Author's Note: I recommend "Ancient Hero" from the Wind Waker soundtrack for this chapter.
Link was in the crow's-nest, staring out at the night sky and at the calm, rippling waves as they sailed.
Most of the crew, except Gonzo who was steering the ship, were below deck, sleeping away the late hours of the night.
Yet Link stood instead, relaxing his chin on his uninjured arm as he leaned on the ledge.
He suddenly heard small pats on the rungs of the ladder beneath him, nearly jumping as he turned around.
He saw Tetra, her hand frozen on the last rung when her widened, surprised eyes saw Link staring at her.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were up here," Tetra said before starting to go back down, "I'll leave you be."
"No," Link said, stopping her, "stay."
Link watched Tetra join him on the platform, turning back around to face the ocean as she stood next to him.
"I usually come up here to think," she stated.
"I guess I had the same idea," Link said in response.
"How are you feeling?" Tetra asked
"Okay, I don't look that bad," Link said argumentatively.
"You kind of do, but that's not what I meant. How are you feeling?"
"Oh," Link replied, surprised at the meaning of the question, "I…I don't know…it's hard to describe…it's like…"
Link sighed, almost giving up trying to put into words what he felt. Words had become increasingly harder as his journey went on. By now, just full sentences felt strange for him.
"Like you've lost a part of you," Tetra finished, prompting Link to look at her in surprise.
"Y-yeah," he stammered as he looked at her, surprised at her words.
Yet, she didn't pay attention to his glare at her profile, her expression of pondering. She only looked out at the ocean before her.
"Why did you it?" she asked.
"Why did I do what?" asked Link, not understanding.
"Your sister was safe, why did you keep going? Keep risking your life? Any normal person would have just gone back home."
Link turned to look at the rippling waves once more, both of them calmed by the sound of it crashing against the boat's hull, of the quiet hush of the night sky, of the absence of any threat on the ocean's surface
"Greatfish Isle," Link stated, "I think that was the turning point for me."
Tetra let out a sigh as she pictured it, clear in her mind. Palm trees askew, ships marooned, the guardian Jabun nowhere to be found. People had once lived there before the attack came, she knew that as well as Link did. It was as populous and as lively as Windfall, as Outset.
There would be no saving them.
"At first, it was just about saving my sister," Link started, "I don't think I really realized what was going on until I saw the…horrible destruction at Greatfish Isle. Then…I…well, I knew I wasn't going to sit back and do nothing…I couldn't…It was like there was something inside of me, like a kept fire, burning, the rising embers fueling my drive to continue. I needed to save the ocean, I was compelled by my very soul to do so. Somehow, I needed to save you, too…"
Link paused, Tetra looking at him in response,
"Yet," He continued, "before I even got to understanding why it felt so right, I was told to forget about it, all of it."
Tetra watched Link pull off his hat in a contained frustration before running his fingers through his messy blonde hair
Link inhaled to speak, but changed his mind, closing his mouth as he loosely held his hat in his hands.
"Courage," Tetra said, Link locking eyes with her when she did, "it's what you're trying to describe, courage…you were courageous enough to face Ganondorf and save the ocean…so you did."
She gave a small and quick smile before her expression turned sad, her glance looking downwards, focusing on nothing in particular. It was apparent that her focus was on something in her head instead, something deep, that she had to dig for.
"I wish I could understand it all myself. I…we…we know so little of the Hyrule that we were a part of…that became a part of us…we can only wonder…why…why it all happened…why we feel such a strange loss over something that was maybe a minuscule fraction of our lives."
"You sound so smart when you say it like that," Link said with a goofy smile.
Tetra was happy she looked up in time to see it. A smile always looks good on someone who needs one.
She chuckled at his words, however, feeling they flattered her too much.
"I've never considered myself to be a wise person. Tactical when need be, a strong leader for the crew, witty at times, and more reckless than anything else. I guess you could say I was a good pirate, but wisdom…"
Tetra shifted her stance as she ran her hand down her arm, loosely clutched above her elbow.
"Even before I…" she continued, hesitating to meet Link's attentive gaze, "before I became…"
She took a deep breath, in and out.
"Princess Zelda," she said quietly, timidly, her head downcast.
"I yearned to be like my mother, headstrong and brave, yet kind and gentle. She led the young lads she commanded with such elegance, her hand firm when it needed to be, gentle when the occasion called for it. But, Most Of all, she was wise. From her example, she taught me the difference between knowledge and wisdom, a difference I strived to remember, to implement into every decision, to not only act on impulse, on recklessness. I only hoped to follow her example after…"
Link gave a shaky inhale of concern, Her sunken expression starkly familiar. He had seen it before in his grandmother, who sat across from him when she told him his parents were lost at sea. He had seen it on himself when he mourned them, when he was taught too young what death was.
"Such a shadow to fill…I didn't know how…I tried my best to lead them like her, BUt…there was always something missing…I wasn't sure what it was until…"
She looked up at LInk.
"It never occurred to me that I would be a princess, but, most of all, it never occurred to me that something like all of this would give me what I wanted most, what I needed."
"What's that?" Link asked.
Tetra gave a smirk.
"The courage to be wise," she replied, "to not be scared of living up to her legacy, to not be afraid of trusting myself, of the wisdom hidden deep inside of me. Courage…I…I learned from a friend."
"Who?" Link asked, genuinely curious.
"Goddesses," she said as she rolled her eyes and returned to the view of the ocean.
"What?" Link asked, confused by her change in tone.
Tetra didn't reply, her glance staying on the waves before her, trying to ignore the urge to turn around and slap him on the back of his head.
"Wait, are…" Tetra heard him start to stammer, "Are you talking about me?"
"There it is," she replied.
"I'm your friend?" he asked with a smile as he took a step to stand next to her, placing his hand on the wooden ledge of the crow's nest.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she stated.
Link smiled at her without her notice before resuming his glance towards the ocean, the sun now casting a deep golden glow on the horizon as it began to rise.
"I don't know if I have the courage to do what comes next, though," Link said.
Tetra nodded and said,
"Leaving your family."
"I know I have to," Link started, "and I'm lucky I at least get the chance to say goodbye, but…I just don't know how they're going to take it. I know Aryll missed me so much and Grammy…"
"Grammy?" Tetra retorted, "What are you, five?"
"Twelve, and don't act like you are that much older."
Tetra didn't reply, although she couldn't help smirking to herself.
Yet, their glances were soon both stolen by the silhouette of the island before them, coated in the amber of the rising sun.
Link's deep breath beside Tetra was shaky, making her look at him with concern.
His eyes were distant, focusing on Outset Island. She could tell it had been a long time since he had been home.
And, of course, she knew it was the last time he would see it like this.
"Land Ho!" she yelled, as authoritative and demanding as ever, to wrest her sleeping crewmen from their collective slumber.
"Collapse the sails! Ready the anchor! Prepare for arrival!" She yelled commandingly as she looked at Link's eyes, trying to ascertain if the glow within them was a byproduct of the rising sun or if his eyes were starting to water.
She ripped her glance away, not wanting to overstay her welcome, and approached the ladder at the bottom of the wooden platform.
Yet, Tetra stopped at the edge, the southern wind blowing through her hair as she hesitated.
She turned back around and placed her hand on Link's shoulder, surprised he didn't twitch at the surprise of the touch.
"Miss Tetra?!" they heard a voice call out on the deck below, "Are you up there?!"
"Yes, Mako!" Tetra replied as she slid her hand away, "No need to worry about me! I'm on my way down!"
Tetra walked to the ladder, situating herself and grabbing on to the first rung.
"Thank you," she heard from Link before she started her descent, "for everything."
"You're welcome," she replied, "but Link I…I could say the same thing to you…after all you've done…I have to thank you as well."
Link smiled and turned to her.
"You're welcome, Tetra."