body away to continue on with a path of decimation.
There were several gunshots in a row, and she saw Revali aiming, shooting, and then dropping pistols after he fired them. It would take too long to reload. She watched four more bodies fall before he grabbed his sword. Her nose burned with gunpowder, and her heart raced.
Another shot.
Link's shoulder jerked back and he hissed as a small tear in his shirt appeared with little blood, and in the next second, his pistol was in his hand and smoke was rising from it, his victim fallen. He swung the pistol like a club into the face of someone charging at him, dodging out of the way just in time for the unconscious, bleeding body to fall at Zelda's feet. He threw the gun down and spun his sword in his hand before it collided with the next nearest rival crew's weapon.
Zelda didn't know where to go, looking through the chaos to find Paya. She could see Urbosa shouting something, her hand raised in an order before she took two of the opposing crew down with a single swing of her elegantly curved sword.
She'd seen Urbosa fight before, but this was an entirely different situation. Urbosa parted a path through the crew, bodies falling wherever she went.
Zelda finally found Paya and ducked down, running back into the worst of the battle, keeping low as gunfire rang out and metal clanged. She grabbed Paya and pulled her away from the center, leading her back towards the trees where they'd be safer.
Everything was happening within mere seconds of each other as Urbosa's crew continued to decimate the others on the beach with merciless brutality.
"Revali!" Urbosa called, beckoning someone else over as well. The other carried several musket rifles over their shoulder.
Revali hurried over and took one.
"Can you do it?" she asked, gesturing to the small boats in the distance that were rowing back to shore.
It took a second for Revali to sight something, aiming in the direction of their ship in the water, and then he pulled the pin back.
"Can you do it?" he mocked with a scoff and pulled the trigger.
Zelda's whole body twitched with the noise, and she watched one of the figures in the boat tip over the side and splash into the water.
Revali held out his hand, and someone replaced the rifle with another. They loaded it in the back while Revali adjusted and took a deep breath.
And fired.
He held out his hand, and another rifle was placed into it, where he repeated his moment of sighting, and then another shot before doing it again. Each time, the other reloaded the gun for him. Each time, a body fell
Link walked over, standing beside Urbosa. "They're dead over here."
Revali fired again, and handed the gun off, his head tilted up in smug accomplishment. He turned to Link and smirked. "I'd like to see you make these shots."
But Link was unamused, still breathing heavily, splattered with blood.
"Keep at it. Kill every one of them who tries to return to shore," Urbosa commanded to Revali.
"Yes, ma'am," he mumbled, too focused for a more articulate response.
This time, Link and Urbosa spun to face Zelda and Paya where they watched on with wide eyed horror.
Link was quick to turn to Zelda. "What the fuck happened?"
Glancing at Paya, who looked near tears, Zelda took a step to the right, placing herself protectively between Link and Paya, as if he'd know what Paya had done simply by looking at her. "I-I…"
"You're lucky someone saw you get pulled into the woods, Miss Nohansen!"
Zelda let out a deep breath, watching a small line of blood trickle down Link's forehead, and a tiny patch of blood on his shoulder from the skimmed bullet, but otherwise, the only evidence of a fight was the blood on his clothes. He was apparently unharmed, and yet he looked like he'd nearly died. His eyes were wide and angry, his chest was heaving with effort. It looked like he wanted to pace back and forth like a caged animal ready to strike its mocking audience.
Sure, Zelda stood between him and Paya, but what little effort it would take to push her aside. She was no match, no protection. He could throw her into the sea if he wanted, and she couldn't fight him.
Watching Link, Urbosa, and Revali especially as they fought, didn't bring any peace or ease to her mind. Instead, she could imagine she and her father rowing back to his ship and him suddenly falling limp to Revali's smoking gun. Or, she could see her version of Rivan, who was considered a good fighter, given that he was a Lieutenant, but she couldn't help but close her eyes and see Link's sword crashing down with that much speed, leaving Rival bloodied before she could even get a good look at him.
She shuddered, and words died on her lips as she looked away from him.
This was the man she'd first met on The Wanderlust.
"Be calm, Link," Urbosa said. She looked over both Zelda and Paya with slow precision before settling on Paya. "Tell me what happened."
Paya and Zelda looked at each other at once, both silent. But Zelda could read the absolute terror in her eyes. Because Paya had seen what she'd just seen. These weren't their friends. These weren't jokesters on a beach playing cards. This wasn't a game with no repercussions.
"We were just—" Zelda started.
"Uh-uh-uh!" Urbosa said, holding up her finger to silence Zelda. "No. I want to hear it from her."
Zelda could barely hear Urbosa over the sound of her own breathing. Because now, it wasn't her and Paya mid fight. It was heavy, labored, and difficult. Now, she could see more than the tunnel vision that had clouded her eyes.
The sand was red, seeping deeper with every passing second, and the tide was too far out to wash it away. The bodies were scattered everywhere, from where they'd been packing things from the beach and been taken by surprise, or swords drawn. And their eyes… many of them were lying there with their eyes wide open still. Ten versus twenty, and the ten had slaughtered them.
Zelda gagged at the overwhelming sights and smells, and held her mouth over her hand before stumbling away so she wouldn't make a fool of herself in front of the crew who'd come for them.
"Urbosa," Link said, his eyes softening. "Let's at least get them both away."
"No. Not until I hear this one. My entire family was just at risk, and I want to know why."
Paya was whiter than a sheet, nearly ready to pass out. Nothing worked, not her feet nor her voice. She only stared at Urbosa like a deer in the sights of a hunter.
Zelda could vaguely hear Revali's gun blasting in the background at timely intervals.
The gunshots brought back pieces of a conversation from when they'd first been forced to associate with the pirates. Link's words were sharp in her memory. "You know, I don't want to do this, but if you try that again, or if you try anything with any crew member, I'll pull the trigger on her myself…"
"She can't!" Zelda hissed, walking back towards Paya, grabbing her arm. "I'm the one who did this."
They need me alive.
She repeated her old mantra again and again to try to steady her nerves.
"Move, Little Bird."
"No."
Urbosa rolled her eyes and pulled Zelda away by the wrist, taking her pistol from her belt before striding up to Paya again. She whispered too low to hear, but Paya's uneasy sniffles made it obvious.
Under Urbosa's intense gaze and low questioning, Paya broke, bursting into tears as her body wracked with nerves and she sobbed. It was a throaty, guttural wail, and Zelda's heart broke.
She wasn't crying just because of Urbosa. For Paya, she'd just lost everything, and was now facing the wrath of a deadly pirate captain and crew with no true value on her head.
"If you don't tell me, I'll leave you here while we return your precious Miss Nohansen. You'd better get used to being surrounded by all of us, because this is your new home unless you talk."
Paya let out another long cry, and Zelda felt her eyes tearing up.
"You're no liar. Not like she is. You'll tell the truth because your Goddess will smite you for all your failures if you don't. What. Did. You. Do."
Zelda turned to find a new sound that was added to the mix. The remainder of the vanguard snickered. Bloodied and cold, they'd just killed twice their number without a single casualty. The men and women were hardened. And to see Paya so soft and cowering under Urbosa's commanding glare reminded them that these Hylians were pathetic. Zelda shuddered when one looked at her with that same disgusted frown.
Zelda looked around for anything to help. But all she could see was…
"Mr. Woods!" she said, closing the distance between them. "Don't let her. Paya's going to die of fright."
"I don't have command," he whispered back.
"Stop this, please!"
Link's brows raised a fraction before he grimaced and sighed. "Tell me what she did, and I can stop it."
"No. Stop it first, and then maybe I'll tell you."
He stared at Zelda for several moments before rolling his eyes and lightly moving her out of the way as he went up to Urbosa.
Zelda's mouth dropped, and her hand went to where his had been on her arm. Goddess above. He actually listened.
"Urbosa."
She didn't turn, but held her hand up to silence him.
He bit his lip and turned back towards Zelda as he took a pistol from his belt, checked it, loaded it, and turned back around, raising it into the sky and firing.
Everyone, even Revali in the distance, turned towards him.
Link shoved the empty gun into his belt and walked past Urbosa with a sidelong glance, addressing the fighters instead. "This isn't a show! Get the fuck back to the ship and load it. We're leaving soon."
Zelda kept watching, still shaking, but unwilling to run to Paya while Link was still finagling for her release.
"Urbosa," Link said again, this time putting himself between the captain and Paya. "This is getting nowhere. These two don't answer to fear. This one freezes, and the other one fights to get away, but neither faces it. Let's get them back and try again."
"Are you their knight in shining armor now?" Urbosa asked, exhausted. Her limbs sagged like she hadn't slept in days, and she shook her head in defeat. "Don't undermine my authority again, Link. Not in front of the crew, or guests. You have an issue with me, we settle it privately."
"There won't be another issue, Captain."
"See that there isn't."
Link nodded once, but he didn't move.
Urbosa shot daggers at Link. "Let them run off, and it's on your head."
"Of course."
She finally walked away and called over her shoulder, "Revali, stay behind, watch for stragglers. Kill any of them. I'll send someone to retrieve you when we're ready."
"Yes, Captain."
Zelda pushed past Link and threw herself onto the ground to grab Paya. "Are you alright?"
"I want to go home."
She ran a hand through the girl's hair, holding her tightly against her as they walked. "We're going home. I promise. I wasn't lying when I said it before. My father sent word."
"He what?"
It was as if Paya didn't hear another word the entire time they walked, clinging tightly to Zelda as she sobbed, tears running down her cheeks.
It was only when Zelda set her in the tent and kept the flap open so Paya could see outside that Zelda crossed her arms and found Link not far away.
"Would she have done it? Hurt her at all? Leave her here?" Zelda asked immediately, unable to look up from the sandy ground.
"No. No, she wouldn't have. She's not going to risk our ransom by touching you or Paya. You've both always been safe, in that regard."
"You said…"
"I know what I said to you. But unless she'd killed us in our sleeps, Paya was mostly safe. She was a tool of compliance."
Zelda narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you telling me this? This was your best weapon against me."
"Quid pro quo. Your turn?"
She crossed her arms tighter, and her leg started to shake. "There was a man earlier today who'd asked where Captain Urbosa was. I was with Paya for this. She said that we didn't know because we weren't part of the crew and we directed him to Revali. You were with Miss Mipha. But apparently, he returned later on in the night and spoke to Paya. I believe… she was mistaken for me, given how she was dressed. The man knew of us and our ransom, and he took Paya. She… well, I came back from you and Captain Urbosa and she was gone, so I went to look for her, but the one on watch wasn't from our crew. He grabbed me and you know the rest."
Link watched her for a moment and shook his head. "So, she told them about the ransom and went with them to escape."
Zelda's face fell. "I didn't say that at all."
"I know you didn't. You didn't have to. I know you doubt it often, but I do have a brain."
She swallowed. There was no use denying it. "Paya didn't know we were going home in the morning. She's scared. What will Captain Urbosa do to her?"
Link focused for a few moments on his breathing, keeping it steady before he took one large breath and started walking away. "Nothing. I'll handle it."
"Why?" Zelda called, stopping him.
"Would you rather I didn't?" he quipped over his shoulder.
Zelda stayed silent, watching him walk back towards Urbosa's tent before she returned to help Paya with their things.
Zelda dreaded departure from Outset almost as much as she welcomed it. The ship wasn't even moving, and she was already nauseous.
And the looks she was getting from Urbosa didn't help to settle her stomach at all.
Mipha appeared beside her and followed Urbosa with her eyes as she strode across the deck. "Don't worry. She's upset by a few things. You were just the tipping point."
"I hate it here," Zelda said, pushing her hair back and running her cold, numb fingers over her clammy face.
"You're almost through it all."
"Why are you nice to me?" Zelda snapped, spinning on Mipha. "Why are any of you?"
Mipha smiled and started to back up, needing to get to her post. "There is some good in the world. Even ours."
It was late in the night, so the lanterns on deck were lit as they prepared to make way.
Zelda stayed where she used to off to the side of the ship, out of the way for the most part.
She saw Link helping move things around, but she noticed that his usual coat was gone and his hair was tied up, leaving him in a rather loose, disheveled shirt that still had blood stains on it. And all she could wonder was if he'd 'handled it', and how.
"Listen up!" Urbosa called, hanging over the balcony. The crew quieted down, and several came up from below decks as she spoke. "We're setting out to deliver Miss Nohansen and her lady to her father. We nearly lost them both today, so we'll make haste. We have a location, and a time. Now, we just have to arrive, and reap the rewards."
The crew cheered, and Urbosa looked at Link. He nodded and she sighed. Zelda narrowed her eyes curiously at the exchange.
"I have gotten to the bottom of our near loss today. And it is with regret that I inform you of the negligence of one of our officers who did not post a sentry watch over the camp. As you know, this offense is a serious lapse in judgement, and could have cost the crew more than a few rupees. The proper course of action is five lashes doled out by our quartermaster. Our conundrum is this: the officer in question is our very own quartermaster."
Paya grabbed Zelda's arm in relief, and Zelda's eyes widened as they shot over to Link. He wasn't looking at her, but she had a feeling that was intentional.
Because he was handling it.
"Do you deny it?"
"No, Captain," he said, finally looking up at her.
She shook her head in disgust. "Foolish decisions are met with consequences. Does anyone here believe the punishment to be unfair?"
Zelda grabbed Paya's hand. "She knows."
"Does she?" she whispered.
"She's judging him for helping us. She knows he didn't forget to do his job."
Paya let out a shuddered breath. "I'm not thanking him, but I'll thank you for convincing him to do this."
"I didn't know he meant this."
Paya narrowed her eyes. "He's a pirate. He deserves this anyway. This and worse. Would you not have asked if you'd known?"
"No… of course I would have," Zelda said quickly. Her speed seemed to soothe Paya's suspicions.
"Revali?" Urbosa's voice rang out. "No one can question whether you'll let sympathy get in the way of a fair punishment. You'll do it?"
He glanced at Link, and Zelda saw him nod. Revali looked back up. "Yes, Captain."
Zelda expected a spectacle, jeering and laughing at Link as he made his way towards the main mast of the ship, but it was deathly silent. So quiet, Zelda could hear a hushed conversation to her left.
"He'd never. He's protecting someone."
"He'll always protect us. But I damn well want to know who it is."
"The kid will take that to the grave. Leave it alone."
The silence made more sense. Mipha had told her, but it didn't process until now. Link was too respected to be jeered at. He was too beloved to be entertainment. And he was too feared to be questioned.
Revali took the short whip from Urbosa and examined it. He looked almost nervous. But both he and Link watched Urbosa until she nodded at them. "Whenever you're ready. Let's get this over with, and get underway."
Link nodded and pulled off his shirt, handing it over to someone beside him before leaning forward against the mast.
For once, Zelda hardly noticed. Her eyes were on Revali as he hesitated, twirling the glorified rope around in his hands anxiously. She could see Link's lips move, though she couldn't hear anything. It must've provoked a reaction, however, because Revali's hesitation was gone.
The sound was deadly, breaking with a crack through Zelda's ears. She hadn't expected it. She'd never seen it. She knew it happened, she knew it was common, she knew all these things. But to see it? To hear it?
She yelped in time with the crack as her entire body jumped, and then a shiver coursed through her, leaving her deathly cold and numb. She clasped her hand over her mouth immediately, pressing hard. Paya mimicked her.
Link's eyes darted up to Zelda, and he shook his head.
Urbosa looked at Zelda as well, though her words were to Revali. "Again."
Zelda couldn't breathe this time. Link made no noise, and the only indication that he was in any pain was the way his mouth and shoulders twitched.
"Again."
The veins in his arms bulged as his grip on the mast tightened, but he didn't make a sound, still staring at Zelda where she stood easily in front of him, just off to the right of the mast. Mipha grabbed her and started whispering something, but Zelda couldn't make out the words. She was lucky her lung were working again.
"Again."
Zelda's body began to flinch along with Link's, preparing for some phantom pain that had begun to burn through her back. She leaned heavily into Mipha as if she couldn't stand.
She'd done this. It wouldn't have been any more her fault if she'd held the whip herself.
"I'm going to be sick…" she whispered under her hand.
"Again."
This time, Link's eyes closed for a moment, fluttering shut before opening again, focused on the wood in front of him.
Zelda covered her mouth and her nose. Sobs were rising up into her throat, churning inside her like a tornado looking for more land to ravage. She'd known that asking Link to deal with everything had been looking for trouble, but it didn't add up to this in her mind. She expected a slap on the wrist for him. He was Urbosa's friend.
"Again."
Revali and everyone else looked up at Urbosa in surprise. Her eyes locked on Revali and she nodded. "I said 'again.'"
Revali shook his arm out, rolling his shoulder several times, breathing heavier than Link was.
Zelda could hear the crew murmuring now. They wanted it to end as much as Zelda did, if not more. They were antsy, fidgety, and all around upset.
"You're done. Link?"
Link took a breath in through his nose as he straightened out, wincing as he did. And he nodded.
"Good. Let's get underway."
Revali handed the whip to Urbosa before storming away.
Link took his shirt back but didn't pull it on. For the first time, Zelda could see the blood, and she bit her lip. He was headed their way.
Paya whispered in her ear. "The Goddess works in mysterious ways. This will help your father."
Zelda's mouth fell open, whether to speak or cry, in disbelief or acceptance, she didn't know. But she felt wetness on her cheeks, and turned to Paya. "The Goddess wants that?"
"He's a murderer."
Clammy skin and labored breathing aside, she turned to Link when he reached them. "I didn't know," she said quickly.
Link looked better than she did, which she attributed later to the fact that he was likely used to pain, given the amount of scars he bore.
"Welcome to piracy, Miss Nohansen." He glanced at her and raised his brows, as if he were totally unaffected before turning his head away. "Mipha? Can you give me a hand?"
"Of course," she said, leading Link towards her stores of herbs and poultices.
Zelda watched them go, her eyes glued to the red lines on Link's back.
Sure, she could talk about killing them, watching them swing, and about how much she'd enjoy their rotting corpse to swing over the harbor to warn pirates away. She could talk big when she wasn't involved.
But this? Goddess, she wasn't prepared for the overwhelming guilt she'd feel watching someone be punished for her mistake, at her behest.
And she threw herself over the railing just in time to lose her stomach.
A/N: I was possessed by some writing spirit lol! Next chapter won't be quite as fast to come out as this one, but I'm on vacation in 2 weeks so that means more writing!
Reviews: Guest: Thank you! It's something I think is really interesting to explore in this fic! yeadidbdjdn: I'll take that as a good thing! Lol!