Tetra followed Links' grandmother into the house cautiously while still, in the back of her mind, feeling out of place.
She watched the old woman stop at a wall and turn to face a pair of bunkbeds.
Tetra soon followed her gaze, all discomfort seeming to fly out the window when she saw Link.
She slowly walked to wake him, looking behind her only to find Carolyn's head bowed.
"Link," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Link," she repeated, giving his shoulder a small shake.
His eyes suddenly shot open, sitting up in panic, his breaths heavy and fast, his glance looking quickly from right to left.
"It's okay, Link, everything is okay," Tetra said, her voice softer than even she expected. She extended out her arm, placing her hand on his.
It wasn't long after his glance landed on Tetra that he hugged her.
"Oh!" Tetra said, not expecting such a desperate embrace.
"I'm so glad it was just a dre—"
Tetra barely returned the hug before Link stood up quickly, in a scramble, his face as red as the small boat outside.
"W-what…" he stammered as he looked his grandmother, "what is sh-she…"
"What are you doing here?" He asked Tetra.
"Waking you up," she said as she stood up, "you need to see something."
"I need to…" he started, breathing heavily with embarrassment, "you…you can't just…"
Tetra rolled her eyes and took his hand more firmly, practically dragging him out the door as she said,
"Come on."
The grandmother watched the whole ordeal with a smile, still beaming at the closed door as she thought about them.
"Grammy," a small voice said.
"Aryll, sweetie," she said as she walked towards Aryll's bunk, "it's very late and you need your rest."
All she saw of the girl was an eye, peeking out from under the covers, her blonde hair and fair complexion a mere shadow.
"Why does he have to leave?" Aryll asked, her voice still small and vulnerable.
"I'll explain it to you when you're older," Carolyn replied, trying to assuage her back to sleep.
The little girl sat up, pushing the blanket away from her as she assumed a serious expression.
"When I turned seven you told me that I was a big girl, that I was growing up so fast…was that a lie?"
Carolyn's expression softened.
"Of course not," the grandmother replied before retreating to her chair by the dying fire.
Without a word, out of some unspoken invitation, Aryll climbed down from the top bunk and crawled into her grandmother's lap.
"What did Link tell you when he found you today?" the grandmother asked.
"Something about finding a new land and…needing to get away from this ocean…" Aryll started, uncertain.
"Anything else?" Carolyn prompted.
"Probably," replied Aryll, "I…I walked away before he could finish."
Carolyn nodded.
"Is it because of that girl?" Aryll asked.
"No, my dear, it's far more complicated than that."
Aryll snuggled closer to her grandmother, as if irritated by her words, yet comforted by her touch.
"Yes, he is joining Tetra and her crew to find a new land, far away from his home, too far to return. It's important to him. He said he was told to, that he feels like he must. He has a debt to repay to someone and to himself live on in such a manner, happy and hopeful…but there's a problem, A problem that he is only beginning to suspect himself, something he didn't mention, but that can be clearly seen."
Aryll looked up at her grandmother, her wide, curious eyes now attentive and listening.
"Do you know what the word trauma means?" The old woman asked.
"No," peeped the little girl.
"It is the exact opposite of the things you know well…contentment…health…peace…Link has forgotten those in the effort to save you. He has become accustomed to pain, to the upheaval and collapse of simpler things. He has become tortured by what he's seen and what he's done…what's been done to him. He has faced the harshest reality of the world, has grieved the loss of hope, and has gotten used to anticipating destruction of all kinds. It will take him a lot to adjust and…to expect him to adjust back to life here is too much to ask of him. He can't grow up or move forward in a place where he is constantly forced to look back. Finding new land…being on the sea…with someone who understands him like Tetra…looking to the future…it's a better transition for him. Your grandfather was the same, in fact, it's why we sailed to outset."
"So Tetra will help him to get better?" Aryll asked.
"Yes," Carolyn replied, "I believe she will."
"Does he still love us?" The girl asked.
"Of course he does," said Carolyn.
Aryll nodded and said quietly,
"I'm gonna miss him."
"So will I," the grandmother said.
Aryll squirmed away from the comfortable lap of her grandmother, heading towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Carolyn asked.
"I want to see him," Aryll said as she neared the door.
"Don't be too long," said Carolyn, "you need to get back to bed."
Aryll opened the wooden door ajar, peering through the opening.
She soon laid her eyes on Tetra and Link, sitting on the edge of the balcony, not seeming to notice Aryll's presence.
"All these years on the ocean and the moonlight in the night sky is still quite a sight," Tetra said.
"Hmm," Link hummed in reply as they both stared upwards.
"It seems like just yesterday we—"
But Tetra had stopped mid-sentence, for no reason Aryll could see.
Tetra stood up nonetheless, her whole demeanor panicked as she scrambled to do so.
"Te—Tetra…" Link stammered in surprise, his focus changing to her, "What is it?"
In response to her silence, her frozen stance, The fact that there was nothing in the sky to alarm her, he reached up and took her hand.
"Tetra," he implored.
She looked at Link with panicked eyes.
Yet, when she saw the concern in them, she was surprised to look back and find the night sky as clear as it had been before
"I…I thought I saw…"
She felt Link tighten his grip in support, prompting her to look at him with an apparent thankfulness, her expression softening as she sat back down.
"The sky brightened for a moment and I…I thought I saw the Helmaroc King," Tetra said before continuing with a chuckle, "I sound crazy, don't I?"
Link let go of her hand, Tetra's gut wrenching as it seemed to happen in slow motion. Her inability to read Link's expression worrying her greatly.
She barely recognized it as hesitation before she felt his arm wrap around the back of her shoulders, pulling her gently to his side.
"You don't," Link said with the fullest sincerity.
Aryll backed away, silently closing the door as she did.
Her grandmother watched her crawl back into bed, Aryll not quite closing her eyes when her head met the pillow.
"Link will make Tetra better too, right?"
"Yes," Carolyn replied, "he will."