Chapter 9: What Defines a "Princess"

…

—Took on two passengers from Castle Island for transport to Forelight Island: Princess Zelda of the Hyrule royal family and a Sorian girl called Rireen. Course laid out along the Northwest Sky Line, transfer at Turtle Island, and resuming passage along the Dawn Sky Line.

—I've only been in command for a matter of hours, and I feel like I've already lost my mind. I can only imagine the trouble I can get into for ferrying the princess to what has to be the most dangerous place in the sky, so I rest assured that I might be killed as we cross through the Undying Storm. I don't know if I can even tell Captain Alfonzo about all of this. I just hope that I can get Princess Zelda and Rireen to Forelight Island safely. After that, I should be able to relax.

—As for the princess and my crew, no one appears to have caught on to who she is. It's actually a bit of a surprise; even Line doesn't seem to have realized it, and I expected him to pummel me into the deck boards for not cluing him in on her presence earlier. This may have something to do with Rireen being on board; she seems to be far more interesting.

…

A shadow blocked out the afternoon sun for barely a second as a large, bird-like form sailed overhead. Link, as well as the three airmen immediately within his scope of vision, could not help but look up at the sails to watch the brilliant performance the Sorian girl put on with her aerial acrobatics. The fact that she flew was amazing in itself; being the same height as Flowers had led Link to believe that she weighed maybe about a quarter of the airman, accounting for the fact that she was a girl and amazingly slender. But after a swan-dive over the bulwark followed by an immediate loop underneath the airship and landing on the bridge directly behind Line, it clearly was not the case. Her entire body acted like one, large wing, allowing her to simply loft herself onto the air like a pillow and thrust herself forward with each beat of her arms. Her greatest talent appeared to be weaving through the sails and the rigging, as she liked coming dangerously close to being hooked by the various ropes supporting the masts and their components. After a while, Link was sure his idle airmen were taking bets on if the lines would drop her to the deck.

Except for Line, Link did not mind the crew being idle, especially since they had to take some time to get to the next Sky Line. His current pilot had to revise his estimation to the Dawn Sky Line due to a mild headwind. He told this to Link what must have been fifteen minutes ago; now, the Island Sonata looked to him to be only about halfway between the two Sky Lines. On the bright side, the headwind seemed to have provided Rireen the freedom she needed to take to the sky. It also gave Flower and Leonard the opportunity to relax a bit from the hard work they had been performing all day.

Link, sitting on the hatch cover going into the ship, glanced out to port. Turtle Island was not far away, a relatively large island of wilderness compared to the large hub of Castle Island. Understandably enough, the name came from its general shape. A large dome of a mountain formed the center of the island and bore five, flat, peninsula-like structures. Three of them resided on the side of the island visible to the Island Sonata with the other two attached to the far side. The small port which serviced the island sat on the "head", and Link could see the cloud of mail gliders in that particular area, so small compared to the island that they looked like gnats. Link had only been to the island three or four times, often when some of the stronger wind currents in the area prevented the mailmen from carrying their loads to the main office elsewhere.

He sighed, smashing his cheek into his palm while the corresponding elbow rested on his knee. Despite knowing that he sailed into a potential disaster, somehow his spirits had been alleviated by the sight of the island and Rireen's feats. It felt owed to him, especially since he still had no knowledge of how Rireen was supposed to guide them safely through the Undying Storm. Only a minute before, he had told himself Line's words from earlier that day, something about "going with the flow". Well, he had no choice in the matter, not anymore. It was the final conclusion he could come to as he watched Rireen speed by the side of the ship, shooting him a wink in the half-second that she was there. He had consigned himself to simply sitting there for the duration.

Then he heard the notes floating down from the bow.

The sound of a singing voice lulled him into a temporary stupidity as he listened, having been freed of his thoughts. Then, with somewhat of a start, he realized that he was about to slide off the curved hatch and firmly planted his boot into the deck to stop himself. He glanced around for a moment, looking for the source. It could not have been Rireen; she still flew about the sails, whereas the voice came from the same direction. And it sure could not have been any of his airmen; the voice was female. So he slid off the hatch and looked towards the bow.

He tried to keep a calm air about him as he speed-walked to the forecastle and climbed the steps. Inside, though, his heart felt like it resonated throughout his whole body. He crossed the forecastle to the bowsprit and stood almost on the end of the prow just where the safety net began. He did not dare advance further.

Because if he startled Princess Zelda, she could easily fall overboard. She stood with one foot on the bowsprit and the other on a knot in the safety net surrounding the lower half of the bowsprit. One of her hands held a jib line, but Link could see her peaceful features gazing at some distant wonder off the bow. Link immediately found himself choking back his intended warning, mesmerized not just by her voice, but by the magnificence she gave off, the perfect, fearless, commanding way in which she simply existed in that moment. And with each vocalization (she did not sing with words, only allowed her voice to express itself without the seemingly vulgar complexities of language), Link thought he could see some kind of shimmer in the air just in front of her lips.

Still. He had to say something to express his concerns for the position she had chosen.

"You have a beautiful voice, Princess."

He did not succeed.

Her voice softly disappeared, and her lips remained open for a moment. She cast whatever she looked at a lingering stare of want, then she switched the hand holding the jib line so that she could turn back to Link. "Thank you, Skipper," she replied, the playful smile on her face teasing him for using her title.

Link shook his head and grabbed the forestay next to him. "No," he said. "Tha-that's not what I meant to say."

She continued to smile. "Nevertheless, I hope that you meant it."

"No, no, I—I mean…" Link trailed off to furiously scratch at his thick, blond hair. What was it that he meant to say? "Well, yes, I—I meant to say that, but… I—I didn't want to say it!"

Her face molded into a curious look. "Why would you not want to say such a thing?" she asked as she delicately stepped closer to the deck.

"No! I mean I—I might have wanted to say it, but—but that wasn't what I needed to say," Link said, dropping his glance to his boots with his eyes closed. He growled and finally spat out, "I—I just want you off the bow!"

"But I am off the bow." He looked up and found that she, indeed, had stepped down from the bowsprit and stood directly on the deck beneath the safety net, one hand holding the opposite forestay from him.

Link let out an exhausted sigh. "Yes… yes, you are."

"You were concerned for me?"

He nodded, his face growing a little warm. "Y-yeah."

She addressed him with a gentle smile. "Thank you, Link. I am glad to know that you are taking my care seriously."

Link then realized something and glanced across the forecastle again. "Where's Albert?"

"Do you mean the airman that was up here?" Link nodded. "I relieved him."

He blinked in confusion. "Y-you what?" he asked.

"I asked him if he would not mind that I took his position for a moment," Zelda explained as she took a few more steps away from the bow. She leaned her back on the bulwark and stretched her arms along its surface, one hand feeling the nearby forestay. "He seems to have mistaken me for a fellow airman."

Link slapped a hand on his forehead. "Oh, no, no, no," he said to himself. "Why would you do that?"

"Was that wrong?"

"He deserted his post," Link answered. "Princess, you're not supposed to be a lookout; you're a passenger!"

"Is that so?" Zelda's voice oozed challenge, and he looked up to find that she had crossed her arms. "As a passenger, am I therefore incapable of holding such a simple position such as a lookout?"

Link felt a little off-balance. "W… well, no," he admitted.

"So is his post considered deserted when someone qualified for the post dismisses him?" she pressed.

"T-that's not the point!" Link declared in a louder voice than he had intended. "He left without orders! Where did he go?"

"I believe he mentioned his berth." Link turned and started across the deck. "Wait a moment. Where are you going?"

"To put him back on duty."

Zelda pushed away from the bulwark and stood firm. "I do not believe that we are done with our discussion, Skipper."

Her tone seethed calm outrage despite how even her words flowed, and Link, almost on impulse, swung around and planted his boots in the deck in a manner befitting someone ready to bolt. "W-what?" he asked.

"As a member of the royal family, I find myself rather insulted by your attempt to deflect our disagreement," she replied, her face now showing a tinge of anger. "I demand an answer to my question. Is this post deserted when someone else, who is just as capable of looking out at the skies for potential danger, dismisses him?"

"N-no…" Then Link quickly realized his mistake and corrected himself with equal haste, "I—I mean yes! Yes, because you're not a part of my crew."

"Okay, then." She stepped forward until she was almost breathing in his face. Her stride and distance gave Link the impression that she might slap him, causing his arm to tense itself in case his face needed protection. "Make me a member of your crew."

For a moment, Link could only blink. "Huh?"

"I wish to be a member of your crew."

"I—I can't do that!"

Her expression grew inquisitive. "Why not? I was assured that you are commanding this vessel."

"I am!" Link defended.

"And you hire the new crew?"

"Uh huh."

"So why can you not hire me?"

Link's immediate response was wordlessly gesturing at her as if it served as an explanation. She did not seem to make the connection (or did not want to, simply to force the words out of his mouth), so he told her, "Because you're a member of the royal family!"

"So I am disqualified from serving on your ship, then?"

"No, I just—"

Link felt the blade of logic penetrate his stomach when she interrupted him. "So I am allowed to serve, then."

He realized his mistake and smacked himself in the head. "Please? I… I really don't want this to become any more problematic…"

"Then will you allow me to serve as a lookout while being a passenger?"

Link hung his head in defeat. "Yes. Just… please make sure that there is an airman with you."

Zelda leaned to one side so she could look at his face. "Aye, skipper."

Although those last words were intended as an apology of sorts, it did not alleviate Link's feelings of demise. In the following silence, Link could now hear the low whistle of the nearby Sky Line and looked up. Then he slowly walked across the deck on his way back to his cabin.

…

—I tried to have a personal conversation with Princess Zelda this afternoon. I must be some kind of idiot.