Chapter Sixteen—Sword and Play

'I want everyone on this island hunting them down! Is that perfectly clear?'

'Yes, Imperial Majesty.'

'Then go! You're in charge!'

Faudry gave a quick salute, then hurried away, already barking orders to the nearest soldiers. He left the emperor standing with his two prestigious guests and the sailor who was their translator.

At this moment, Yentiko could think of at least ten reasons why he wished General Reyga hadn't forsaken the empire.

William spoke, and the translator nodded. To a frustrated Yentiko, he explained, 'He'd like to know if they can do anything to help.'

The emperor sighed, rubbing his eyes. 'Oh…I suppose they could look along with everyone else. Everywhere on the island needs to be searched for Reyga, those pirates, and that…man who interrupted everything.'

The translator relayed this message, and William and Elizabeth accepted it eagerly.

"Iltuh mikgare," Elizabeth said, already following her husband away. She tried to look concerned, and suspected that Will was trying to get out of the emperor's sight quickly in order to hide his inability to do so. They could only consider themselves lucky that hardly anyone could understand them when they spoke.

"We should split up, so people think we're looking," he pointed out, as they hurried down the stairs from the box seats overlooking the gallows.

"You're right…but where are we really going?" she asked. They had reached the ground, and looked around uncertainly.

"I'll go to Link's room," Will muttered quickly.

"All right," Elizabeth agreed. "I'll go to ours, and start getting ready."

"Good."

The two of them kissed briefly, then ran off in different directions, to prepare for their parts in the plan Link had devised and informed them of only the night before.


Tetra noticed as she walked that she was moving closer to Jack with every step. Although she chastised herself for it, she couldn't bring herself to move away again. Perhaps it was the intimidating dark, which was complete since Michael had advised her to put out the torches she had lit earlier, or the cold she noticed increasingly as each second passed. She didn't know where Michael was leading them, but nor did she want to break the oppressive silence to ask. All the passages looked the same; the only change she had noticed over the course of this trek was that for a time they had been walking uphill. But now the ground was flat once more, and the monotony of their footsteps had grown such that as long as they were walking through this meaningless space, in her mind, they were safe.

Michael put out a hand for them to stop.

"I think…" he murmured, stepping ahead carefully. He pushed against the stone wall before them; it groaned, creaked…then moved. A sliver of light cracked into the darkness, making Tetra squint, but Michael blocked it off almost immediately by peering through it.

"Yes," he whispered keenly, "this is the place."

Tetra and Jack curiously looked past him as he opened the wall further, to see where they were headed.

What they found was a wide, tall, luxurious room. Its walls were decorated with elegant art, including a large and richly-coloured tapestry which counterbalanced the eye-catching stone fireplace on the opposite wall. Several chairs, proportionately large, were situated to form a sitting area around the fire; the other side of the room looked to be a more personal, less social, office-like space, with features such as a desk strewn over its grand surface with official-looking documents, and a long, inviting couch. Several doors branched off of the walls, but with no concept of where this room was, it was impossible to say where they led.

"What is this place?" Tetra asked in awe.

"Link's quarters," Michael replied easily. "Well, part of it. There's other rooms, of course." He waved toward the doors.

"Link lives here?" Tetra blurted, mouth falling open in shock. She was used to thinking of him as a simple boy from a small village on Outset, and despite the grandeur against which she had seen him set lately, she still imagined him going home to a modest lodging.

"He won't live here for very much longer," Jack pointed out. "I think this infraction might cost him some of his privileges. Like that of life," he added in a mutter.

Tetra bit her lip; she could practically see Yentiko standing before a thronging crowd to announce that their beloved general had rebelled, thrown his lot in with notorious criminals and heathens, and would have to be executed…

"What are we supposed to do?" she asked, forcing out of her mind the image of Link dropping in a hangman's noose.

Michael shrugged. "For now, wait. That's all he said."

Jack could only shrug as well, in response to the incredulous stare that Tetra turned from Michael to him, which seemed to be longing for help.

"What, you think we should just sit here?" she demanded.

"I may not understand Link," Jack sighed, "but I know this: When I man has a plan which is intended to save your life, the last thing you should do is not follow it."

This was not logic that Tetra could argue with. Nevertheless, she insisted on wearing a stubborn expressions when she dropped into the nearest chair, the one behind Link's desk, to do exactly as Michael had suggested—wait.


Faudry's eyes were wide, his nostrils flared, his mouth slightly open, his very ears flexed as he attuned all his senses to any unusual presence. The masked man was somewhere…the traitor…the witch's ally….

Every soldier in the army was swarming the chaotic fortress and palace around him, and all the common people as well had been enlisted to search the town top to bottom for any sign of Tetra, Jack, Reyga, and the stranger in black. Even Will and Elizabeth were searching.

Faudry came to a halt arbitrarily, on a pathway leading from the palace to the rest of the city, to think more clearly. He closed his eyes, picturing the entire island as vividly as he could. There was somewhere they weren't looking, there had to be…

The tunnels.

Windfall Island had undergone serious renovations when Felicitovente had come into existence. The quaint town was entirely gone, and the entire island was now essentially a government centre more than anything else. But there was one unusual feature they had kept—A network of ancient tunnels, their original purpose unknown, snaked beneath the city. The army had cleaned them, reinforced them, and generally made them usable. Reyga, of course, knew them inside out and backwards, and so did Faudry, but only one of these two men was on the hunt at the moment. If there were pirates to be caught, he would catch them.

His eyes snapped open with new resolve. The nearest tunnel entrance was in the basement of a nearby watch tower, and so he sprinted to the corner of the street on which he stood and burst through the tower door. He ignored the few guards on duty who jumped when they saw him, threw open the trap door at the feet as they scrambled out of his way, and leapt nimbly down into the darkness.

It was utterly silent in the tunnel once the trap door fell heavily into place; all the chaos on the surface remained outside Faudry's path, leaving him to hunt in peace. Holding perfectly still, he stared ahead and tried to penetrate the darkness. Then he glanced back over his shoulder. There was nothing in either direction but the darkness that swallowed the infinite length of the tunnel.

Forward, if he remembered the directions of this labyrinth correctly, would take him closer to the gallows. This was therefore the route he chose.

As he walked, Faudry hated how loud his footfalls were. Anyone hiding just out of his sight ahead would hear him coming, and anyone behind him would find it that much easier to ambush him. This thought immediately caused him to shift his focus; though still walking forward, his attention was drifting in the other direction.

The silence pressed in on him, broken only by the steady sounds of his continued footsteps. And was that his own breathing, echoing so loudly? How had he not noticed it before? It drowned out even the steps. And he wished that whoever was behind him would just attack—He could feel a pair of eyes on the back of his neck.

On impulse, he whipped around, drawing his sword with a slick metal hiss and slashing it through the air to bite into whoever was following him. But it only whispered through the dark, touching nothing.

Faudry let out his breath silently, and shook his head at his own foolishness. The dark was making him paranoid. He turned back around, smirking to himself, though he also kept his blade drawn.

He had gone only a pace and a half when the voice spoke.

'You missed.'

Faudry froze. There was someone behind him. He turned around, straining his vision, and this time just managed to make out the vague silhouette of a man dressed in black.

'You…'

'Looking for me?' the stranger asked; his voice was bizarrely casual. 'Because if you're not, then I'd advise you to stick to the surface. Nothing else of interest down here.'

'Oh, really?' Faudry growled.

'Really.'

'No one else?'

'No one.'

'No…pirates?'

When the man didn't immediately answer, Faudry's mouth curled into a grin of satisfaction. Then—

'Pirates? Sorry. None.'

Faudry's grin was instantly a grimace. 'In that case…I'll settle for you.'

The black man sighed. 'I thought you might say that. All right, then. Let's go.'

There was the sound of a sword sliding from a sheath, and movement which Faudry could barely see, and then the stranger attacked.

Faudry was immediately on the defensive. He could barely see a foot before him, yet his opponent battled with the confidence of a man in broad daylight. It was clear to Faudry that he was only fighting lightly. Yet with a few quick strokes, he locked his own blade around the commodore's and disarmed him effortlessly. Faudry heard his sword clatter uselessly to the ground a few feet behind his opponent when it flew from his grip.

'Perhaps I should have warned you,' the stranger said apologetically, 'I've never lost a match.'

These words made Faudry gape. 'Reyga!'

'Reyga?' echoed the dark warrior, confusion in his voice. 'Oh, he's a general, isn't he? Is that who you mean?'

'You know I mean him, because you are him! He's never lost a match!'

There was a pause, and then the black man spoke again, conversationally.

'Yes, I've heard of him. Well, before today I hadn't, but I ran into him. Here. Very sad.'

'Wh—'

'Trespassing on my territory. Had to get rid of him. Unfortunate, but there you are. I'm not surprised to hear that he'd never lost before. He did put up a good fight. Died a man's death. But when two men who have never lost come into battle with each other…only one of them can win.'

As much as Faudry loathed Reyga, it chilled him to hear anyone speak so casually, so rationally, about murder.

'I don't believe you,' he said, not entirely believing himself.

'You mean the fact that I just defeated you with the ease of a man accustomed to this place was not proof enough?' asked the man smoothly. 'That is a shame. Two soldiers in one day. What a waste. You see, you have that other man's—Reyga was his name?—Yes, you have his arrogance. So now,' he concluded, almost wistfully, 'you will have to suffer his death.'

As the black man moved, Faudry blurted before he could think, 'Wait!'

His would-be killer paused. 'Yes?'

'I'll go,' he offered, 'without question. If you'll just do me one favour.'

'Why should I do you a favour? You are an intruder.'

'All I ask is that if you do see any pirates down here….kill them.'

The mysterious warrior lowered his weapon slightly. 'Ah. Fear not. All invaders receive due punishment.'

Faudry hesitated. 'Even women?'

'Why do you ask?'

'One of the ones I want to you kill is a woman.'

'I see. Let me assure you, I know no gender. Intruders are intruders.'

'Thank you,' Faudry said politely. 'I'll leave you alone.'

He lowered his eyes courteously as he stepped past the guard of the tunnels, not only as a gesture of respect, but also in the hopes of finding his weapon. And he did spot the bright metal—caught under a black-booted foot. He cursed internally. There was no hope of retrieving it.

Stopping where he stood, Faudry added, 'Also…thank you for what you did to Reyga. Eliminating him will be a great help to me.'

'Oh?' Faudry heard a smile in the other man's voice. 'I didn't know that. Well…we'll see, I guess.'

This response was far more ominous than any Faudry would have liked to hear. He couldn't resist asking, 'What do you—'

'Weren't you leaving?'

Faudry scowled; he hated being ordered to do anything, but unarmed and in the dark, he didn't have much choice. He would just have to come back at a more opportune moment to deal with this stranger, who seemed above the restrictions that bound most mortals.

Almost, he thought with a thrill of horror and realization, as if he were a wizard.

'I am leaving,' he assured the dark man slowly, 'but—I want to know how it is that you defeated me. And Reyga. I hate him, but his skill in combat is unparalleled.'

'The only ones who are unparalleled,' the man replied, just as slowly and clearly, 'are the goddesses.'

Something burst inside Faudry. 'You! Heretic!' he cried, pointing an accusatory finger. An instant later, he gave a cry of pain and recoiled as steel bit into his forearm.

'You. Heathen.'

And the man was gone with only a rustle of his cape.

Faudry immediately dropped to his hands and knees, scrambling for his sword, but it was gone. He cursed again in fury, but was unfazed; he stood up and began to run, but soon realized the pursuit was hopeless. He lost the sound of the other man's footsteps after a mere ten feet, but was quite certain that the warrior hadn't lost him. Balling his fists, he spat furiously, 'Damn it!'

Not even an echo answered.

There was no point, he thought sullenly. The only thing he stood a chance of finding down here was serious trouble. Therefore, continuing to glower sulkily, he turned back and made his way to the trap door through which he had come. He would find another way.


Michael sat by the empty fireplace, staring into it. Jack sat on the couch, with his hat pulled over his eyes, so that he wouldn't have to stare at anything. And Tetra sat behind Link's desk, drumming her fingers against its sleek wood. Continually.

"Love, if you don't mind," Jack commented casually, "that's rather irritating."

She only grunted, glaring at him as though he could see it. Michael lifted his head and looked between the two of them with a trace of a grin.

"You really haven't changed, have you?" he observed.

Jack peered up from beneath his hat's brim. "Did you expect us to, mate?"

"Well…I would think that the near death experience might change a few things," Michael pointed out awkwardly.

As Jack shrugged, Tetra sighed, "Another day, another person trying to kill us." She opted against giving him the details of exactly why this attempted murder was nothing like any of the others she had ever faced in her life.

Michael, smiling, opened his mouth again, but was cut off when the door opened; all three of them tensed, ready to spring.

"Oh, good. You're here."

It was Will. Tetra slumped, but Jack scrambled to his feet.

"Will, mate! You're in on this plan, too?"

"Of course I am," Will said promptly. "And so is Elizabeth. I'm going to help you, and she's going to help you, Tetra."

"Help us with what?" the woman to whom he addressed himself asked slowly, frowning.

"Disguises."

Before Tetra could ask him to elaborate, the other door opened, the secret hidden behind the wall, and she turned sharply to see who was arriving.

"Link!" she exclaimed happily. She saw him smile at her, though his face was covered with a black mask everywhere except the eyes. He and Michael really did look like one man in their identical disguises.

"Hi. Everyone's here?" He quickly counted. "Where's Elizabeth?"

"In our room, waiting for Tetra," Will answered.

"So what's this plan you've got?" Jack asked.

Link nodded, and took a deep breath. "All right. Now, I'm pretty sure I've got Faudry off on a wild goose chase. Michael, you're my decoy, so go get the ship."

"Right."

"Will, you stay here and start getting to work with Jack."

"Of course."

"And I'll be back to help in a few minutes, after I take you, Tetra, to Elizabeth." He jerked his head to indicate that they were headed back through the tunnels. Perhaps he saw the disappointment on her face at the prospect of more enclosed darkness, because he said apologetically, "Sorry, but they lead everywhere except to the prison."

She sighed. "I can't exactly argue with you," she admitted. "I don't have a clue what's going on."

As she passed through the door he held open for her, without looking back at the others, she asked, 'Why didn't you tell me anything about this plan? Before?'

'Well,' he began thoughtfully, closing the door behind them and waving for her to follow him, 'because I kind of made it up at the last possible minute. And also because I knew you'd try to take over your own rescue operation. And I didn't want you to be guilty of conspiracy,' he added with a shrug.

'But you are now,' she pointed out.

'Yeah,' he agreed carelessly, 'but I've got bigger things to worry about.'

What he meant by this, Tetra could only guess. She didn't know if he intended to face the death his emperor wanted to give him.

They walked on, side by side, in silence. Tetra could think of nothing to say, though the silence was agonizing.

'Talk to me,' she finally spoke up shortly.

He glanced up at her. 'Why?' he asked, sounding almost amused.

'Because—it's so stupid, walking along and not saying anything!'

She heard him sigh, before asking pleasantly, 'How are you today, Zelda?'

She grinned at the sound of her name. 'Fine, thanks.'

Whether or not he knew what she meant, he didn't answer. Only seconds later, however, he stopped.

'Here we are.'

As Michael had done when bringing Tetra and Jack to Link's room, Link now placed a hand on the wall and pushed. And, just as before, the heavy stone ground in resistance, but nevertheless yielded to reveal brightness.

"Link! Tetra!"

On the other side stood Elizabeth, in a room as finely decorated as Link's, if somewhat smaller and lacking the desk area.

"Hi, Elizabeth," Link greeted her. "Ready?"

She nodded, looking Tetra over. "Let's go."

"Okay, then." Link prodded Tetra forward, telling her, 'I've got to go back now, I have a few more things to do. Elizabeth will fill you in on the rest of the plan.'

'Aren't you—'

'Bye.'

He was already closing the door behind her as she stepped forward to demand answers, and it silently but firmly shut in her face. She stared at it in indignation.

"Tetra?" spoke up Elizabeth presently.

The pirate woman stood still a moment longer, then turned around. "Sorry," she said. "I'm just not used to all this secrecy from him…What are we doing now?"

Elizabeth waved an arm to the sitting area; two large and comfortable armchairs sat by a small, decorative table. All three pieces of furniture were heaped with bright, elaborate women's clothes. "Getting you a disguise," she answered. "This is my wardrobe."

Tetra felt her heart sink—dresses.

"Let's pick something out," Elizabeth urged her, stepped forward to begin looking through the piles. "You're a bit smaller than me, and thicker built, so we might have trouble finding something that's going to fit. It's going to take some work to make you—well—"

She hesitated, slowly taking in Tetra's dirty, weathered appearance.

"To make me look like a lady?" the pirate woman offered.

"Well…yes," Elizabeth confirmed heavily. "I don't know how much experience you have…"

"More than you think," Tetra assured her, grinning. She couldn't resist adding, "I am a princess, aren't I?"


"Put this on."

"Wear that with it."

"That doesn't match."

"Sure, it does. See the detailing?"

"Remind me again… Are you two the pirate's son and the knight, or the governor's daughter and the princess?"

Link glared at Jack, too occupied with fixing his own tie on his outfit to do anything worse. His nerves were frayed to their very tips as he worried about the success of his plan; he didn't like how long he had been absent from public sight for. If he was going to convince them that he wasn't the man in black, he was going to have to appear soon, wearing the clothes he had last been seen in, which had gotten rather damaged in the process of his magical change of clothes; he wasn't experienced in such transformations.

"Shut up and get dressed," Will ordered the pirate captain bluntly.

Jack cast him a grin before beginning to do so, and as he turned away from the other men, Link grumbled impatiently, "How do you put up with him?"

"The trick," Will informed him, "is to never assume that you know what he's thinking. Just take each comment in the moment, and don't worry about what he just said or what he's about to say. It won't make him any easier to understand," he admitted, "but at least you won't drive yourself mad."

"That seems to be the most anyone can expect," Link observed.

"Oh, no," Will said confidently. "The most you can expect is that he'll help you fall into some happy accident that will give you everything you've ever wanted, and some things you didn't know you wanted, and make your life perfect."

Link had no idea what to say to this. Rather than answering, he swore under his breath at the wrinkles in his cuffs.

Ten minutes later, they were dressed. Link and Will looked like themselves, but Jack was dressed as a well-off Felicitovente native. He was wearing a combination of clothes belonging to the other men, which didn't fit him perfectly, but which bothered him more because of their style—a blue tunic over tights the same shade of green as the tunic's embroidered details, with dress shoes of patent leather that features silver buckles. He was battling between the urges to refuse to participate in any plot which involved this outfit, and turning over a new leaf to sympathize with every similarly-attired fop he had ever robbed blind. He decided that he would try to ignore himself, unless anyone looked at him wrong, in which case he was quite certain that he would be overcome by some desire to prove his masculinity by giving out a beating. So far, neither Will nor Link had tempted him to do so, since of course they were dressed almost the same way. He found he was almost disappointed.

"All right," Link said, "back to the tunnels again. Jack, I'll take you to meet Tetra. Will, you go meet up with Elizabeth again."

He nodded, but added with a warning smile, "I don't know if they'll be ready yet. I've seen Elizabeth take hours to get ready when she wants to look her best, and as for Tetra…"

"She's fast, mate," Jack assured him calmly. Both Link and Will looked at the pirate captain in surprise at the confidence with which he spoke, but he, apparently satisfied with his cryptic remark, did not elaborate.

"All right," said Link slowly, still frowning at him, "let's go."

Will nodded, and headed out of the room via the main door without awaiting further instructions. Link once more heaved open the entrance to the tunnels, and he and Jack disappeared again into the dark.

"Is it far to where we're going?" the latter asked immediately.

"No, it's really not. Will and Elizabeth's room is only down the hall from mine, so…" He let the idea finish itself, and Jack understood.

Momentarily, the hallway began to lighten, and they soon realized that this was because the secret doorway leading to the guests' room stood open. As they came near, they saw a figure standing framed in the doorway.

"Hi," Link began, recognizing Elizabeth. "Is she ready to—"

He heard himself choke when Tetra stepped into view at the other young woman's side. He had seen her dressed as a princess before, and always imagined her as such in his memories, but there had always been something almost masculine in her conduct; now, however, it was clear that she was more practiced and being a woman. She carried herself gracefully, and the elegant clothing, cosmetics and jewellery that she wore actually suited her. Her gown was dark purple, trimmed in gold and pearls, and her blonde hair fell freely about her face in perfect waves. She looked as though she was a princess not only by blood but by upbringing.

"You…uh…"

"Clean up good?" she suggested, her newly pink lips curving into the same old smirk.

"No," Link countered quickly; just as quickly, he corrected, "Well, yes, you do, but that's not what—"

"Oh, shut up and come on," she sighed, hitching up her skirts and pushing past him into the tunnel.

"Ah," he observed, nodding, "there you are. Nearly lost you for a second there in all that girly sugar and spice."

She chuckled; he was obviously must more comfortable around her when she was acting like she was still armed and dangerous. Unable to resist, she put on her most playful expression and spoke in a voice to match.

'Last time I checked, you didn't mind when I acted like a girl,' she reminded him smoothly. 'But,' she added, laying a hand on his shoulder and smiling, 'if this disguise is going to work, you're going to have to forget about that.'

He raised an eyebrow at her. 'I can if you can,' he retorted. "Come on, I'll take you to the docks."

He broke off from her grip and began to lead the way. She watched him go, then glanced toward Jack, who was looking at her with his eyebrows raised. She wondered if he had understood their interaction.

"After you," he said politely, waving for her to start down the hall with a smile. She nodded courteously, and accepted the invitation.

The plan was about to begin.