Don't waste your heart
On a wild thing
She's got a soul that won't settle on one thing
Oh, this bird can't sing
When you've tied its wings
Don't waste your heart
On me
Chapter Ten—Tough Truth
Years had passed since Tetra had been plagued by nightmares. She had thought that her sleeping behaviours, which had become normal since she and Link had defeated Ganon, would stay normal for the rest of her life.
"Zelda…"
She felt her body materializing, but the world had not yet done the same. As soon as she had a voice, she spoke.
"No…"
"Zelda…"
It was another woman speaking—a goddess?
"No…" Tetra managed again.
"Princess…"
A light, little more than a pinprick. Yellow. Purple. White. Pink. Blue. All of them. None of them.
"What? Who?" The darkness swallowed her voice.
"Heiress…" And yet the words of the other, though so much softer, echoed endlessly.
She tried to shake her head, but it was frozen. Breathing was all but impossible. Speaking was physically draining.
She realized that the point of kaleidoscope light was drifting closer, growing, gaining form…arms…legs…fluttering skirts…golden hair…
A woman in a pink dress of royal elegance, a crown of gold set in hair of the same colour, buffeted by unknown wind, arms extended, glowing faintly with golden light, was soaring towards her. Tetra tried to step back, but her legs were rooted.
Blue eyes opened suddenly in an ivory-complected face.
Tetra's voice drifted over her lips. "Nayru?"
A smile from the divine looking woman. "Zelda…" An echo.
"No." Silence.
A laugh that became music, like rain tumbling all around. It spiralled into silence.
The woman placed one ethereal hand to her own chest. "Zelda."
And Tetra understood. "You?"
Another smile. That had to mean yes.
"And…"
She placed her other hand over Tetra's heart. "Zelda."
Before Tetra could even think to have a reaction, something burst. She flew backwards, as if caught in an explosion, and all was blinding white. She felt herself land hard on her back, and opened her eyes, though she was unaware of having closed them.
She was dressed in a gown, the same pink gown as Zelda—the other Zelda, she found herself thinking. She drew a long, cold, shuddering breath… Air was coming easily to her lungs for the first time.
"Oh…Oh…Oh…" she managed to gasp.
But then her body melted with weakness, and her eyes rolled back… She closed them.
"No!"
Someone seized her shoulders. Her eyes shot open.
Link? Link! Link.
He knelt at her side, searching her face. "No, Zelda, I won't let you…"
Die? He meant that he wouldn't let her die. She knew that. But was she really dying? It didn't much bother her, one way or another.
She closed her eyes again.
"Zelda!"
He sounded so scared.
"Zelda!"
But she was only dying.
"Zelda!"
It didn't really matter.
"Zelda!"
"Aika."
The guard stared at Jack, then answered uncertainly, "Aika."
"Lorin te?"
"Kara…" he replied, handing the pirate captain his breakfast.
Jack smiled. "Iltuh mikgare."
"Mikgare."
Continuing his experiment, Jack stated, "Omas appa Neilon Jack Sparrow."
The guard gave a slight, confused laugh as he said amusedly, "Ey, fami." He then watched Jack eat for a moment, and spoke up, "Autais cru faid perti omeas vejods."
This time it was Jack who stared, chewing slowly. After swallowing, he said, "Sorry, I don't have a clue what you just said, mate."
The guard laughed. "I said, I didn't know you speak our language."
"Oh," Jack nodded his comprehension. "Well, I don't, really. But she's been teaching me a thing or two," he explained, nodding to where Tetra lay in her cell.
"She's still sleeping?"
"Yep. Had a busy night."
The guard raised a confused eyebrow.
"Nightmares, I think," Jack explained. "She was tossing and turning, moaning and shouting and all that."
"Shouting?" the guard repeated. "Shouting what?"
Jack shrugged. "Something in your language, mate. Couldn't tell you."
The guard, who had been looking at Jack as he spoke, turned back to Tetra. He reached a hand towards the bars, apparently intending to rap his knuckles against them to rouse her.
"Zelda!"
Both men jumped when she rolled onto her back and let out the name in an almighty shriek.
"Wha—?!"
"Tetra!" Jack snapped loudly. He may not have understood why the princess' identity was so taboo, but he wouldn't disrespect her desire to keep it hidden.
She gasped loudly as she awoke and looked wildly at Jack. A split second later she realized she was clutching her necklace, and withdrew her hand as though burned. "What? What?"
Jack nodded toward the sailor standing there. "This man wants to say something to you, I believe."
"Oh…" As her mind sped up to match the pace of the world around her, she blinked up at an officer whose brow was furrowed as though he feared for her sanity. "Yes?" she pressed when he didn't speak.
'Yes,' he replied, snapping out of it. 'Uh…Commodore Faudry wishes to speak to you.'
Tetra felt the warmth of her heart recede completely, causing her veins to freeze. Her eyes snapped to Jack, whose eyebrows were raised in concern. She knew he hadn't understood what the sailor had said, though he had picked out the name Faudry. But, she realized promptly, she had forgotten to tell Jack exactly who Faudry was.
Well, it was too late for that now…
"Okay, then," she said clearly as she stood up, speaking for Jack's benefit. "I'll go speak with Commodore Faudry. Will the general be there as well?"
'I don't know. I don't think so.'
"You don't think so?" Once again, she was translating for her captain more than answering, but the soldier evidently didn't follow that.
'That's what I said,' he told her blankly. 'Come on, then, let's go.'
"Yes, let's go."
He flipped awkwardly through a key ring that he took from his belt until he found the right one, then he opened the cell. Tetra made to step out, but he held up a hand to stop her. 'Wait a sec.'
"Wait for what?" she asked condescendingly.
'You can't—I mean, I'm supposed to tie your hands,' he told her meekly; somehow, she noticed, Link's men seemed to bear her a kind of respect, almost reverence, that even they didn't understand the reason for.
Taking advantage of that fact to make him feel guilty, in the hope that she could manipulate him later, Tetra gave a weary sigh. "All right, then," she conceded, holding her arms out.
'Actually, it has to be behind your back. So you can't escape or anything.'
Although she turned around to allow him to follow orders, she did so only after deigning to cast him the most withering look she could manage.
"Good luck, love," Jack called as she was led away.
She turned a wan smile in his direction. "Thanks. I'll need it."
As she emerged onto the deck, she looked around quickly in the hope of spying Link, so that she might further pressure him to release her, but had no luck; there were hardly any sailors nearby. Faudry's quarters weren't very far away, and it was through the door to them which the sailor waved Tetra.
Her immediate impression was that the room wasn't nearly as nice as Link's, but she couldn't truthfully call this a surprise. Her second impression was the Faudry was nowhere in sight.
'The commodore will be here momentarily,' her escort told her. He nodded toward a simple wooden chair near a small, circular table on which there lay a length of rope. 'Take a seat.'
Tetra did so, moving with all the regal dignity in her body, then glanced at the man who had followed her there. He nodded, cleared his throat and said, 'I—Well, I'm supposed to tie you up here, too. So you can't get away.'
'Excuse me?' she said scathingly, not letting on that her heart rate had just doubled in sudden panic.
'Sorry,' the sailor muttered. He took the rope from the table and wrapped it around her, binding her fast to the chair. After tying the rope tightly behind her—she gave a grunt of discomfort and displeasure, just to worry him—he hurried away before she could have time to build her anger. She scowled as she watched him go, but a few moments later, her lips twitched into something like a smile. Despite the way she was being treated, she liked the respect, and the fear that stemmed from it.
She sat in silence as she waited for Faudry, her mind slowly rolling over what he could possibly need to say to her. She wondered how much he knew about Link. How much Felicitovente as a whole knew about her. How much anyone knew about the two of them together.
Before she had gotten very far along this train of thought, her eyes snapped to the door as it opened. Faudry entered the room, and gave a satisfied smile at the sight of her.
'Hello, there,' he said softly.
Tetra didn't answer, but continued to regard him hostilely.
'Don't know what I've done to deserve that attitude,' he told her mildly, crossing the room towards her; there was a stack of papers in his hand, which he lay on the table next to which she was seated, before leaning against it with his arms folded. 'All I did was say hello.'
'Hello,' she returned grudgingly.
'I just wanted to have a friendly chat,' he continued. 'Ask you a few questions. You see, I've got your files on hand—' He laughed at the look of incredulity that flickered over her face. 'Yes, Felicitovente has been following you, gathering statements and evidence from other pirates and such. I think we have a fairly thorough history of your activities, dating from before the founding of our empire.'
Tetra could feel her heart pounding at a dizzying speed, so hard that it echoed through her head and made it difficult for her to hear. They knew, they knew about ancient Hyrule and about Zelda…
But wait, she thought suddenly. They couldn't know. If they did, then they would also know about Link…
She remained utterly still, waiting for Faudry to explain himself further. He didn't, at first, then picked up the papers and began to riffle through them.
'Rather interesting details on your records, as I was saying,' he told her conversationally. Stopping on one page, he quoted, '"Several reported seeing her dive into the water to escape capture by opponents, not to emerge for over three minutes."' He glanced up at her. 'You have a remarkable lung capacity.'
'Thank you,' she said shortly. She didn't know where he was going with this, but she did know that her escape during the event to which he referred had nothing to do with her lung capacity and everything to do with certain other remarkable talents she possessed.
He turned back to the papers. '"A former friend of a crew member who spent time aboard her ship stated that she rarely sustained injuries, and when she did, they healed at a remarkable rate."' Once more, he regarded her curiously. 'Are you trained as a doctor, then?'
'I have some medical training, yes,' Tetra confirmed. But it was hardly any, acquired informally and more as a result of common sense and observation than anything else, and it wasn't how she healed.
'All sorts of things like this…' Faudry muttered, his eyes moving slowly over the lines of writing. 'You've been very fortunate, I must say. One might go so far as to suggest you were even…blessed.' He looked up on this word, and Tetra felt her heart leap involuntarily into her throat. She swallowed.
'But still a criminal in my book,' he assured her. 'You're a pirate, after all. That's what matters to me.'
'You don't care that I might be a good person, too,' she couldn't help growling.
'A good person?' he replied, matching her threatening tone. 'No. No, you're a little witch.'
'What did I do that makes me so evil?' she asked sharply.
'I just told you,' he replied smoothly. 'You're a witch.'
Tetra didn't move, but continued to look at him, wondering what he knew just what he was saying.
Faudry leaned in closer to her, hissing, 'Lots of unexplainable events associated with you, oh Queen of Pirates. Little details that can only mean one thing—witchcraft. Spells and enchantments and charms. Those demonic practices are outlawed in Felicitovente territory.'
This was the first Tetra had heard of magic being illegal, and her heart sank at the news, but only slightly. After all, she had enough other crimes on her record that another one like that wouldn't make a difference. Besides that, she had stopped using magic many years ago; the events to which Faudry had referred were all from her career within the months after her return from her quest with Link. It had been nearly a decade since then.
'Not a big deal?' Faudry asked, baring his teeth in a sort of grimace. 'No, it's not. Using magic isn't a severe offence in and of itself, really, not for someone with a criminal record as long as yours. But there are severe things that necessarily come with being a witch. Such as, say…being one of those infidels who believes in ancient Hyrule?'
Now Tetra's heart dropped so far that she was sure it had fallen right out of her body. She could no longer feel her arms and legs. From the sound of it, Felicitovente had made the connection between Hyrule and magic, and they didn't like it. Trying to look no more than confused and angry, and certainly not guilty, she said, 'I don't know what—'
'What I'm talking about?' Faudry interrupted. He snorted. 'Nice try. No, wait, what am I saying? That wasn't a nice try at all. That was pathetic.'
'So was that comeback,' Tetra muttered truthfully.
Faudry's face twisted momentarily to show his anger, but quickly fell back into his expression of accusatory indignation. 'Whatever you might say,' he told her, his voice growing lower with each word, 'I know the truth. You're much more than the Queen of Pirates. A little bit of research helped me make a connection that I can't believe no one has made before. There's was a woman, years ago, styling herself the Princess of Hyrule. Hasn't been seen in awhile…but I know she was—and still is—you.' Without giving her a chance to reply, he went on, 'And just think of this, Your Highness: General Reyga, the darling of the Felicitovente armed forces, adulterating himself with a woman who's not only a pirate, not only a witch, but the leader of both those most hated groups of criminals—the Queen of Pirates, the Princess of Hyrule.' He shook his head haughtily, then said in his most wickedly pious tone, 'For that…I'll see you both hanged.'
Tetra had no idea what to say. Her mouth was slightly agape as she tried to breathe, but it felt as though something was pressing down on her chest, crushing the air out of her body.
Her lack of a response apparently annoyed Faudry; he moved suddenly, lunging forward and gripping the arms of the chair in which she saw. She leaned away from him, but didn't blink.
'Listen to me, woman,' he hissed dangerously. 'Didn't you hear what I just said? I know who you are. You can deny it, but I know. And I know how you convinced Reyga to keep it a secret.'
Tetra's eyes darted over his face as her mind worked quickly, jolted from its stupor by this comment. Did Faudry not know…?
'This is what happened,' he began, standing up straight. 'The first time you came onto his ship, Reyga interrogated you, and he got you to admit the truth. Then you bargained with him—If he would do you the favour of letting you off, then you'd do him another kind of "favour." Am I right?'
She was only listening for one key fact, and his words appeared to be confirming it: Faudry really didn't know that Link was an ancient Hylian, too.
'And then,' he was now saying, 'it continued. He wanted to keep you around, but you didn't like the sound of that, even if he wasn't going to turn you in. So you escaped. But you owed him another "favour," for not pursuing you when you did, and so when you happened to meet up with him again, you had to pay him back. But that time, you got caught, didn't you?' He smirked, shaking his head. 'This is probably how you've stayed at large for so long, isn't it? Whenever someone comes along who might lock you up, you buy your freedom by whoring yourself out. Well, sorry…but your luck's run out. You can give me anything and everything you've got, and I'm still gonna throw you to the dogs.'
Tetra's mind was racing. That story was better than the truth. That story was simpler, and made it easy for both her and Link to deny any personal connection to each other or to ancient Hyrule. She would never have been able to come up with that lie on her own, but Faudry had handed it to her. Now she just had to make it stick—That, she reasoned, wouldn't be too hard; although she had never really used the tactics Faudry had accused her of, she had used similar strategies, such as those that worked on Michael. She could blind a man, she knew, so that he wouldn't notice if what she was saying didn't make sense; that was how she had managed to survive in the criminal world without learning to be a good liar. And desperate times called for desperate measures.
With an ugly sneer on his face, Faudry leaned in close to her again whispered venomously, 'So what are you going to do about—'
His question was cut off when she kissed him.
She knew he would pull away, knew he would never cave that easily, but she also knew that he would be completely thrown. She also noted that a full second passed before he broke from her.
His jaw was set, and his eyes wide with fury; a vein ticked in his temple, his face red with rage. But she knew exactly what he would want to hear.
'I'm sorry!' she gasped. 'I didn't mean to—I just—'
'What do you think you're doing?' he demanded viciously, his voice rather hoarse, from pure shock, she suspected.
'I don't—I'm sorry!' she said again, breaking eye contact to hang her heard. 'I just—You're right, I don't know any other way to…to negotiate or fight back or anything… I've always just…just…' She felt the tears she had been working on well up in her eyes, and let them do the talking.
'Stop it,' he snapped, though she heard the fear behind his voice. 'What are you doing? Shut up!'
She drew in her breath and bit her lips, making an apparent effort to control herself, but really willing herself to cry harder.
'No—Honestly—' he growled; in his frustration, he seized her by the shoulders. 'Stop it! What are you trying to do?! What do you think you're going to get from me?!'
Those were the magic words. 'I just want you to give me a chance,' she said pleadingly, speaking quietly so that he would have to move even closer to hear her. 'Please…if you would just trust me…I could show you…'
Kiss me, she thought desperately. I'm weak and needy and you're in charge here, you power-hungry lunatic, so kiss me already…
She could see that he wanted to. Not because of any attraction to her, really—Just to prove to himself that he was greater than the power which he thought had captivated the general. To prove that he could take advantage of her without falling into her control.
She could feel his breath on her lips. He was close…and with no more strength than a warm breeze, his mouth touched hers—
Even as she mentally rejoiced in this victory, knowing she had proven her point and that he now believed he understood and could control the way she worked, the scene became even more perfect. The door burst open; before Tetra could look to see who was standing there, he had charged at Faudry.
'You!'
Link practically threw the commodore across the room. He then slashed the ropes that bound Tetra to her chair and pulled her to her feet.
'Are you okay?' he muttered, words trembling. He wasn't looking at her, but working to untie her wrists, and his hands were shaking as much as his voice.
'I'm fine—'
But he didn't seem to be listening. Having freed her, he had rounded on Faudry and bellowed, 'Jack told me you'd taken her! What the hell do you think you're doing?!'
Faudry looked mutinous, and spat, 'Just wanted to test some theories about what gifts this woman possesses that allow her to have you on such a short leash.'
Link was white and convulsing slightly with sheer fury. Tetra had never seen him—or indeed anyone—so irate. He managed not to scream as he spoke, though it clearly took all his effort.
'If you ever come within ten feet of her again without my express permission, you're out of my army,' he said flatly. He then whipped around, grabbed Tetra by the arm in a painfully hard grip, and dragged her from the room.
As they stalked back across the deck towards her cell, he continued muttering furiously. 'That bastard… I knew he was evil, but I never thought…I mean, I thought that he hated you enough that he wouldn't—'
'He does,' Tetra interrupted; she was jogging to keep up as he pulled her along, but he came to an abrupt halt at her words.
'What?' he asked her shortly.
'I said…He does hate me that much,' Tetra elucidated.
'Wh—Then why—?'
'Because I made him.'
Link's eyes widened so far that Tetra thought they might actually leave his head. 'You did what?!"
'Listen to me,' she said bracingly by way of beginning, because she could tell he didn't want to. 'He's figured some things out,' she warned in a low voice. 'He was telling me… He knows who I am, Link. He knows who Zelda is.'
Link's expression, formerly twisted into rage, softened slightly to add confusion and worry to the mix. 'What? How? I don't get it.'
'He thinks you know, too,' she went on, 'and he thinks I slept with you so you wouldn't tell.'
'So he was trying to—'
'No,' she interrupted firmly. 'But the story he made up…it makes both of us look better than the truth does, frankly. It gives us more room to make up how much we know about each other, and to say that we've never met before. So I convinced him that I was trying to pull the same trick on him.'
Link's mouth had gone very thin. 'So you kissed him.'
'I kissed him.'
'And he—'
'Didn't take it well.'
She saw him relax; he also relinquished his grip on her arm. 'Oh. Well, that's a relief,' he admitted.
Tetra gave a small smile, but no more than that; his temper moments ago still had her wary of him. 'So everything's okay?' she urged him.
He hesitated, then said slowly, 'No, actually. I don't like the level of control Faudry has aboard this ship with regards to you. And Jack,' he added. 'I mean, he had enough influence to have you brought to his cabin without anyone even informing me? That's unacceptable.'
'Well…what are you going to do about it?" Tetra asked. 'He's a high-ranking officer, your men have to obey. Unless you demote him or something,' she suggested hopefully.
'No, I can't do that just because he annoys me,' Link sighed. He frowned, chewing on his lip, but lit up again almost instantly. 'Although,' he said shrewdly, 'maybe I don't have to do anything to Faudry.'
'Meaning…?' Tetra asked, eyeing him.
In an official tone of voice, Link proclaimed, 'From this point on, you and Jack will be what we call nomiskars. That means that you are technically still prisoners, but until we reach our destination, you're essentially free on this ship. You'll spend nights in your cells, but during the day, you can do whatever you want.'
Tetra blinked. 'You're allowed to do that?'
'Sure. It's generally a privilege granted to prisoners of war, especially on ships where there's not enough men, but there's no rule saying it can't apply to criminals as well. I'll be accountable for all your actions, though, and that might sound nice, but I'll remember it when you're on trial.' He raised a warning eyebrow. 'So don't take advantage of my hospitality. Deal?'
'Deal,' she said enthusiastically, grasping his hand to shake it firmly.
'Great…Oh, but there is one thing,' he added. 'You're under my command now, like anyone else on this ship, since I'm the general, and my first order is this: Stay away from Faudry.'
Tetra withdrew her hand from his quickly. 'Excuse me? How convenient of you to fail to mention that before.'
'Well, what, do you want to have to deal with him?' Link asked irritably.
'Of course not, but that's not the point,' Tetra snapped. 'The fact that you feel the need to take that choice away, that you would give that order for no apparent reason other than to flaunt your authority, that you don't trust me to make an intelligent decision—'
'The last time I asked you to make an intelligent decision, you chose instead to do the stubborn and stupid thing,' he muttered, 'so you'll forgive me if my trust in you is a bit dented.'
'Oh, yes,' Tetra growled, her own voice as low and threatening as his, 'how stubborn and stupid of me to not agree to marry a man who treats me like this.'
Link glared at her with pursed lips, then gave a grunt of frustration. 'Fine. You want a choice?'
He looked away from her and took his keys from his belt; he wrestled one free, took Tetra's hand, and forced it into her palm.
'There,' he said bluntly. 'That's your choice. You can either let Jack out, and you can both be nomiskars, or else you can lock yourself up and sulk for the rest of the voyage.'
Tetra clenched the key tightly, and said shortly, 'Thank you.' She turned on her heel without telling him what her decision was. He could guess.
'Stubborn and stupid,' she heard him growl as she walked away.
Jack was surprised to only hear one set of footsteps approaching, stomping back down the stairs that led to the cells where he and Tetra were being kept. He would have expected at least two, one for Tetra and one for her escort.
When she came into sight, alone and unbound, he raised his eyebrows.
"What's going—"
"You're free, Jack," she told him shortly; he noticed the key in her hand as she slid it into the lock to his cell. "For now, anyway. When we get to Felicitovente, you're back in chains, but for the duration of the journey, you're basically free."
"And you're not?" Jack inquired.
"No."
"Why—"
"Because I don't want to be," she cut him off. The door to his cell opened with a creak, but he didn't exit immediately, and not just because she was blocking the way.
"What's going on, love?" he asked slowly.
Tetra growled, and stepped from Jack's cell to her own, which stood open; she swung it closed and reached out between the bars to lock it.
"Link thinks he can tell me what to do," she muttered as she did so. "Here," she held the key out to Jack. "Give this back to him and tell him I'd rather be able to do whatever I want in my cell than whatever he wants on his ship."
Jack accepted the key. "Right." He had intended to continue to question her until he found out the full story, but he could sense the anger she radiated. Therefore he decided that he would have more luck talking to Link, and even then only if he left the situation alone for a few hours. He had never met anyone like those two for childish temper tantrums and grudges. He chuckled to himself at the thought.
"What's funny?" Tetra demanded.
"Nothing at all, love," he told her quickly. "I'm just on my way out."
Her eyes followed him as he made his way up the stairs to the deck—where he found Link leaning against the doorway that led below, his arms folded.
"Hello, Jack," he said.
"Hello, there, mate."
"Alone, I see?"
"Aye." Jerking his head but from where he had come, Jack explained, "She said she'd rather be—"
"Yeah, I heard her," Link interrupted petulantly. He held out a hand without a word, and Jack dropped the key into it. "Thanks." Pocketing the key, he explained, "So you're free on the ship now. I'm the commanding officer, though, so afford me all the respect you'd give to anyone else who was your boss. Savvy, mate?" he added irritably.
Jack grinned. "Savvy."
Link gave a sigh that was really more a huff of annoyance, then strode away, muttering under his breath words that Jack couldn't make out, but suspected to be Hylian oaths. He chuckled again, shaking his head. He just wanted to be present when Link and Tetra came to their senses, because he suspected it would be an amusing scenario.
Now, however, he had spare time and nothing to do with it. Except explore. This, therefore, he would do. Taking a deep breath of the sea air, he set himself to the task of learning about the Red Lion and her men.
"Eisha."
"Eisha," Jack repeated after the sailor, who was pointing to the object in question.
"Ey," he said happily. "What you call?"
"Mast," Jack told him.
"Mast…"
He laughed, and Jack followed suit. This word that he was so used to sounded strange when he actually thought about it. Tapping his toes against the deck, he asked, "Quis?"
"Tava," the sailor answered.
"Tava…deck."
"Deck."
This had been going on for half an hour.
Most of the sailors on the ship were fairly adept at speaking English; according to Link, whom Jack had only spoken to in passing, most Felicitovente sailors were, though most officials weren't. Link himself was the exception. There was also one young man aboard this vessel who was a fairly new recruit, and therefore only knew a word or two of Jack's language. The two of them were exchanging terms for various parts of the ship and other things at hand. Each found the other bizarrely fascinating, as did the other sailors, who passed them and grinned furtively in amusement.
"Reasteci mecara. This looks entertaining."
Link approached the two men, speaking in both languages in turn for their benefit.
"Ey, huc," Jack answered.
Link nodded, a trace of a smile visible beneath his serious expression. "Very good, Jack. Ler eswet hutsi pamide. It's nice to see you're friends."
He began to walk away, leaving them to their business, but Jack had been waiting all day for some definitive sign that Link was in a good mood. Therefore he hurriedly said to his friend, "Salaika…iltuh mikgare," shook his hand, and darted off after the general.
"Mikgare," the other man answered with a wave, plainly confused.
"Hey, Link, mate!"
The general turned back when he heard the pirate calling for him. "Yes?" he asked.
"I just wanted to ask you…Tetra didn't give me much in the way of details as to why exactly she's still imprisoned and I'm not," he explained tactfully.
"Ah…" Link's inquisitive expression darkened; he shrugged and turned away, muttering, "Yeah, well…"
He walked to the bow of the ship, perhaps in the hope of dropping Jack, but of course had no luck. Jack followed him, and stood next to him as he looked straight ahead pointedly. Neither of them spoke, though Jack stared at Link, awaiting an answer to his question.
Unexpectedly, Link let out a bitter sigh.
"She just doesn't understand," he said abruptly. Casting a sardonic grin at Jack, he added, "You know what I mean, don't you? Women. They don't make sense."
Jack chuckled to himself. "Aye." After a thoughtful, pause, he concluded, "You know, I've met some women sailors in my day, and even though I think I know the way they think, I really can't think of a woman in my life that ever made any more sense to me than a Frenchman." Glancing at Link, he explained, "Never could understand those people, either, see. I don't know what it is about the Europeans, but I think there's just something about knowing that there's no ocean between yourself and the king that makes them—"
"Jack?"
"Yes?"
"What are you talking about?"
The pirate captain shrugged. "Making conversation, mate, that's all."
There was a pause, during which both men stared out at the sea that shimmered with the light of the sun that was just about to begin its descent beyond the visible edge of the world.
"You know," Jack spoke up again momentarily, without looking at Link, "I knew a young man once, about your own age. Not really a pirate, technically. Son of a pirate, to be sure, and definitely with it in his nature…Will was his name. Don't know where he is now. But my point is, he was in love with a girl. Governor's daughter. Elizabeth."
He saw Link turn towards him in surprise, but kept his own gaze straight ahead.
"What happened to him?" Link pressed. "Did she ever love him back?"
"The dashing, intrepid hero who risked life and limb to save her? Of course she did. What girl wouldn't?"
Without looking, he knew the bitterness he would see in Link's face, and continued nonchalantly.
"Yes…she loved him, and he loved her, and they were in love, and it was a lovely happily ever after and a beautiful fairy tale ending full of love," Jack went on vaguely.
He heard Link give a sigh that sounded as if it were under intense pressure, and saw him slump against the gunwale, hanging his head to stare down at the wake that curled up before the Red Lion's prow. "Why can't Zelda just—"
"But really," Jack interrupted, as though the young general hadn't spoken, "if you ask me, there are some things, some…interactions, say…in the world that are better. Unique things, like… Between captain and crew, you know? Sailor and ship." He paused. "You and Tetra," he added, so quietly that Link didn't immediately react, probably doubting that he had actually heard any words spoken.
Plainly confused, he turned slowly to look at Jack, and finally said, "What do you mean?"
Jack turned around, folding his arms and squarely facing the young man. "Listen up, mate," he said bluntly, "I've seen love. I doubt you have in your many long years in this world, especially if you've spent those years chasing the dream of your little pirate girl—but I have. And believe me when I say that whatever you and Tetra have got isn't it. It's something totally different, and something infinitely more important."
Link still didn't move, though his expression was creased into a frown, of bemusement or disbelief, it was impossible to say.
"This young man I mentioned," Jack said, "I told him once that not all treasure is what he thought it was… I think you'd do well to learn that, too, mate."
He left Link staring out at the ocean, its waters dyed the colour of sweet wine by the ball of fire sinking below the horizon.
