"You're like a brother to me. Which I know is weird, because we slept together…" –Roz Doyle, Fraiser
Epilogue—Hello AgainSpectacle Island had never looked so beautiful.
Tetra's face felt as though it were about to crack from the smile that simply refused to leave her face. She was within sight of her crew—she couldn't deny that the Pearl's men felt like her own now, at least to a certain degree—she was free from the threat of anyone trying to kill her, and most importantly of all, she was dressed in her own clothes.
'Man, Zelda, I don't think I've ever seen you acting like such an immature little girl in my life,' Link observed sardonically; he folded his arms as he watched her run back across the deck for the fourth time, trying to determine whether the port or starboard side gave her a better view of what they were approaching.
She paused where she stood, leaning over the edge, to grin at him, not only because she couldn't stop, but because she loved the way he used her two names interchangeably now. They were both her, she realized. Tetra was Zelda, and Zelda was Tetra. Being a princess didn't make her any less of a pirate, nor vice versa.
'Inside every woman is an immature little girl,' she told him in a dignified voice, 'and inside every man is the equivalent little boy.'
Link snorted. 'You don't see me running around in circles like a puppy who can't find the ball that his owner didn't actually throw.'
'No,' she admitted easily, facing him with one hand on her hip, 'your kind are more inclined toward stuff like burping the alphabet and seeing how much beer you can chug before you throw up.'
Link didn't answer, but looked away from her.
Narrowing her eyes, Tetra guessed, 'You know how much beer you can chug before you throw up, don't you?'
'No,' he denied slowly. After another pause, he added in a low voice, 'I stopped when I thought I was going to. And I can get to the letter X.'
These combined mental images were too much for Tetra to endure; she doubled over with laughter, nearly dropping to her knees on the deck.
"Hey, mate, don't kill your princess before we get home, aye?" requested Jack, appearing with a cocked eyebrow and gold-toothed grin. "We've gotten this far, it'd be a shame if we didn't finish the trip."
Link held up his hands defensively. "I'm not doing anything. If she stupids herself to death before we reach land, it's her own fault."
"Well, we'll be reaching land in only a minute or two," Jack informed him, "so I think she's safe for the time being."
"Really?" asked Link, surprised enough by this news to forget Tetra. "We're that close? Whoa, I better go get ready."
Clapping Jack on the shoulder, smirking once more at Tetra, who was just beginning to recover herself with a series of gasping breaths, Link strode away.
"I wonder what he needs to get ready for," Tetra managed to ask; her voice was still shaking with laughter, though she didn't know what was so funny.
Jack shrugged. "I would imagine he doesn't want to look too much the part of General Reyga when he meets up with the men of the Black Pearl."
Tetra nodded in agreement. "Good point." Then, facing cracking into a smile again, she added, "It's gonna be really good to see them again."
"Aye," Jack chuckled. "I wonder how they've survived without a captain."
"From what Michael was saying, it sounds like he took over for us. For you, I mean," she added quickly.
"For us," Jack agreed, casting his gaze toward the approaching horizon, "and I suppose he's a good enough sailor…but…"
"You want your own hands at the helm?" Tetra guessed.
Jack looked sideways at her, and nodded.
"I know what you mean."
"Do you miss your own crew?"
Tetra blinked, starting slightly. Her own crew…she had all but forgotten about them. The world of Felicitovente was so different that she had become used to the idea that anything she had previously known was completely gone and irreplaceable. But no, her men, her father's men, were still out there somewhere. And though she had left them in a place where she knew they could find work, her gut told her that they were all sticking together, waiting loyally for her return.
"I—Well, yes," she admitted honestly. "And now that I've sorted out my problems, being followed and everything…I guess I can go back to them." She managed a smile. "That'll be nice."
Jack was looking at her closely as she spoke. "You'll always have a place aboard the Pearl, love," he promised.
She smiled at the thought that he knew what she wanted to hear. "Thank you."
"Not a problem," Jack assured her, nodding over her head. "My men are always happy to see you."
Anticipating what she might find, Tetra turned around, already beginning to smile, to face the island that was fast approaching—and sure enough, there on its shores stood the entire crew of the Black Pearl, waving their arms wildly at the ship and shouting a perfect cacophony of greetings. The sight and sound of them sent a rush of delight through Tetra's stomach.
"Hi!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down excitedly on the deck as she waved frantically back. "Hi, everyone! Oh, Jack, look, they're all there! Gibbs and Mr Cotton and Chris, and there's Michael right in the front… Hi!"
As the faces of the pirates became clearer, she saw smiles as wide and bright as her own, and simply wanted to leap from the boat and hug each man in turn.
No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than they drew level with the island and slowed down; Tetra had already set up the gangplank and was disembarking before they had come to a complete stop, Jack quickly on her heels.
For at least a full minute, no one could have made out any of the words that were being spoken as the crew celebrated the return of their captain and first mate. Tetra's enthusiasm was contagious, and even Jack couldn't maintain an aloof façade around her.
Everyone fell silent almost instantly, however, when the Turners came into sight, and remained thus for several awkward seconds. Then—
"Squark! Avast!"
Will grinned. "Good to see you, too, Mr Cotton."
"Bootstrap junior," Mr Gibbs said in amazement. "Bless us all, yeh look more like yer dad every day ya live, Turner." Jerking his head to Elizabeth, he added, "And yer lass hasn't decided she could do better yet, has she?"
"I'm not about to, Mr Gibbs," Elizabeth assured him. "I'm Mrs Turner now."
Mr Gibbs gaped openly, but had only managed to make a short, choked noise before his eyes wandered back the Interceptor, and he stopped again in amazement. The last three passengers were making their appearance; Link led Aryll and Taerv, smiling encouragingly at them. Taerv's face was stiff with anxiety, but Aryll looked as though she were fighting off a smile of her own. She still had a little girl streak that loved the idea of adventuring with pirates.
Although the two unexpected arrivals were no doubt the reasons for everyone else's varying degrees of mystification and surprise, for her part, Tetra was astonished to see Link. She broke the silence, drawing out each word in incredulity as she laughed, "Look at you!"
He grinned sheepishly and shrugged, brushing out of his eyes the blond hair that stuck out messily from beneath his green hat, which matched his green tunic.
'I thought you hated those clothes!' she went on, looking him over with a critical eye. 'The whole "you're a big boy now" get up.'
'You'd be amazed what grows on you,' he informed her.
She cocked her head thoughtfully at him. 'Maybe once upon a time I would have been,' she admitted, 'but…I've learned to appreciate some weird things.'
'Like me, for example?'
'Exactly.'
Their laughter was interrupted by, "Remember the code! Squark!"
The three who were unfamiliar with Mr Cotton's strategies of communication looked alarmed at this, and even Jack was mildly surprised by how uncharacteristically blunt this observation was.
"Don't worry, Mr Cotton," he said quickly, "we're not letting anyone else in on the secrets of the Black Pearl. No offence," he added quickly, with a nod to Aryll and Taerv, though neither of them knew what he was saying.
"They're just going home," Link elaborated, "not coming with you."
"But Link is," Tetra spoke up.
"Is what?" he asked blankly, staring at her in visible confusion.
In the same bewildered tone, Tetra explained, "Coming with us."
"Oh…"
His tone was so low that Tetra felt her heart sink to the same level. 'What?' she asked; the warning hint in the word was not completely unintentional.
'Well,' he said, barely moving his lips, as though to shout out everyone else, 'it's just that…the Turners need someone to help them navigate out of Felicitovente territory, and then I was thinking I'd get my own ship…'
His voice faded at the look of outrage that was swelling on her face. 'You're just going to disappear again?' she demanded sharply. 'After all this, you're just going to leave?'
'Tetra, you said yourself, we're too different, we can't live the same life,' he reminded her impatiently.
'But—that doesn't mean—' she stammered in frustration, knowing that he was right, 'I didn't—What, are we just never gonna see each other again? Because that didn't work out too well last time, either!'
'Of course not,' Link sighed; his placating voice made Tetra want to slap him. 'We'll keep in touch, we'll run into each other. We did before, before I joined the military, we saw each other all the time. And as long as we stay in more or less then same areas, we will all the time. We'll make the same friends, we'll visit the same places…'
She continued to glare at him uncompromisingly. At first, he stared back evenly, but gradually he began to smile.
'Zelda, are you just going to stand here and sulk until you get your way? Because that's not very princess-like.'
'Well, according to you, I'm not a princess,' she retorted, folding her arms stubbornly. 'I'm your queen.'
He raised a sceptical eyebrow. 'So I suppose you're going to order me to trail you around and be your friend?'
'I don't beg,' she rejected him coldly, 'and I don't order.'
Link grinned. 'And I don't love you for it.' Even as she remained stiff and aggressive, he gave her a deep kiss; she stood there and took it, refusing to acknowledge him more than was absolutely necessary. Momentarily, he pulled away slightly and asked, 'Now that we're not kidding ourselves about being in love or anything…I can still do that, right? Because it's still fun.'
As resolved as she was to be angry with him, Tetra couldn't keep a straight face through that. Allowing herself to laugh only slightly, she shoved him away. 'You son of a bitch!'
'I'll take that as a yes,' he chuckled in response. 'So now you know I'm gonna be looking for you.' He shrugged. 'It'll be like a big, international, overseas game of tag.'
Tetra smirked thoughtfully, evaluating the idea. 'I'd like that,' she concluded.
'Great.' Despite his overt confidence, Tetra could hear the relief in Link's voice. They hugged briefly, and then Link stepped away to say his last few words to Aryll and Taerv. Although Tetra watched their short conversation, they were speaking too softly for her to make out their words, and she didn't feel it would be polite to make an effort to find out what they were discussing. It seemed to end well, though, because he and Aryll were both smiling as they embraced once more, as were he and Taerv when they shook hands, as were he and Aryll still when she grabbed him around the neck for a second hug.
When he broke from this embrace, he spoke loudly enough for Tetra to hear as well. 'I should go. The Felicitovente soldiers are going to be searching all Windfall's neighbouring islands. I'll see you around. All of you,' he added, glancing at his sister and her fiancé.
With that, he turned to join the Turners, who had taken their opportunity to say goodbye to Jack and the rest of the Pearl's crew. Watching him walk away to board the Interceptor again, waving to the Turners as they called farewells to her, Tetra was unable to find words—but she couldn't hold back the last thing she needed to tell him.
'Link,' she blurted quickly, 'before you go…I just have to say…something…'
He turned back and frowned at her, apparently worried by her serious tone of voice, and even more so by the fact that something suppressed within it was making it tremble.
'I've been going over it in my mind since the trial, and…' she hesitated, 'I can't believe your name is Lincoln.'
The something was revealed to be laughter.
He rolled his eyes and grumbled, 'Wow, I wonder how and why I could have failed to mention that to you?' His own mouth twitched, however, as he spoke.
'I'm sorry,' she laughed, 'but…goddesses! Lincoln! Seriously?'
'How 'bout we make a deal,' he offered. 'You don't ever mention that again…and I won't tell anyone the story of how you pretended to be my cute little sister.'
Tetra narrowed her eyes, though the threatening look was undermined by the smile against which she was battling. 'You'll take that secret to the grave, unless you want to get there ahead of schedule.'
'Deal.' He nodded in consent, and waved. 'See ya.' To the other pirate, he added, "See ya, Jack. You take care of her, all right?"
"She takes care of herself, mate, in case you hadn't noticed," Jack replied.
Link grinned, waved, and was about to once again walk toward the Interceptor when the pirate spoke up again.
"Link, mate?"
The Hero of Winds, who now looked exactly like what he was, turned back toward Captain Jack Sparrow.
"Nice hat."
"Likewise," Link smirked.
And then, once and for all, he boarded the ship. Tetra couldn't believe she was really losing him again as she watched it begin to move; her vision blurred with tears, which were most unlike her, and which she violently attempted to blink away, without success. When the wind picked up slightly, carrying the Interceptor from her more quickly, she suddenly broke from where she stood and ran to the edge of the island, running alongside the ship, her eyes fixed on its tall sails. She kept going, though the vessel was not near enough to the coast for her to make out Link's shape clearly, until she reached the westernmost extremity of land. Then she stood and watched the ship get smaller…smaller…swallowed by the light of the setting sun.
When it was gone entirely, she heard a small sigh, and noticed that Aryll stood on her left, Taerv just behind her.
'Bye, big brother,' the young woman said quietly; her fiancé placed an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him.
"Bye, mate."
Tetra looked to her right, and saw Jack there. He returned her gaze.
"Ready to head off, then, love?"
She took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes. I really am."
"Let's go, then."
As the two of them slowly made their way back to their own crew, Jack asked delicately, "Just wondering…I know you said you didn't love him and all that…but based on how you said goodbye…"
"What's our relationship as of this minute, which was probably different an hour ago, and will be different again tomorrow?"
"Aye, exactly."
Tetra shrugged. "It hasn't changed as much as you'd think, really. We're friends. Always have been. Right through all this. And we'll meet up now and again, and still be friends."
"Friends?"
"Yep."
"That's how you treat your friends?"
"My close friends."
Jack nodded slowly. "So spending the night with him—twice—and then fighting with him, and then the way you said goodbye to him just now," he clarified, ensuring that he understood her fully, "that was because he's your close friend?"
"Yes," Tetra said, laughing slightly.
Jack nodded slowly again, and didn't speak again until they had nearly come within earshot of their men again.
"So…can we be close friends?"
Tetra only grinned.
Weeks passed before Jack sighed in satisfaction as he stood once more on the familiar island, surveying the town full of his raucous peers.
"Ah, Tortuga," he observed. "Home."
At his side, Tetra nodded.
"Good to be back," she agreed seriously. Face cracking into a grin, she patted him roughly on the back and said, "Come on, let's go find them."
"Right."
It was funny, she thought, that Tortuga had never appealed to her before now. She supposed no one could blame her for having been repulsed by the place previously; to any female who couldn't get drunk enough to enjoy being leered at by strangers, Tortuga had very few features of interest. But now, somehow…compared to the stifling regulations of Felicitovente, it just felt natural to be in a place where people expected her to violate social norms as much as was humanly possible.
Walking into the bar where she had first met Jack brought back a flood of memories. She had to laugh at the mental image of herself posturing before him, and of him oozing charm in return. She could admit to herself now that his efforts hadn't been entirely wasted—there was, and always had been, something definitely sexy in his smile.
"The centre of the universe right here," he said quietly next to her. "The world can change in a pub, aye?"
She smiled at him. "It sure can."
"I'll get a pint. It's been too long since I had some of Tortuga's finest. For you as well, love?"
"Obviously," she replied instantly. "I'll get us a table."
He nodded, and headed toward the bar itself, leaving her to peruse the patrons at her ease. She knew who she was looking for…
And somewhere here…
Among these people…somewhere…
Somewhere…
She bit her lip in frustration. It wasn't as though the pub was very big. Why, then, was she not seeing what she expected to?
"Here you are, love?"
Jack had reappeared, and pressed a flagon into her hand.
"Oh, yeah, cheers," she answered vaguely.
"Are you going to sit down, or are you waiting for someone to offer you a seat?" he asked; even as he spoke, he dropped with lordly confidence into a chair immediately behind him, which sat at a vacant table. She scowled at him, but sat as well.
They drank in silence for a moment.
Jack spoke up, more seriously. "Not here?"
Tetra shook her head, then, deciding to be more short-tempered, pointed out irritably, "Would I be sitting here like this if they were?"
"Perhaps," Jack suggested with an unconcerned shrug, "if you found me infinitely more entertaining."
The snort Tetra was about to direct at him stopped itself somewhere in her nose when a voice behind her said, "Hey, sweetheart, are you looking for a good time?"
Jack grinned, apparently vastly amused by the prospect of watching her beat a man half to death, but she merely sighed heavily. That did get tiresome after awhile, and she turned around to tell the would-be solicitor, only half-truthfully, that she didn't want to hurt him.
He was a pirate, of course, but beneath the general dirt both literal and figurative that pirates tended to accumulate, he was uncommonly good-looking. His shaggy hair and rough stubble would have been blond if he had washed them, and she could tell that he was well-built under his clothes which, like Jack's, were highly accessorized by various trinkets which all certainly had important meanings related to one adventure or another.
The reason for which she was having difficulty finding her voice, however, was that she didn't know whether she actually did recognize him, or was merely hallucinating. Apparently he could read her mind, because he chuckled with a grin.
"What, you need a clue?"
And, whipping it out from behind his back, he placed on his head a green hat.
"Link!" she cried leaping to her feet happily to throw her arms around him. "Oh, gods, Link! You're filthy!"
"Wow, thanks."
"No," she laughed, "I mean…you've always been so clean and neat and proper-looking, in your uniform and all that. And look at you now!"
"Yeah," he agreed, in the tone of a man who did not want to sound as proud of himself as he really was. "I've adjusted."
"You really have," she agreed; in her voice, the pride was obvious. "Good for you. What's it like not being the boss for once?"
Link cocked an eyebrow at her. "Who said I wasn't the boss?"
Bewildered, she stammered, "Well…you're pretty new to the community, I figure you'd have to start from the bottom—"
She was interrupted when he whistled sharply. A door set in one of the dingy walls in the pub which probably led to a private room, and which blended so well that she hadn't even noticed it was there, burst open.
"SURPRISE!"
Tetra shrieked in amazement, clapping her hands over her heart as though to hold it in her chest. Her crew beamed at her from the doorway, jostling for position to show their loyalty and enthusiasm. They utterly ignored the way the rest of the pub had fallen silent to stare at them with condescending annoyance.
"Fortunately," Link explained calmly, "I was able to find a whole crew, complete with ship, who already knew and respected me."
"We figured that since we didn't think you were coming back, we could join up with him," piped up one of the pirates that had once been Tetra's.
"But…he did say you might come back," another added hopefully.
Tetra felt her heart sink as she scanned the eager faces, each one begging her to be their captain again. "Oh…" she began slowly, without any idea where the sentence would take her. She loved these sailors like her brothers—but she loved the Pearl, too. Link was one of her closest friends—but Jack was the other.
Spotting her obvious concern, Link told her in an undertone, "I figured, since we're playing tag and all…well, you caught me. So now I'm It. And maybe Jack could be on the run?" His eyes wandered to the man in question, who tilted his head curiously.
"A challenge?" he inquired. "Catch me if you can?"
"Sure. With Tetra's help, of course," he added courteously, nodding to her. "And after I do—"
"Assuming, of course, that you do."
Link rolled his eyes. "Right. Then you can try to catch me."
"And so on."
"Exactly."
Jack's grin widened slowly. "I'll take that bet."
"There you go," Link said with a self-satisfied look at Tetra. "You can spend time with both of us, see? Whenever we catch up with each other, you can just switch."
It sounded like a good compromise, not to mention an interesting way to ensure that they would keep in touch while being free to live their own lives. But there was something she wanted to clarify first, preferably not in front of a pub full of strangers.
'Link,' she murmured quietly, 'that sounds great, but…if you're thinking that you and I could—'
'I thought we'd gone through this already,' he interrupted, frowning. 'I know we're not in love. We can just spend time together, we don't have to—'
'No, it's not that,' she assured him quickly. 'It's just that…Jack and I…we're…'
'What?' Link asked, when she ended uncertainly. 'Married or something?'
'No,' she assured him, even more quickly. 'Just…really close friends.'
Link stared at her, and she waited for his verdict.
'But not married?'
'No…'
'Then why do I care?' he asked with a shrug. 'I don't own you, neither does he. You think I think I'm your only friend?'
Tetra looked at him closely, and asked uncertainly, 'You know what I mean by—'
'Yes,' Link laughed, 'I can read between the lines. And I'm okay with it if you are.'
He was telling the truth. With a sigh of relieve, Tetra smiled. "In that case…you're on. Let's go." To Jack, she said, "Come and get us, mate."
Jack waved for them to go. "You get a day's head start, just to make things interesting, aye?" He then drank half of his pint in one long draught. "So I'll see you in two days."
"Cocky thing, isn't he?" Link observed, smirking at Tetra, who giggled slightly, and immediately couldn't believe that she had just done so. When had been the last time that she had actually giggled?
"See ya," she told Jack, waving. Her men, moving in a herd, led the way out of the pub. Link took her by the hand, and she followed him, beaming, to what felt like a different world. Starting now, everything revolved around her old ship, her new life, and her best friends.
