Chapter Seventeen—Ladies and Gentlemen
Tetra took a deep breath and glanced at Jack.
"Ready?"
"When you are," he nodded.
She took another breath. "Okay. Let's go."
Slipping her hand into his, she smiled pleasantly, and stepped forward. They walked together from the dock where they stood, near a well-camouflaged exit from the tunnels which Link had brought them to, and made their way up the stairs that curved along a cliff-like side of the island. Tetra could almost feel her heart hammering as they came into sight of the town itself, fearing of the prospect of walking around in public when these people wanted her dead…but she knew how different she looked from herself, knew that Jack did as well, and knew that no one would think anyone would be stupid enough to appear when they were wanted. Therefore, she insistently held her confidence. She was a confident person.
But nevertheless, she gripped Jack's hand even more tightly as she summed up the courage to lead him to a nearby soldier.
It was a private they chose to approach, a young man unlikely because of his lack of experience to recognize them. Jack tapped the man on the shoulder, and Tetra wished once again that it were more socially acceptable for a woman to speak on behalf of a man than the other way around. It would have made all this so much easier if she hadn't been obligated to stand their and smile vapidly.
The private reached quickly for his sword as he turned, and started when he saw the two people before him.
'Oh,' he said blankly. 'May I help you?'
Jack glanced briefly at Tetra, who merely widened her passively cheerful smile. In response to the signal that this was the expected response, he spoke the sentence she had taught him.
'Sorry to bother you, but could you tell us where we might find General Reyga?'
His accent was flawed, but fortunately, his character was a foreigner. Tetra continued to focus on looking perfectly normal, though she felt her heart rate increase as she saw the man stare closely at both her and Jack.
'Do I know you?' he asked slowly.
To give Jack an indication of how to answer, Tetra creased her brow into an expression of polite curiosity, and tilted her head inquisitively.
'No,' Jack guessed. 'So…could you tell us where we might find General Reyga?'
Although he still looked doubtful, the soldier pointed a thumb over his shoulder, toward the fortress. 'Somewhere in there, probably in the royal areas, but he really could be anywhere.'
Tetra smiled brightly again, once again communicating that this warranted a simple, rehearsed answer.
'Thank you,' Jack said politely.
As soon as he had spoken, Tetra began to lead him away before they could be roped into conversation, but their guide was already speaking again.
'There's a search going on, though,' he said. 'Didn't you know?'
They stopped and turned back, Jack glancing at Tetra for an answer.
'A search?' she echoed; it was too risky to let Jack try to handle this part of the discussion with his limited language skills. 'For what?'
The man looked bewildered. 'Well… If you haven't heard, you really should be warned… There's two dangerous criminals on the loose.'
Tetra placed a hand near her throat in an imitation of ladylike horror, and saw Jack copy her dainty expression in a more masculine way. 'Oh, how awful!' she gasped. On impulse, she couldn't resist adding, 'I'm sure he'll catch them, though.'
'Who will?' the soldier asked. Remembering who they had been asking about, he added, 'You mean General Reyga?'
'Yes, of course,' she confirmed with a proud nod. 'He's never let anyone down.'
'Then…do you know him well?'
'Oh, yes, quite well.'
With this cryptic answer and a continued sweet smile, she led Jack away. They were both eager to be out of earshot so they could speak and act freely.
"What were we so upset about?" he asked in a low voice, when they had ducked around a corner into a small side street that was empty of townspeople.
"The escaped criminals," she answered quickly, glancing around to ensure they were really alone and no one would notice them speaking English. "Where do you think we are?"
Jack looked around critically, and assessed, "On the opposite side of the island from where we first docked. I don't see any of the places we saw then. And it makes sense that they would keep the royal chambers and all that as far away from the military and the dungeons as possible."
"All right…" Tetra murmured slowly. She concluded that he was right; there was nothing familiar in sight, and Link had told them that he was leaving them near the area of the fortress that served for more noble than martial business. "So let's go in, then. The nearest door we can find."
Jack nodded in agreement, and held out his arm. She sighed, and allowed herself to fall back into character by hanging onto him once again.
They stepped out of the back street, and casually let their eyes wander from side to side. A tall and stately door stood only a few feet away, and though the complex architecture of the buildings of Windfall made it difficult to say if this actually led into the central fortress itself, it seemed a logical guess to make. By unspoken consent, they made for it, and were relieved to find that it opened.
On the other side was an area of the fortress apparently much more suited to receiving guests than those which they had so far encountered. It was, quite simply, vast; its ceilings vaulted twenty feet overhead, with marble pillars stretching towards them, and its flagstone floor swept out on all sides. Other than the impressive structural elements, this lobby was empty, though equally elegant hallways extended out from either side, and directly facing them was a pair of tall, double doors very much like those through which they had passed to enter the place. Jack let out a low whistle.
"Wow," he observed.
'Excuse me?'
Both of the visitors looked sharply to their left; in the gaping entrance of the hall there appeared another soldier, one of the many who probably lurked in every corner of this place, and every corner of the island now that it was being scoured. He was approaching them swiftly, and Tetra drew in closer to Jack in a gesture that was not only on behalf of her character.
'May I inquire as to your business here?' the officer asked formally. He was clearly of a higher ranking than the private they had spoken with earlier.
With her arms through Jack's, Tetra subtly nudged him in the side to tell him to speak. He recited his line like a trained parrot.
'Sorry to bother you, but could you tell us where we might find General Reyga?'
The official raised his eyebrows. 'No, I cannot. However, if you have an appointment, I can inform him of your arrival.'
'We don't have an appointment,' Tetra spoke up apologetically, 'but could you tell him I've come anyway? He'll want to see me.'
Obviously sceptical about her assurance, the soldier asked, 'And who might you be, ma'am?'
Tetra smiled and gave a small curtsey. 'My name is Miss Aryll Reyga.'
'Imperial Majesty, I'm sorry, but I don't know what more I can say,' Link repeated himself, standing in a position as stiff as his voice. 'I can only assure you that I had nothing to do with the escape of the prisoners. I confess, again, that I did leave the box as soon as you turned your back on me, but I was only bound for my chambers. I didn't know anything was wrong until I heard the commotion in the hall outside my room.'
'Reyga, do you really expect me to believe that?' Yentiko snapped. 'You disappeared at the exact moment they did.'
'I left before they did,' Link reminded him coldly, feeling his own jaw stiffen in anger, 'so I was not present during their escape. And I have since returned.'
'And they still have not! Where are they!'
Even Link would never have suspected such a bluntly illogical question from the emperor. His mouth hung open a few moments before he began, 'With all due respect, Imperial Majesty, you cannot seriously expect—'
'General, sir!'
'One moment,' Link sharply cut off the approaching soldier; the man came to a halt just behind his superior, who continued speaking to Yentiko. 'Majesty, you cannot expect that I can provide you answers simply because you choose to believe that I am in continued alliance with your enemies. I have professed my innocence, I have accounted for my whereabouts, and I will assist you in your search for the two convicts, but let me assure you equally that the moment this situation is resolved, I will gladly relinquish the full extent of my current control of Felicitovente's armed forces and justice system over to you. Until that time, I would respectfully request that you treat me with the dignity my rank affords.' He bowed shortly to the seething ruler, who looked too furious to speak. 'Thank you. Now…' he turned to the other man, 'you had something to say?'
'Uh…General, sir…there's a woman here to see you.'
Although Link of course knew who this was, and despite himself felt highly relived that she had arrived according to plan, he nevertheless placed a blank expression upon his face. In the short tone of a man who had been bothered in the middle of something important, he asked, 'A woman? I'm not expecting anyone.'
'No, sir, she doesn't have an appointment.'
Link raised his eyebrows. 'Then why does she expect that she should be able to see me? I'm busy. Or more accurately, what did she tell you that you decided I should be interrupted with the news of her presence?'
'Her name, sir.'
'Which is…?'
'Aryll Reyga.'
Link gaped, hoping to express amazement and delight in a single expression. 'Aryll! Oh, really? That's wonderful! Yes, I'll see her right away! Where is she?'
'The entrance hall, sir, waiting for you. She anticipated that you might agree to see her.'
'Of course, yes!' To Yentiko, he added, 'Majesty, could I go to welcome her?'
The emperor was frowning doubtfully at him. 'Aryll…I know that name…and she's a Reyga, a relative of yours?'
'I'm sure I've mentioned her,' Link agreed promptly. 'She's my sister.'
Yentiko's face relaxed, though his eyes remained dark. 'Is that so?'
'Yes. You must have heard me talk about my sister, even if I never mentioned her name…'
'I have, yes. I would certainly like to meet her.'
As much as he had been sure this would happen, Link had still been hoping it wouldn't. He didn't let the emperor bother him, though; he replied swiftly, his smile unchanging.
'And I would love for you to meet her.'
"Taerv…Taerv…"
Jack was murmuring to himself as he waited at Tetra's side. He was having difficulty articulating the proper vowel in the name that was supposed to be his.
"You can have an accent, you know," his fake fiancée reminded him. "They speak different dialects in the colonies, Creoles and things like that."
"Can't have an accent on my own name, though, can I, love?" he pointed out. "Unless I'm saying right and everyone else is saying it wrong."
Although Tetra didn't answer, she considered this as Jack returned to his mutterings.
"If you say it differently," she spoke up, "it would be because all the rest of us don't speak your dialect, and so we are all saying it wrong. But since I'm the love of your life," she added smilingly, "I would have to say it right. So…what is it?"
"Taerv," he told her, slowly and clearly, grinning at her logic.
"Taerv," she echoed. "And—"
'Aryll!'
The volume of Link's voice startled Tetra; she jumped, whipping around but she knew why he had done it—to cut her off before her sentence became obviously English. She beamed, hoping to convey her relief and joy at the sight of him.
'Link! It's so good to see you!'
'Aryll, I can't believe it's really you!' Link answered, approaching her with open arms. She accepted the warm embrace, as well as returning the fraternal kiss he placed on her cheek, asking, 'How's my little sister?'
'Oh, I'm doing well,' she said. 'Busy, though. You know, planning a wedding and all.' Widening her smile, she tried to look the part of an excited bride.
'Oh, yes,' Link muttered with a mock stern expression. His eyes slid over to Jack. 'Is this the guy who thinks he good enough for my baby sis?'
Tetra, realizing that she had been ignoring the man she was supposed to be madly in love with, compensated by eagerly taking Jack's hand in both of hers to pull him closer to her. 'Yes, here he is!' she laughed cheerfully. 'Taerv, this is my brother, Link. Link, Taerv.'
Jack stepped forward with a grin and said pleasantly, 'Hello.'
'Taerv? Hello,' Link said in the same courteous tone as the two men shook hands. 'And I should introduce you both,' he added. Indicating the man standing next to him, he said, 'You both know this man, of course. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Yentiko.'
In response to this introduction, Tetra put on a shocked expression. She didn't bother exaggerating it to allow Jack to imitate her emotions, because she was confident he could follow what was happening without her help.
'You Majesty!' she gasped. 'Oh, this is such an honour…' She curtseyed politely as Jack bowed, and Yentiko replied with a dismissive wave of the hand.
'Very nice to meet you both,' he said in the lofty tone of a man trying to appear unaffected by such shows of respect. 'Miss Reyga, Mr…?'
'Endosen,' Jack answered, giving the name Link had told him belonged to Aryll's fiancé. 'Your Majesty,' he added quickly, spotting Yentiko's frown.
But the emperor continued to look doubtful about something even after the correction. 'You're a Felicitovente man, are you, Mr Endosen?'
'Yes, I am' Jack confirmed, when Tetra's compulsive smile told him he should do so. Anticipating awkward questions, she then spoke up.
'Forgive me, Your Majesty… He's not from the Great Sea. The colonies.'
Yentiko nodded, reassured, to the great relief of all present. 'Ah, yes. I see.'
Still, Tetra could sense that Link was eager to escape his emperor. Speaking delicately, he asked, 'Majesty…I'm very sorry, but it's been so long since I've seen my sister, and so much has happened and is happening in her life—being married and everything—would it be possible for me to be…excused…from the current military activities?'
It was remarkable, Tetra thought, how quickly Yentiko's eyes could become ice cold. Her smile became stiff and nervous, but she thought Aryll seemed like the type who would wear such an expression in the presence of an angry ruler rather than standing up for herself.
'I suppose so,' grunted Yentiko hesitantly. 'But be on the alert for any new developments.'
'Of course, of course,' Link said acceptingly. 'I only want to show them around the fortress. They've never been to Windfall before.'
The emperor's eyes lingered on the two supposed lovers, making Tetra highly self-conscious. She reminded herself again that her disguise was thorough, that Yentiko would never suspect that the notorious Hylian witch could pass for a sweet lady from Outset.
'You are dismissed,' Yentiko concluded, still looking not at Link but at the visitors. 'I should return to my own duties. And General,' he added, turning around and placing a warning hand on the other man's shoulder, 'make sure you watch out for them. Felicitovente's not safe at the moment. We would necessarily be quite concerned if something should happen to your guests.'
Link remained stiff and silent for a moment, then answered formally, 'I would never let anything happen to my sister. Or anyone she cares about.'
Yentiko smiled icily. 'Then I'll let you be.'
As he walked away, holding Link's attention, Tetra felt it was now her turn to remind her partner in crime what was going on.
'So, big brother, what are we going to see first?' she spoke up.
He didn't react right away, but then quite suddenly turned to her and smiled artificially. 'I'll take you around the palace,' he offered. 'Maybe I could show you my quarters?'
'That sounds wonderful,' Tetra said pleasantly.
Something drew her attention, and she let her gaze slide to the tall, wide doorway leading to the hall via which he and Link had first arrived. She started at the sight of the emperor lurking there, watching as though waiting for something. As quickly as she had seen him, she looked away. She had to do something to convince him completely that they were who they said they were.
'Doesn't that sound wonderful, Taerv, darling?' she asked, slipping her arm through his and looking at him pointedly.
'Yes, love, of course,' he agreed obediently.
'Follow me,' Link instructed them, turning and leading the way; he was taking them down the other hallway, opposite where Yentiko stood. Tetra didn't like turning her back on the emperor, but she fell into step behind the general without hesitation. She had to trust that he knew what he was doing
"Do you know where the emperor is?"
"No, I'm sorry, I don't… Have you checked his quarters?"
"Yes, there's no sign of him."
The soldier shrugged apologetically and said again, "I'm sorry. If I see him, would you like me to tell him you're looking for him?"
"No, don't worry about it," muttered Will. "We just wanted to ask him how the search was going, since we haven't found a thing…"
"No one has, unfortunately," sighed the soldier candidly, looking around the hall where he had encountered the Turners.
"Have you seen General Reyga at all?" Elizabeth suggested innocently. "Perhaps we could talk to him."
Both she and Will felt that the surprise on the officer's face couldn't be a good sign. Their suspicions were confirmed when he said, "Well, no one's seen him since the execution, I don't think. Yentiko sent someone to look for him in his chambers, but Faudry's been put in charge of the search, so he's the one you should check with."
Elizabeth opened her mouth slowly, trying to invent an excuse, but Will was quicker.
"Only Reyga speaks our language," he pointed out. "And besides that, he's our friend. If something's wrong, we really should check on him."
"Yes," she agreed quickly. "We'll—"
But before she could suggest that they wait in the hallway where they stood, where both their own and Link's rooms were located, the necessity for any lie was taken away.
"Will! Elizabeth!"
Both husband and wife turned in unison at the sounds of their names.
"Oh, General Reyga!" Elizabeth said, with a laugh of surprise.
Link smiled and waved.
"Reyga," Will echoed, "we were just inquiring after you. And…if I may ask…" he added, eyes wandering to Tetra, who stood with Jack's arm around her waist, "who is this you have with you?"
He asked the question only because the soldier to whom he and Elizabeth had been speaking was still looking interestedly from one side of the conversation to the other. Link remained similarly in character as he answered; it couldn't hurt to let someone else hear their alibi.
"Oh, yes, you haven't met." He pulled Tetra forward, though she only unwillingly allowed him to distance her from Jack, and said politely, "This is my little sister, Aryll." To her, he said a few short comments in the other language, indicating the Turners as he said their names.
Tetra gave a small wave and equally small smile. "Aika."
"She doesn't speak any English," Link explained apologetically. Indicating Jack, he went on, "And this is her fiancé, Taerv."
The soldier was probably the only one present who wasn't fighting back laughter as Jack said his own, "Aika."
"They've just dropped by for a visit, because I hadn't met Taerv," Link explained. "I was showing them around, and then I thought we might go for a bit of a cruise around the island today."
"Today?" echoed Elizabeth in a tone of disappointment.
"Yes… Is something wrong with that?" Link inquired curiously.
"Well, assuming the search is over by that time," Will reminded him, "the three of us had made plans to go out this evening. You were going to show us some of Windfall's neighbouring islands. Did you forget?"
"Oh," Link said slowly, looking between his four guests thoughtfully. He chewed on his lip for a moment, then spoke up, "I don't think that's really a problem. I can't think why all five of us couldn't go out together. You two have a ship, don't you?"
"That sounds perfect," Elizabeth said happily, casting a smile at her husband, who nodded.
Tetra asked Link an innocent question in their language, which he answered; she then smiled cheerfully, and spoke again.
"She says she looks forward to getting to know you," Link translated. "So, let's say we'll meet here, in about two hours?"
"We'll see you then," Will confirmed. Nodding to the other couple, he added, "And we look forward to getting to know your sister and her…future husband as well."
As Jack and Tetra looked to Link for answers, they tried to pretend they weren't fighting down laughter at the inexplicably bizarreness of hearing themselves referred to as Aryll and Taerv, two people in love. Instead, they merely said their thank yous, which Link relayed to the Turners.
"Until then," he continued, "I was just showing them to my quarters, and I imagine the two of you have business to attend to?"
"Yes," Will sighed, doing his best to sound concerned. "Still no sign of the fugitives, is there?"
"No, nothing," Link answered in the same tone, furrowing his brow to match. "I hope everything is resolved quickly."
"Don't we all," agreed Elizabeth, nodding her certainty.
On this note, they parted, passing each other on their opposite ways down the hall.
As he led the two pirates, Link made a point of telling them, 'It's this way to my room, where I live. Emperor Yentiko takes excellent care of me here, and there's plenty of room…'
As soon as they had closed the door behind them, though, he dropped the act.
"All right," he muttered in a whisper. "We're all set up now, I guess. Yentiko's seen you, we've publicly made plans with Will and Elizabeth… Anything else we need to do to make sure this goes as planned?"
Jack gave a sidelong frown at Tetra, who knew he had spotted the same flaw with the plan that she had.
"What is it?" Link asked blankly, looking between them for an answer.
"I don't know if Yentiko believes us, mate," Jack said flatly. "He doesn't think we're really your sister and her lover."
"Yeah—Well—What are we supposed to do about that?" Link asked. "You're not. And at the very least, he didn't raise any objections. We only need these disguises to hold until tonight."
His words, while true, still weren't enough for Tetra. She made a nervous noise in her throat, which made him sigh in irritation.
"What is it?" he asked resignedly, clearly fighting not to roll his eyes at her.
Tetra squared her shoulders, knowing what her protest to his comment would be. "I think we should spend a bit more time around Yentiko."
"Wh—!" She saw Link's ire raise, and then saw him swallow it as he remembered that he had to be quiet. In an aggressive hiss, he demanded, "Why in the hell would we do that? We saw him already, that's enough! We're trying to avoid him, remember? Why should we spend time with him?"
"Your friend here makes a good point, love," Jack spoke up.
Tetra snapped her head around to gape at him; hadn't he been on her side only moments ago?
"Thank you, Jack," Link said wearily, nodding his thanks.
"No one who's trying to avoid being arrested would spend their time anywhere near the one who would be doing the arresting," the captain continued, "so of course there is no one Yentiko would suspect less of being the criminals he's looking for than the only two people that he doesn't have to look for."
Tetra beamed delightedly at Link, trying not to allow herself to be smug or childish by doing something like sticking out her tongue, but he was staring blankly at Jack rather than at her.
"Are you agreeing with her?" he asked in blunt amazement.
"Yes, I am, mate," Jack confirmed.
Link's eyes instantly snapped to Tetra, as if seeking an answer. "Two against one, big bro," she said mildly.
With a low growl, Link balled his fists, and Tetra saw by the way his jaw stiffened that he was gritting his teeth hard. "You," he finally concluded jerkily, "both of you…have some kind of death wish."
"But you admit we're right," Tetra inferred.
"No."
"Then…you know we're right, but you won't admit it."
"No! I—"
Once again, he interrupted himself, turning away from the other two to pace in irritation.
"Fine," he muttered at last, "fine. Knock yourselves out." He came to a halt, and pointed a threatening finger at them. "But I warned you. If you get caught, don't blame me."
"You're not coming with us?" Tetra asked in surprise.
"I'm not suicidal," Link told her by way of answer. "You can go ahead and tell them that you have my permission to wander around on your own, tell them I'm busy with something, but if they find out that you is Tetra and Jack instead of Aryll and Taerv…well, then…"
"We're on our own?" Jack suggested.
"Good luck with that," Link confirmed.
"Thank you," Tetra said crisply. Looping her arm through Jack's, she followed him as he nodded to Link and led the way back out into the hall.
Neither of them spoke when they were outside. They both knew that Link hadn't actually given up on them, but was just being stubborn, and that their mission now what to wander the palace until they found Yentiko.
Although Jack did say quietly, "You know he knows we're right, right?"
Tetra grinned. "Of course."
Half an hour later, they still hadn't seen anyone in the halls except sporadic guards, few very of whom asked them any questions, and all of whom were satisfied with Tetra's minimalist explanations of their identities.
Both of them were in no doubt that part of the reason for the fact that they hadn't crossed paths with Yentiko was the fact that they hadn't strayed very far from Link's quarters, but they weren't about to change that plan; they didn't know their way around nearly well enough to risk getting lost and missing the appointment with the Turners that was their one chance at escape. Besides that, Link's quarters were near Yentiko's, and the emperor was sure to return there at some point, if anywhere.
"Maybe we should just stop looking," Jack suggested at one point. "We could let him find us."
"Sh!" Tetra hissed, freezing in her steps and holding out a hand to stop him.
As he had been speaking his last words, she had thought she heard something. A man's voice, the firm tone of someone giving orders. And the only two people who would be doing that, besides Link, were Faudry and Yentiko.
'…around here. Talk to Faudry, tell him to get everyone organized. This search is just chaos now, everyone's everywhere and we still haven't made a statement to the public. And find me Reyga!'
'Yes, Imperial Majesty,' came another voice, low and submissive.
Tetra moved as silently as she could, cursing the whisper of her skirts when she walked, to peer around the corner. A soldier was walking hurriedly away from Yentiko, who watched him go, then began to turn towards where Tetra stood.
"Okay, he's coming this way!" she hissed, instantly slipping out of sight to talk to Jack. Speaking very quickly, she instructed him, "Now, I'll just stand here and talk, and all you have to do is listen, pretend like you know what I'm saying, maybe nod now and then… It should be enough to convince him that we're having a meaningful conversation, okay?"
Raising his eyebrows, Jack said slowly, "That's one idea…"
Although she didn't know how he intended to finish his sentence, the fact was that she didn't have time to find out; Yentiko's footsteps were fast approaching. To drown out his English words, she began to speak quickly in her own tongue.
'Thank you for being so good about all this, Taerv. I was so worried about how you and Link would get along. He's always been so overprotective of me… Well, he's my big brother, you know how it is, right?' She paused to laugh slightly, and Jack took the cue to nod obediently. 'Anyway… Like I said, you've been a real sweetheart.' She lay an affectionate hand on his shoulder and smiled. 'Thanks for everything, really, thank you.'
He shrugged. 'You're welcome, love.'
As she prepared to invent more compliments to bestow upon him, she was suddenly rendered silent with amazement when he circled an arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss.
She stiffened; her initial impulse was to rip herself away and slap him across the face, but she reminded herself almost immediately that she couldn't—he was supposed to be the love of her life, after all. And he knew that. As she kissed him back to maintain the illusion, she seethed with fury. He was just using their disguise to take advantage of her. She would have to make it perfectly clear to him that this would not go any further. It was bizarre enough just to be kissing him, both because she was a firm believe that relationships between crew mates were a mistake and simply because she wasn't the romantic type. There was a split second when she wondered if it was just as strange for her, but she quickly decided that the question was better left unanswered.
For the time being, she simply closed her eyes and imagined that the man in front of her was someone else. Anyone else.
'Miss Reyga? Mr Endosen?'
At Yentiko's voice, Tetra shoved herself away from Jack and allowed herself to look as shocked as she felt. 'Your Imperial Majesty!' she exclaimed. 'I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were—I mean—'
'No, no need to explain,' Yentiko said slowly, though still staring at them in disbelief. 'You haven't…seen your brother, have you?'
'I'm sorry, no,' she answered quickly, shaking her head.
'Hm,' the emperor grunted in displeasure. 'Well, if you do, let him know that I want to see him.'
'Yes, I will, of course, Your Majesty.'
As he walked away, past the hall where they stood, Tetra looked sharply at Jack, who was still holding her in his arms.
'Aryll?'
Her heart plummeted with nauseating speed when she heard Link's voice behind her, coming from the other end of the hall. Hoping her dread and horror weren't visible, she turned around. Her voice, however, dissolved in her throat at the sight of his face; his mouth was tightly closed as though he was holding something back, and his eyes were shadowed and unreadable.
Apparently realizing that neither of them was about to speak, Jack did so. 'Hello there, Link. Do you want something?'
Link seemed to come to himself, and managed to look Jack in the face. 'Just thought I'd let you know that I'm done that work I had,' he invented.
'Oh…then…you can show us…the docks?' Tetra suggested, pulling her own idea out of the air.
'Sure,' Link agreed stiffly, though she doubted he had been listening. 'I think the Turners are free, so we can meet them earlier than we thought. Let's go.'
He turned sharply on his heel. Tetra exchanged a quick look with Jack before taking his hand and hurrying to catch up with Link as he walked away quickly. The instant she thought they were far enough away from Yentiko, she hissed in a quick, low voice, "What do you think you were doing?"
"Acting like your fiancé, love."
"We were just talking, and that was fine—"
"You really think so?" he asked, glancing at her doubtfully. "Believe me, I've spent enough time around Will and Elizabeth to know what couples do when they think no one's looking, and it has nothing to do with talking."
Tetra closed her mouth that had been open to object again; he had a point, but she wasn't about to let him get away with it. "Well, did you think about what Link would say?" she finally asked sullenly.
"He's your big brother, love, of course he had a problem wit hit," Jack reminded her carelessly. "I'd be more worried if he didn't mind."
Once again, Tetra knew he was right. But she doubted it was that simple. His shock and anger hadn't looked feigned to her.
'Link!' she called ahead.
He came to a halt to turn back, and saw that they were jogging to keep up.
'Oh, sorry. I'll slow down.'
'No,' Tetra contradicted. 'I mean… Well, yes, thank you, but that's not what I wanted to…'
'You mean the kiss?'
She saw Jack smirk at her look of surprise when they, too, stopped where they stood.
'I—'
'You're my little sister, it's supposed to bug me. Now come on, we've got to hurry and find Will and Elizabeth. I heard one of the guards saying that Yentiko's looking for me, and I'd be willing to bet he's not going to let me go when he finds me.'
'Well, you just missed him when you saw us—Wait, how could you have heard that he wanted you?' she asked suddenly. 'He had just told us that, and you…'
'I know I just missed him. Why did you think I was keeping up the big brother act? And did you think I was about to let you wander around this place on your own?' he asked impatiently.
'You mean you followed—'
'Look, what did I just say? We have to move. I knew this whole sister story wouldn't buy us much time, so let's get going already.'
He jerked his head for them to follow, and set off down the hall again at a quick pace.
Tetra glared after him, then muttered to Jack, "You know, sometimes he makes even less sense than you."
