Chapter Eighteen—Voluntary Exile

'I can't believe this… In front of everyone, we had them, and now… And you're sure Reyga's not here?'

Yetiko glared at the soldier, who jumped nervously under this emperor's furious glare.

'Oh—Uh, no, sir. I mean, I am sure. He's not here. He was going out with the Turners and his sister and her fiancé, and none of them are around.'

Gritting his teeth, Yentiko spat, 'I never thought I'd be so looking forward to losing Reyga forever. He's gone beyond useless to dangerous in his neglect, and I'm the one stuck having to make this public statement while he's off…with…'

His voice slowed in bemusement as his steps did the same. He stared ahead into the entry which he had reached. A blonde young woman was standing there, looking around her, accompanied by a tall, slenderly build man with short, brown hair. They were talking quietly together, the mystification on their faces suggesting that they were new here.

'Excuse me?' Yentiko inquired uncertainly; the two people instantly fell silent and looked up at him in such perfect unison that it was almost comical. 'May I ask who you are?'

'Yes, we're looking for General Reyga,' the woman said politely.

Yentiko felt his stomach knot in sheer anger. That man haunted him. Taking a deep breath, he managed to maintain his civility as he shook his head and informed her, 'I'm sorry. He's out with his sister at the moment.'

As the young woman frowned, her companion muttered, 'He—What?'

Before Yentiko could repeat his statement, she exclaimed, 'That's impossible!'

Raising his eyebrows, the emperor said again, 'Excuse me? And…why is that?'

'Because,' she told him simply, 'I'm his sister.'

The meaning of these words did not immediately register, perhaps because some level of Yentiko's mind refused to let them. He forced himself presently to ask jerkily, 'You're…Miss Aryll…Reyga?'

The words made themselves true as he spoke them. He saw their veracity in her eyes, her freckles, her smile—all of which he had seen on the face of his general.

Yet the other woman had looked so familiar as well. The nagging feeling that she looked like someone he knew had been part of the reason for he had been so accepting of her as a Reyga, although he would never for a moment have given her free reign to go where she pleased unescorted when he had seen no irrefutable proof of her identity—yet another reason why he was so angry with Reyga. What right did he have to give a strange woman such authority, even if he was willing to vouch for her? Everyone knew where his values lay. Yentiko officially didn't trust him any more than he trusted her.

And now Yentiko knew who she really was.

'Damn it!' he shouted, fists clenching. 'I knew it couldn't be true! Who gave him permission to leave!'

He posed the question to the soldier at his side, who looked alarmed by this violent accusation. 'I—Majesty, he's the general. He doesn't need permission.'

Reyga was unbelievably good, Yentiko thought aggressively, at manipulating the system. First in court, then at the executions, then during the search, and even now, he was managing to do whatever he wanted, with no regard for the rules, yet still completely and legitimately avoid punishment.

'Find him,' the emperor said shortly. 'Find all of them, and we'll get those pirates back!'

'Pirates?' asked Aryll's escort, the real Taerv Endosen, Yentiko assumed. 'What pirates? We noticed commotion outside, but we didn't think… What's going on?'

Aryll shrank against him as he spoke, but it was not out of fear of any pirates. She remembered when she and her brother had befriended such people as children. Rather, she was uncomfortable with the stare she was receiving from the emperor, a deep glare as though he suspected her of something.

'And don't let them go, either,' he added in a grunt. 'It's obvious the first man who said he was that Endosen must be the impostor and pirate, but I want to see both of these women together. One of them is Miss Reyga, and the other is the witch, and I'm not making my decision until I can see them both.' Jerking his head from the officer at his side to the woman before him, he ordered, 'Take her.'

'What—!'

'No! What are you talking about?' protested Taerv, gripping Aryll's arm protectively. 'Whoever you're looking for, it's not Aryll! She's not a witch!'

But neither the emperor nor the guard was listening. The latter at least had the courtesy to give the couple an apologetic shrug before he pulled them apart, and said politely, 'I'm sorry, Miss, but we have to take the necessary precautions to protect our citizens. Of course nothing will happen to you if you're innocent.' But she barely heard him; she was staring in flat horror, having just realized what was going on…

Many hours of her youth had been spent on the coastlines of Outset, brandishing a tree branch as a weapon, giving orders to her imaginary crew of pirates. And they were always prefaced with, 'Her Highness, Princess Zelda, commands you!'

She could still see Link's amused smirk as he watched her game, leaning over the porch. 'You know, she goes by Tetra most of time,' he corrected; she stuck her tongue out at him and continued unabashed. She preferred the poetry of Her Highness, Princess Zelda.

Was what she was now thinking even possible? Did the emperor honestly believe she was the woman she had always dreamed of being?

'Oh, I can't believe it,' she murmured in horror.

Taerv, whose face was contorted in furious confusion at the mistreatment of his fiancée, went abruptly blank in amazement. 'What? Do you mean that you actually know what this is about?'

Aryll closed her eyes and cringed. 'I have an idea.'

'You know who your brother—General Reyga—assuming he really is your brother—has been allying himself with?' demanded Yentiko aggressively. 'And let me remind you that while you are not a proven criminal yet, it is illegal to lie to or conceal information from a government official.

Thinking fast, trying to devise a complete answer that was void of any real information, Aryll looked quickly between Yentiko and Taerv, both of whom seemed equally impatient to know exactly what she had to say.

'All I know,' she slowly spoke up at last, 'is that my brother, when he was young, knew a pirate girl his own age. I didn't believe him. But when Felicitovente took over…that Tetra woman became infamous, and I realized she was his old friend.'

Yentiko glared, apparently judging her truthfulness. She tried to stare back evenly.

'When did he last see her?' he spat.

Aryll tried not to breathe an audible sigh of relief at this evidence that he believed her.

'I don't know,' she answered, hoping her voice wasn't trembling as she tried to stay rational. Link was always the one who did well under pressure, not her. But now, for his sake, she would have to try. 'I never met her. I only ever heard him talk about things they had done together. To be honest, for a long time I thought that she was…his imaginary friend.'

She wished he would stop studying her eyes; she wanted to blink.

'Was she royalty?'

The calm, even question unnerved her utterly.

'She—Well, he never…mentioned it,' she lied awkwardly.

It was impossible to say if Yentiko believed her. His only response was an abbreviated growl.

'Well…we'll find out all we need to know from him. We'll find him. Let's go.'


Knowing that she was less than an hour away from being herself only made it infinitely more difficult for Tetra to pretend to be Aryll. She was practically digging her nails in to Jack's flesh.

"Love?" he murmured.

"Mm?"

"Loosen up, aye?"

Apparently he could feel it.

She forced herself to breathe. He couldn't blame her, though, she thought defensively. They were strolling through the streets of Windfall, so close to freedom that she was sure she would have been able to taste it on their air if she cared to try; she could already feel it in the light. But they weren't free yet, and if something went wrong now, she thought it would physically break her heart.

Will and Elizabeth's ship was small, she knew, small enough to be crewed by just the two of them, but it would be enough space to accommodate five people who wanted to get off of Windfall without the permission of the emperor. Although they didn't have supplies of perishables such as food aboard, they did keep the vessel itself ready to sail at a moment's notice. Further, because Yentiko considered them to be such important guests, their Interceptor was under constant guard by the navy.

Link had commented that the ship was oddly named, considering that it belonged to a couple. Will had smilingly replied that it was named after another ship, which, contrary to its own name, had brought him and Elizabeth together.

Jack had then observed that it had also been blown to smithereens. The Turners had ignored him, as seemed to be their habit whenever his comments were unhelpful.

As they approached the dock where the Interceptor was tied, the two guards on duty saluted Link stiffly.

'General, sir,' one commented flatly; it was clear that they, like all the soldiers, knew of the tension between Link and the emperor, and had made the uncomfortable decision to side with their ruler over their commanding officer.

'Good afternoon, men,' Link answered, evidently ignoring their minimalist respect the same way Will and Elizabeth ignored Jack. 'All well on your end?' he asked casually, looking behind them at the ship tied at the end of the dock.

'Absolutely, sir.'

'Excellent. Now, my friends and I,' he waved behind him at the other four, 'would like to go out for a bit of a sail. Is she ready to go?'

One of the men jerked slightly, as though Link had just hit him in the face, while the other said slowly, 'Well—Yes, sir, as always. The Turners did request—'

'Excellent.'

With the complete confidence that came along with his position, even if it had been reduced to a strictly nominal one, Link strode past the two sailors, his four friends close on his heels, moving quickly down the dock toward the ship itself.

'Hey—General, sir! You can't—!'

Link turned back sharply, but the others knew better than to slow down. 'Excuse me?' he asked icily. 'Need I remind you that a corporal has no right to tell a general what he can and cannot do? This ship belongs to our guests. If they wish to take it, they will do so. And if I wish to accompany them, I will do so.'

The guards exchanged uneasy looks. Clearly, they wanted to believe him, but just couldn't bring themselves to do so.

"Go," Link muttered quickly to the others, who had paused just before the gangplank, unable to resist the urge to watch the confrontation, "this could get bad. Go!"

Elizabeth obeyed quickly, followed immediately by Will, and Jack pulled Tetra along by the arm.

"Wait, Jack—"

"Love, we have to move."

"But Link—"

"Is a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"No—"

"Sorry, love, but we don't have time for this."

"Hey!"

She cried out in protest when Jack let go of her arm to seize her around the waist. He carried her bodily up the gangplank with him and onto the ship.

Unfortunately, the two guards noticed.

'Hey!' one shouted, drawing the sword at his hip as his companion did the same. 'You're kidnapping her!'

'Wh—No, we're not—' Link began quickly.

But the two men were advancing. With a sigh, Link drew his own weapon and prepared to fight.

"Oh, nice going, Jack," Tetra snapped as he dropped her heavily onto the deck of the ship.

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she glared back. It was her fault for not following Link's orders, and she knew it, but she still wasn't about to admit it.

"Come on," Will said, breaking up what could have turned into a fight, "let's get ready to go. Link can handle them."

He, Elizabeth and Jack swiftly headed off to attend to the ship; the instant they were all looking away, Tetra whipped back around, fully intended to leap back down onto the deck and fight at Link's side.

'Don't! Aryll!'

She froze at the panic in his voice, before she even remembered that she was Aryll. The instant this thought did occur to her, however, she saw what he had stepped away from his fight for to stare at in wide-eyed horror. A few more soldiers were grouped around three individuals—one that she had never seen before, one that she hadn't seen in years, and one that she had hoped never to see again.

Her mind immediately made the impossible connection. Yentiko had caught the real Aryll, along with her real fiancé. It was a foolish move on Yentiko's part, Tetra thought, to threaten Link's sister. Her safely was non-negotiable to him.

But then…if that was the case…would he give himself and the others up to save her?

"What's going on?" demanded Will; he, Jack and Elizabeth had reappeared at the sound of Link's shout. Tetra merely shook her head.

'You're not going anywhere, Reyga,' said the emperor threateningly, with a satisfied smirk.

His words couldn't have been more true. Link was visibly rooted to the spot, shaking with fury so that the sunlight trembled on the blade of his sword.

'Let my sister go.'

Yentiko smiled in a way that might have been intended to be reassuring, but instead was rather bone-chilling. 'I won't hold anyone prisoner who hasn't committed a crime,' he promised, 'and as far as I know, your sister has not…and as far as I know, that is your sister.' He nodded toward Tetra, standing at the edge of the ship and gripping it tightly. 'Which makes this,' he nodded toward Aryll, 'the pirate woman we're seeking, doesn't it? I mean, she's claiming to be your sister, too, but you only have one sister, and you're on your way off on a lovely day trip with her. So that only leaves us with one option. Feel free to go, and we'll take the witch off to finish her appointment with the gallows.'

Tetra held her breath. She could practically hear what Link was about to say—That's Tetra, take her, let Aryll go. And she wouldn't blame him.

'What do you want from me?' he asked jerkily.

'I want the witch,' Yentiko said flatly. 'I'm willing to let everyone else go, your sister and her lover, and of course the Turners…I'll even release the other pirate, the man Sparrow, on the condition that he never re-enters my waters…in exchange for the witch, and you.'

Tetra closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to fall. That's Tetra, take her, let Aryll go. And he would give his own life as well.

He spoke in a smooth, quiet, even tone. 'I can't give you my queen.'

Tetra froze. She could not believe what she had just heard. She would not allow him to sacrifice Aryll for her, not when Aryll was young and innocent and in love…Aryll would not suffer again just because someone thought she looked like Tetra.

'I can give you myself,' Link went on, 'and I will. But I don't have the authority to hand over my queen to you.' He looked behind him, fixing Tetra with a meaningful expression. 'Only she has that power,' he said, articulating each word very slowly and clearly, emphasizing every syllable, 'and I will giveher the power—the wisdom—to control her own destiny.'

Something about the way he spoke, the odd words he chose to draw attention to, nagged at the back of her mind…

Suddenly, with the force of a lightning strike, she knew what he was saying.

'Well, Miss…Hyrule?' Yenktiko asked venomously. 'Who dies today—You, or Miss Reyga?'

In answer, she lifted her skirt delicately and stepped onto the gangplank with the imperious mien of a monarch.

"Love—" Jack began, gripping her arm.

"No," she answered calmly, looking at him straight in the eyes. "Trust me. This is for the best."

He hesitated, and she knew how badly he didn't want to let her go. But he did. He trusted her.

As she walked down onto the dock, she said to Link in the same meaningful tone that he had used on her, 'Thank you for giving me this choice. For trusting me not to let you or your sister down.'

'You're welcome,' he replied. 'And thank you for choosing to do the right thing.'

She smiled and reached a hand out to him, which he accepted. As she had expected, she felt warm metal pass from his hand into hers, and she curled her fingers around the familiar artefact.

'Well, Your Imperial Majesty,' she said to Yentiko bitterly, 'you have us all.' She held out her hands, and offered, 'Clap me in irons?'

Yentiko jerked his head toward one of the men at his side. 'Take her.'

She noticed that the man who approached her, as well as the others present, didn't seem entirely assured that she was giving up. She couldn't blame them; it was most out of character for both her and Link.

Still, she was surprised to hear the soldier murmur as he took hold of her wrist, 'I'm sorry.'

She smiled apologetically. 'No,' she said softly, 'I am.'

There was half of a split second in which his eyes registered confusion, before her blast blinded everyone present. Men shouted in surprise and anger, and the officer who had moved to arrest Tetra was thrown backwards by the force of her attack; his head struck the dock, and he was immediately knocked unconscious.

'Take her!' Yentiko roared again, as the light had subsided. 'Take them both!'

It was singularly unfair for the emperor to send half a dozen or more soldiers against just her and Link, Tetra thought, but with her powers up to their full strength, the odds were rather more even. Snarling in fury, as much to intimidate her attackers as anything else, she threw up her hands toward them, and another blast emanated from her pendant—This one was powerful enough to completely incapacitate four of the men advancing on her, and at least render the others breathless and temporarily blinded. At the same time, Link teleported, both to avoid the effects of the magic and to make his way, unimpeded, to Aryll's side. Tetra just had time to see him slash through her bonds before she herself followed his example, transporting herself to the deck of the Interceptor.

"Go!" she ordered the other three shortly, dropping flat in the hope that the soldiers wouldn't see her before they regained their vision again. Will and Elizabeth darted away to attend to the sails and the wheel, as Jack threw the gangplank aside to prevent anyone else from boarding. At the same instant, Link appeared with Aryll and Taerv on either side.

"Don't bother," he said flatly, releasing the two people he had brought with them. From out of some pocket of his clothes, he brandished a thin, white rod.

"What, is that your magic wand?" Jack asked sardonically. He didn't seem to know if he was being sarcastic or not.

Link smirked as he waved it methodically through the air. "You could say that."

The winds sang in tune with his motions, and the ship creaked as they rose to a gale centred around the vessel. Tetra looked up, alarmed at how strongly the air was whipping around her, and tried to brush her tangled hair out of her eyes. But apparently she still couldn't see clearly, because her eyes were telling her that they were in the centre of a cyclone—and she felt a slight lurch, half generated by her fear rather than anything physical, as the Interceptor lifted out of the water.

'Link, what are you doing?' she shouted over the currents of air.

He didn't answer, but was smiling at something outside the ship. Following his gaze, she started in shock to see what looked like a large frog, sitting atop a cloud like a throne.

'Hello, Hero!' he said in a comically low voice that sounded exactly as Tetra imagined a frog's would. 'We haven't spoken in years!'

'It's been awhile,' Link agreed with a nod. 'But I need a favour.'

'Name it.'

'A trip to Cyclops Reef?'

The frog nodded, a wide smile spreading over his amphibious face. 'Consider it done.'

And the winds increased still further, the ship spiralling within them at such a rate that Tetra was glad to be flat on the deck. She heard shouts of confusion, and saw Taerv and Aryll drop to the wooden planks nearby, by their own volition or otherwise; she didn't know where Will and Elizabeth were, but somehow, Jack and Link were retaining their footing.

Tetra didn't know how long the storm lasted, but it was longer than she liked. She could feel the ship raising up higher, moving through space at a rate that would have been terrifying it she had been looking to see where they were going.

And then, even more frightening, they began to lower down, even more quickly than they had gone up. She heard and felt the winds slow, but knew that they hadn't yet reached the water, and a scream rose within her throat.

Abruptly, the last streams of air were gone, and they dropped—She wasn't the only one who shrieked as they fell, landing with a nauseating lurch in the ocean.

'You can all get up now,' came Link's rather amused voice.

Tetra lifted her head to see him approaching with a smile.

'What,' she asked shakily, glaring at him, 'in Farore's name was that?'

'That was Cyclos,' he answered promptly, still grinning at her. When her murderous expression didn't change, he chuckled, 'Yeah, he likes to do things…dramatically.'

Tetra narrowed her eyes. 'I hate you.'

Link extended a hand to help her up. 'Feeling's mutual,' he assured her affectionately.

'Where are we?' asked Taerv nervously, as he stood up with Aryll.

'You said Cyclops Reef, didn't you?' she asked.

Link nodded. 'Southwest of Windfall. Not as far away as I would have liked, really, but we have to get to Spectacle Island, and that's not too far north from here. That's where we're meeting Michael and the Black Pearl.'

"What's that about the Pearl?" Jack asked, recognizing the name of his ship.

As Link repeated himself, explaining the situation thoroughly for the benefit of those who only spoke English, Tetra felt obligated to take a moment to address herself to Link's sister and her fiancé.

'I'm so sorry about all this,' she told them earnestly. 'I don't know how much you heard, but Jack and I were disguised as the two of you, to try to get away from the emperor…'

'But why?' asked Taerv in a guarded tone; his eyes were dark and mistrustful. 'Why do they want you? The emperor said you were a witch, a pirate…'

'You've heard of the Queen of Pirates?'

Taerv nodded. Tetra shrugged.

'You mean…You're her?' he blurted, understanding. 'And you're a friend of the Reygas?'

'We were great friends as kids,' Tetra explained, nodding.

Taerv raised his eyebrows at Aryll in amazement. 'What you told the emperor, then…that was the truth?'

'Mostly,' Aryll confirmed, 'but not all the truth. The whole truth is that I know Zelda personally, even though I haven't seen her in years.'

'Zelda?' Taerv asked, looking back to the pirate woman suspiciously. 'Who is Zelda?'

'The Queen of Hyrule.'

Link approached, tucking his Windwaker away again.

'Technically speaking, the last of the ancient royal bloodline, and therefore the true monarch of our world. Able, as you just saw, to wield the magical power of the holy Triforce. Possibly the most significant threat to Yentiko's imperial throne,' he added. 'At least, she could be, if she cared for that lifestyle. But she doesn't.'

'She goes by Tetra most of the time,' Aryll spoke up.

Link smiled at his sister. 'Yeah.'

'So…what are we doing now?' asked Taerv; he was visibly unnerved by all of this, and was holding onto Aryll by the arm as though seeking the only thing he knew was stable.

'Heading north,' Link sighed. 'We're meeting up with some of our friends, and then we're beginning our new lives as fugitives.' Seeing the look of panic that crossed the other man's face, he added quickly, 'Of course, you can go back to Felicitovente. Spectacle Island is close enough that you should be able to get a ride back from some ship passing by. It's a very common route. And we don't expect you to protect us, to lie for us or anything. We're very sorry that you had to get involved in this at all.'

'Oh, Link, we're not just going to abandon you—' Aryll began to protest, reaching for her brother. He took her hand in his.

'Yes, you are,' he insisted gently. 'For your own good. I'm not going to ruin your life for you.' He sighed as he looked at her standing with the man who would be her husband. 'You go get married. Live a normal life. That was what I started all these adventures for, all those years ago. So that you could be free. And that's still what I want for you.'

Aryll blinked rapidly, her eyes brighter than usual. She looked much more like the child Tetra remembered. 'I'll never see you again,' she whispered.

'That's not true,' Link told her firmly. 'I'll come visit. What's gonna stop me? So Yentiko wants me dead, big deal.' He shrugged. 'I've dealt with worse.'

She smiled sadly. 'You're never going to stop being my big brother, are you?'

'Why would I?'

In answer, she released Taerv to wrap her arms around Link's neck and kiss him briefly on the cheek. He closed his eyes as he hugged her back, and despite what he had just said, Tetra thought the look on his face betrayed his fears that this embrace might be their last.

She turned away, to let the two of them enjoy this last moment, when he said quietly, 'Tetra, could I talk to you for a minute?'

Looking back, she saw Aryll move away from him, brushing her eyes with the heel of her hand.

'Of course,' Tetra said, nodding slightly.

Link gave his sister one last tight smile, laying a hand on her shoulder, which she clasped in her own as she returned the expression. Then he stepped away from her to walk with Tetra to the bow of the ship, and spoke regretfully.

'I wanted to give you your necklace back in…y'know, a nice moment, like this,' he told her, 'but it didn't quite work out.'

Tetra remembered that she was still holding it tightly in her fist, and opened her hand to look at the warm gold. 'As long as I have it back, I'm happy,' she told him sincerely. She slipped the chain through her fingers, and carefully clasped it around her neck. The weight near her heart made her feel whole again, but she still touched in compulsively to remind herself that it was there. 'How did you get it back?'

'Yentiko had it,' Link explained, 'and I know him, I know where he keeps important things. So while I was running around in the tunnels, I took a bit of a detour to his room and swiped it from his bedside table.'

She nodded slowly, staring out at the water that sparkled endlessly in the sun, so that it was easy to see why it was so closely allied to music. 'Thank you.'

'Don't worry about it.'

There was a silence between them; it was not one of the awkward moments they had experienced in the past, but shared peace.

Then Tetra asked the question she knew would be difficult.

'Are you…really going to see Aryll again?'

'I'm going to do my damnedest,' he sighed. 'As long as I'm still breathing, I'm going to make an effort to visit her whenever I can.'

He lowered his head briefly, then turned around to lean his elbows against the gunwale and look at the rest of the ship.

'Look at them,' he commented quietly.

Tetra glanced back over her shoulder; she followed the line of his eyes to the Turners, who were standing by the wheel and talking softly with their heads together and happy little smiles on their faces.

'Seeing people like them makes me think of how nice it must be to be in love,' Link observed candidly. 'People like that, they're lucky. It's just…neat.'

It was an odd thing to say, but somehow Tetra thought she knew what he meant. She tilted her head to one side, a smile playing over her lips. 'So,' she asked, 'do you think we're in love?'

Link paused, then shook his head conclusively. 'No. No way. What they have, that's love. It's pure and it's beautiful and all those other things that people always say love is.'

'Then what we have…'

'Is so much better.'

The smile that spread over Tetra's face was possibly the brightest and most genuine she had ever worn. And then, to Link's alarm and consternation, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

When she released him, he began, 'What in the goddesses' name…?'

'Sorry,' she laughed childishly. 'It's just…you have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that.'

'That I don't love you?'

'Yeah. Do you really mean it?'

'Yes, really. I don't love you.'

'Aw… I don't love you, too.'

'I don't love you with all my heart.'

'That is so sweet. And I won't love you forever'

They both laughed. Uncontrollably. And for the first time since she'd seen Link again, Tetra really felt she'd found what she had been looking for.

'You know,' she sighed happily, 'the fact that you don't love me makes me love you so much.'

He grinned. 'Feeling's mutual.'