Chapter 93: It's Days Like These That Make Me Wonder

…

Link sat with his back against the bulwark, eyes closed as he played the blues harp in an attempt to remember the first song he had played in the Might Technoworks. It had been his pet project for the morning, and he was still struggling to remember the notes even after a brief break for lunch. He had the general layout of a couple of recurring pieces remembered, but the great majority of the song continued to elude him.

Leynne had been watching him most of the time. Although he had to monitor the ship's direction, he had a relaxed look on his face as he stared at the sky ahead. At one point, he asked Link, "So, does a captain regulahly entehtain a hobby on-deck?"

Link had just finished another attempt at the song and replied, having no opposition to speaking, "I don't think either of my captains ever did. It's just to keep me occupied."

"And commanding an aihship doesn't keep you occupied?" Leynne asked with a chuckle.

"I made rounds earlier this morning," Link said. "I even visited Layna."

"How is she doing?"

"Okay, I guess." Link shrugged. "She didn't really talk. Dholit says she's been doing all right, that she's healing up okay. She's even taken some of the stitches out, although I wish she had waited until we reached the next island. She should really be seen by a doctor."

"Did you tell heh as much?" Leynne asked, glancing at the bow to see if Dholit was listening while she stood on the bulwark further ahead.

"I did, but I trust her judgment, too."

Leynne shrugged. "Okay, I guess I can live with that."

"The ship's in shape. With all the activity up here, there's not much else to do."

Leynne nodded. "Well, I can see why you decided to spontaneously take up the hahmonica."

Link shook his head. "For the past month, I've been spending most of my time on-deck worrying about the ship. I'm just trying to relax. Do things that don't spook the crew, like you said."

"I don't know, Link. Seeing you with a hahmonica is ratheh spooky."

"Wha—You've seen it before!" Link told him, his voice rising. "Remember?"

Leynne freed one hand from the helm to give a dismissive wave. "I know, I know. I'm just saying that doing something different is about as unsettling. Why the hahmonica, anyway?"

"Other than being the only instrument aboard?" Link asked with a more even tone. Leynne shrugged. Link sighed and continued, "It helps. I learned to play a few years ago, but I'm a little out of practice. This blues harp is a magical instrument that can command the technoworks. On both Sagacity and Might Islands, I was having some trouble playing to the technoworks, so I could use the practice."

"I'll fohgo the obvious question of why the technowohks need music to wohk. My eahs may not be quite as tuned, but it seems to me that you've been repeating the same melody foh most of the day."

"It was one of the songs for the Might Island technoworks. I've been trying to remember it; I have a musician friend who might like it."

"About a hundred otheh things you can do, and you'h trying to remembeh a song?" Leynne asked in an amused voice. He shook his head. "Two months, and I still find you to be a peculiah young man."

"Those hundred other things can drive me crazy at any point in time," Link argued. "At least with this, things don't seem as depressing."

"Rock to poht, Leynne!" Dholit called from the front.

"Thank you!" Leynne called back before turning the wheel to shift the ship starboard. "Have you considehed writing the song down using musical notation? It would make the process easieh."

"It probably would if I knew musical notation," Link answered. "I'll be fine, though. I'm getting used to doing it like this."

Leynne nodded and turned the wheel to put the ship back on course. "Do you know the extent of this region?"

"I wish," Link replied. "In a Sky Line, it would take us about six hours to sail past. I don't really know how long that would be by conventional means."

"It's a miracle you people managed to navigate the skies foh so long without any soht of constant landmahks to keep track of youh location."

"That was what the Sky Lines were for. As long as you knew the junctions, you could navigate with ease. Not that I really did a good job of it anyway. Between the two of us, Line was the much better navigator."

Leynne glanced at him for a moment. "Assuming he's managed to avoid any unfohtunate cihcumstances, wheh do you imagine he is?"

Link sighed and tucked the blues harp into his pocket. "I really don't know anymore," he confessed, crossing his arms. "Up until now, I was hoping that he might've been with one set of crates to make sure it kept getting misdirected or something. But it looks like Line just sent them to whatever islands he could and then just disappeared. He couldn't have gone to Castle Island; that place is swarming with Skyriders."

Leynne nodded. "It would make sense that, if he fled, the false princess would want him, too."

"If anything, he should've gone to Skyrider Port. But unless we go there ourselves, we can't really know."

"I would imagine a reception would be waiting foh us should we make an attempt."

"No doubt. So I just don't know. It's possible that we missed him on Autumn Island. Or any island we've been to; they are pretty big."

"Is he the kind of pehson to go into hiding?"

"When he gets someone mad at him, maybe. But… I don't know. He had Leonard and Flower with him. They're pretty big men."

"With the creatuhes you've described to me, they might not have tried putting up a fight."

Link sighed and rested his head against the bulwark. "If it came to that… yeah, they might've gone into hiding. For two months, though… I just don't know."

There was a pause between them. Then Leynne said, "Look, I'm suh that they'll emehge once control of the kingdom is put back into the propeh hands."

"Yeah…"

Leynne put on a frustrated look, realizing that he had just succeeded in making his captain depressed. "You should… continue with that song. It might save you from talking with me."

Link gave a weak chuckle as he pulled the blues harp out again. "Yeah. Sounds like a good idea."

…

~~Day 78 (Command, Day 41)

~~Found out today that there's very little for me to do on this ship without it reminding me of my troubles. I've spent most of the day practicing on the blues harp I found on Sagacity Island. I can still remember some of the small pieces that Lukka taught me, and I might have put that song on Might Island back together. I can't seem to do anything else without thinking about someone who's in trouble. Princess Zelda, Line, Flower, Albert, Captain Alfonzo—They just seem to work their way into my thoughts when I'm not playing. I kinda wonder what Captain Albel would say if he knew how much trouble I was in. Probably shout at me and say I did something wrong. Or would that be Captain Alfonzo?

~~We sighted a ship in the distance this evening. If it was a mining vessel, it could mean that we're near the end of this slice of nightmarish sky. The wind still isn't working with us, but at least we're maintaining speed without having to use the engine. If I didn't have to control each individual block, I'd seriously consider keeping them so we don't have to use up our coal stock. But, once we reach Bold Island, Leynne will install them on the cutter.

…

Link had decided to make it a routine to check the various compartments of the ship each morning, mainly to give himself something to do rather than wander around the weather deck with a gloomy face. The cargo hold was still quite bare due to them not having a job. He looked in on the berth deck, not having actually stepped into it before. On the other side of the doors were four rows taking up the space all the way to the bow. Each berth actually had a gratuitous amount of space, cutting into the number of berths available. Each berth had a hammock; a pillow; a folded, wool blanket (for the berths that had not been taken); an overhead compartment with a padlock and key inside when Link opened an empty one; a mirror; and a small, fold-up desktop/tray-table. The men had taken the farthest row on the port side, and it embarrassed Link a bit to see that only four berths in the middle of the row were being used. Link found that the two rows in the middle of the deck had an extra head and a compartment for supplies to clean the ship. His decision to check on the women's row was met with total embarrassment when, upon rounding the corner, he caught sight of Dholit and Lwamm standing naked in the middle of the deck. Lwamm whistling and Dholit calling "yoo-hoo" preceded Link bolting back into the hold.

He stepped down to the galley next. The various crates and barrels had been arranged so that there was a path between both sets of stairs, the officers' quarters, and the small kitchen setup at the rear of the bay. It was a convenient arrangement, but Link decided he would have to talk to Leynne about putting in some ropes to help hold the supplies in place while they sailed, as it looked like one crate had been dumped out behind the stairs. He saw that there was a narrow place on the port side behind the countertop. The supplies blocked him from getting back there, but he saw that there were a number of large planks and boards hidden in the cavity. They must have been extra supplies for building tables for the galley. Unfortunately, with his small crew, no one was really available to set up the galley as a proper eating place. But it was nice to know that someone had left him the means to make it that way. As soon as they had a larger crew and a cook, he would need this stuff. He peeked into the cabinets in the kitchen area, but no one had gone through the trouble of stocking them; about all he found was a few pots and a frying pan. This caused him to wonder what they were supposed to be used on, and he found an iron stove hidden in an alcove on the starboard side behind a door which Link had not actually questioned. The fact that the supplies had not been piled up in front of the door told him that his crew had at least noticed. But when he stepped inside, he found that pieces were missing from the stove.

Forgoing the engine room for now, Link took the stairs down to the orlop, the final deck of the ship. Although the ship appeared larger than that on the outside, Link had come to realize that the height of the decks was a little taller than standard (which allowed the Gorons to move freely about the ship) and that there was a thick substructure between the main deck and the cargo hold. Here in the orlop, the spare parts, spars, and rigging had been stowed along with some of the tools. While the various replacement pieces of airship laid scattered about the deck, the tools had been placed in a large storage cabinet erected in the middle of the deck, which also served to provide support to the deckhead above. As he crossed the deck to look around, he realized that the deck planks sounded thicker under his boots. It had probably been built that way because the ship's keel needed to be weighted down to keep it from capsizing. Lighting in here was scant, and Link found that the electricity for the ship was being provided by a wind-powered generator which reminded him of the wind generator that Sello had installed on Luggard's locomotive. This recollection was mostly due to the fact that the wind generator had a number of odd parts attached to its boxy exterior, the most recognizable being the missing front door from the stove in the deck above. Link decided that he would have to look at the ship's bow the next time he was ashore; somehow, he had missed the vents which allowed airflow into this part of the ship.

As he traveled to the stern, he found one of the Gorons curled into a ball in one corner. The Goron stirred and unrolled himself, revealing Helo's face and unkempt hair. He yawned, stretching his massive arms into the air. "Oh," he said when he realized Link was standing in front of him. "Good morning, Captain."

"Good morning, Helo," Link replied. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Technically, yes, but I see no reason to complain," Helo replied. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Actually, it's probably been one of the best mornings I've had in a while," Link confessed with a sheepish grin.

"Oh, my," Helo replied in a worried tone. "Have you not been sleeping well?"

"Just a recent bout of… unpleasant dreams. But I've been doing better lately. How about you? Is life on the ship agreeing with you?"

Helo shrugged. "It gets a little mundane at times, but I've taken it as just the regular workings of an airman's life."

Link nodded his understanding. "When we find a decent place to stop, I'll be sure to see that you and Lidago get a bit of time ashore. How's he been doing?"

"It took him some time to fit himself in, but I believe he's found a means of dealing with his anxiety."

"His anxiety?"

"Most Gorons don't like heights unless we have some earth or building beneath us. I could imagine that this is the reason why he and I are the only Gorons who joined your crew."

"Well, is he okay? Does he need a break or something? Anything I can do?"

Helo put on a smile and waved a hand in front of Link's face. "No, no, Captain. He has the matter well under his control. See for yourself."

Helo pointed over Link's shoulder, and Link turned to look at the opposite corner of the deck. He was somewhat surprised to find that someone had put up a pair of shelves against the hull. Secured to these shelves with rope were a number of well-crafted sculptures. Well, Link could only assume they were well-crafted; he was not really sure what most of them were. A few were trees, one of them appeared to be a sculpture of Helo, and one looked like Sello passed out on his couch with a wine bottle stuck in one ear. Link stepped closer and found that there was a light fixture in the corner when there was no such fixture on the other side. His curiosity as to how Lidago had managed to handle the fine details of the sculptures was alleviated when he discovered a number of crude instruments in a box underneath the shelves.

"This is amazing," Link said with an air of awe. "How's he making these?"

"Well, I would tell you, Captain, but you may actually be disgusted by the revelation," Helo told him.

"It's okay, you can tell me. It can't be that bad."

"Okay. The clay he uses is a product of our feces mixed with sawdust."

Link's hand immediately froze just shy of touching one of the unidentifiable pieces. He turned his head and asked, "This is… This is Goron poop?"

"Clay is one of the few earthly materials which a Goron will not eat. This is mostly because it reminds us of our own feces. But we've found means of using both in society. You'll find that many items of Goron pottery can be made of one or the other. Our feces can be mixed with sawdust to absorb moisture and odor, making it easier to use. From there, it can be fired just like regular clay."

Link shook his head and stepped away from the shelves. "Wow, I… Yep, you're right; I could've probably gone without knowing that."

"I am sorry, Captain."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I did ask."

A door opened up, and Lidago stepped into the compartment a moment later. "Goron," he greeted Helo.

"Goron," Helo replied.

Then Lidago froze upon seeing Link standing in his corner. "C-Captain."

"Hi, Lidago," Link replied. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "I was just admiring your sculptures. They're very nice."

"Thanks, Captain." Lidago replied with a grin.

Link glanced down at where he stood and stepped aside. "Uh, carry on."

"Doh," Lidago said, nodding.

"You're going on duty now, right?" Link asked Helo as Lidago settled into the corner and curled himself up.

"Yes."

Link indicated the compartment that Lidago had just come from. "I'll go with you." Helo nodded.

The rear compartment of the orlop was just a pair of partitions pinching off a small area of deck. The Gorons had used this to store the rocks that were their food source. Helo picked up one rock as he led Link to one of the doors to the engine room. The following crunch caused Link to wince; it sounded as if Helo had broken his jaw biting into it.

The only change to the engine room was the addition of some sort of mechanical contraption attached to the front of the engine using a number of pieces Link thought looked suspiciously like parts from both the galley's stove and the wind generator. He noted that it was some sort of feed mechanism because Harley was just hurling a shovelful of coal into an open hopper on the top. It appeared necessary, as it looked as if someone had bolted shut the large door which Sello had originally loaded the fuel into.

"Whoop," Harley uttered when he saw the two enter. He knocked the hopper's top hatch closed with the shovel and set the shovel against the engine. "G'mornin', Cap'n," he said with a salute.

"Good morning," Link replied with a dismissive salute. "How's the engine running?"

Harley chuckled. "No disrespec' intended, Cap'n," he said, "bu' if the engine craps ou', I go' a feelin' ya'r gonna notice."

Link chuckled along. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He glanced over at the bulkhead between the doors. And he found that Sello, for lack of a more comfortable location or position (it appeared), was lying with his top half on top of a pair of his alcohol crates while his waist hung over the edge and his boots rested on a smaller crate. Link nodded in Sello's direction and asked, "What happened to the couch?"

Harley shrugged. "Don' know. I ducked inna the kitchen early this mornin', 'n i' 'n 'e was gone when I go' back."

Link glanced over at Helo as he picked up a crate and dumped coal into one of the wooden bins on the starboard side. "Hey, Helo? Did Sello wake you up last night moving his couch?"

"I'm afraid he didn't, Captain," Helo replied. "No one came past me last night."

"So… if Helo was still sleeping in the orlop and you were in the galley…" He glanced around. Then he started scratching his head. "Well… what the hell did he do with it?"

"Tha's the mystery," Harley told him with a grin. "An' 'e was drinkin' so much las' night, ya go'a wonder 'ow 'e moved i' withou' makin' a sound."

Link shook his head. "I've been everywhere on this ship today. There's no way he hid the couch anywhere under the weather deck."

"Ya migh' as well le' i' go, Cap'n." Link glanced up at the walkway above to see Lawrence leaning over the waist-high wall. He gave Link a quick salute and continued, "We looked all over the ship every other time 'e did i'. We even tied a rope t' me 'n 'ung me over t' see if 'e pu' i' under the ship. No gold."

"Why no' ask the 'orse 'imself?" Harley asked. "Ya'r the boss, Cap'n."

"The boss may not regularly give orders, but I'm sure he will respond to one," Helo agreed, indicating Sello with a hand.

Link scrunched up his face. Then he shrugged. "Why not?" He walked over to the crates and placed a hand on Sello's shoulder. "Hey," he said, shaking. "Hey, Sello. Wake up."

"Bwah, oop-bleh," Sello grumbled as he returned to semi-consciousness. He opened one eye and turned to Link. "Hi, Grammy. Whudder ya doin' adda train station?"

"It's-it's Link, Sello."

Sello belched. "Ahm. Who?"

"Link? Captain Link?"

"Who?" Sello asked, causing both Harley and Lawrence to start sniggering.

"A lot of good ordering does," Link commented to Helo. He told Sello in a louder voice. "Captain! Link! Your boss!"

Sello stared at him bleary-eyed. Then he grinned and said, "Oh. Hi."

"Hi, Sello," Link replied. "Hey, where's your couch?"

Sello's grin remained, but Link could see the confusion in his eyes as he asked, "Wha-what couch?"

Link indicated the crates Sello was laying on. "The couch that sits here. The couch you sleep on because you never go to your quarters?"

"Oh. Izz right here."

"Where?"

"Here."

Link looked down. His hands started shaking with his words as he told Sello, "There's nothing here but these crates, Sello."

"Heh-yep."

Link stared at him. "Sello. If the crates are here, where is the couch?"

"SECRET TUNNELLLLLLL!" Sello suddenly shouted, causing Link to jump backwards. "THROUGH THE MOUNTAINNNNN!"

"Geez, Sello!" Link shouted at him. Then he put on a disgusted look and waved a hand in front of his face. "Wow, that's some nasty breath. It's like having someone shove a boot in my face."

"Should'a been 'ere las' night," Harley said. "Smelled like pork."

"Yesterday, i' was lilies," Lawrence said as he touched down on the deck.

"Sello," Link said as Sello sat up on the edge of the crates. "Where did you put the couch?"

"In my left toof," Sello said. He jumped to his feet. Then he fell into a pile on the deck. "Ghof. Turtle cheese."

"Hee hee."

Link's eyes went wide at the sound of a girl giggling, and he was thankful that the only person capable of seeing his face was at this point trying to get back to his feet by only lifting the lower half of his body. He immediately cleared his throat and said, "Well, I've had better luck finding answers in my dreams. I think I'll… go do… uh, captain's… stuff. Uh, gentlemen." Link completely missed all three uninebriated (and thoroughly confused) airmen giving him a salute and stepped over to the ladder on the port side. He climbed as fast as he could and stepped through the door to the galley.

Once there, he asked aloud after seeing that no one was around, "Princess Zelda?"

"Link?" she replied, causing Link to jump in response. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"You nearly frightened me out of my wits," Link told her. Then he lowered his voice and continued, "What is this? How am I hearing you? I'm wide awake." He looked down at himself to confirm that he was still wearing his regular clothes. "Right?"

"I believe so," she answered.

"Right. So there's a logical answer to this.

"I'm going crazy."

"No, no, Link!" she cried at him. "I'm-I'm really here."

"Uh… I'm pretty sure that's what a voice in a crazy person's head is supposed to say."

"No, it's not like that at all, Link," she replied. "Remember our last conversation? When you… when you talked me out of giving up?"

"Yeah."

"Well… I gave it some more thought. Like you said, together or apart, we might both go mad. I… I didn't want to leave you. And… I began thinking about when you said that if it hadn't been for me, you would have never run away from the fake princess. Link, I did call out that day. I called out at you to run, and you did. I never realized that you had heard me before. So I decided to try doing it again. The fact that the both of us can communicate now means that it works. I am asleep, and I can call to you through my dreams."

Link slowly nodded. "Somehow… I am incredibly uncomfortable with this."

"I only started watching when you were done talking to that large man down below. I think you said his name was Helo?"

"Yeah, okay…" Link said. "So… how do I know I'm not crazy?"

"I wish I could convince you, Link. Unfortunately, I just don't have any sort of proof. Besides that, Link… I think you might have a different problem which needs your attention."

"Problem? What problem?"

"Look over your left shoulder."

The way Link stood left him facing the starboard side of the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder as he had been instructed.

And he saw Lwamm standing at the base of the portside stairs. From the shocked look on her face, Link knew that he had just broken the language barrier in the worst possible way. To her, Link had just been having a conversation with the wall, and that was a universal warning sign that something was quite wrong.

Link held up a hand. "Lwamm? Just-just wait a moment…"

Lwamm took a step back. "'Ak kyabtin coyhacnwya'ak…" she said to herself.

"Lwamm…" Link said in a half-warning, half-pleading tone, taking a step forward.

She bolted up the stairs, and Link sped across the galley to catch her. "Giltiyn Dholit! Giltiyn Dubbl!" she cried as she hustled up the stairs. "Zhayjoxan 'inoy! Zhayjoxan 'inoy! May Kyabtin coyhaconwak! Coyhaconwak!"

"Link!" the princess called to him. "You're chasing her!"

"The crew already thinks I'm insane!" Link argued as he rounded the stairs in the cargo hold. "I'll be in real trouble if she tells anyone!"

"How does this help!?" she cried.

"Giltiyn Dho—gyaah!" Link heard impacts against the deck above. When he reached the weather deck, he found that Lwamm had barreled into Twali, Biluf, and Dubbl, knocking them to the deck along with her. All four were rubbing their heads, having each taken a strike to the cranium when they hit the deck. Dholit and Lilly stood nearby, both looking on the pile of Gelto with faces of utter amusement. Lilly in particular was trying to stifle laughter.

"Lwamm!" Dubbl snapped as she shoved Lwamm off her. "Waliyxomotak dhol!?"

"May Kyabtin, coy—" Lwamm began as she pushed herself up from the deck.

"Lwamm!" Link immediately snapped, having no other alternative to silencing her. Lwamm flinched and closed her mouth. Link stepped up to her and stared down at her for a moment. Then he told the other women, "Return to your duties. Dholit, I want you and Lwamm in my cabin now."

"Ooh," Dholit replied as the other three stood up from the deck. "With great pleasuah, My Captain." She used a hand to signal Lwamm. "Taycoban, Lwamm. 'Inan 'ibunwidh 'inamyayn kyabtin dha' jalwayl fiyk." Lwamm, shocked at Dholit, nodded and got to her feet.

As Link followed them across the deck, Zelda asked him, "How do you plan to explain this?" Link could only sigh and started to consider his next course of action. He did not want to lie to his crew, but he had the problem of not being able to tell the truth without making them think he was crazy. He had no real options in the matter, and he needed to come up with something to satisfy them.

He remained silent even after all three had stepped into his cabin. Lwamm had yet to say anything to Dholit, which meant that Dholit did not know anything of the events down below. He crossed the cabin and sat at his desk. He rested his elbows on the desktop and steepled his fingers together to hide the lower half of his face as he tried to come up with a response for the two Gelto standing in front of him.

Then he realized that he did not have to explain anything. So the first thing he said was, "Dholit, tell her I'm not crazy."

Dholit tilted her head, a curious look on her face. "A denial this fast, My Captain?" she asked.

Irleen jumped out of her bed and hovered in the air between the three of them. "What, did I miss something?" she asked as she looked between Link and the Gelto.

"I believe both of us have," Dholit said.

"Just tell her," Link said.

Dholit flashed a ghost of a smile before telling Lwamm, "My Captain nadhaconwak, Lwamm."

Lwamm looked stunned and glanced between her and Link for a moment. "'I-'Itab… Giltiyn Dholit, 'inu kulwbya'ak zhal!"

Dholit grinned at Link as she said, "'Inu bisixak My Captain lway'ijiynw."

Link felt it was time to play his hand. So he put on a calm face. "Irleen," he said. "The gem that you made for Captain Koroul. Has it been known to affect people even when they're far apart?"

"Huh?" Irleen responded, confused as to how she had become part of the conversation. "Uh… w-well, yeah, sometimes. I mean… The-the gem contains memories or emotions of the person it's used on and then gives those features to whoever's holding it. Uh… I think some of the texts I read on this particular kind of magic has been known to cause effects on the person it was used on."

"Such as?" Link asked.

"Uh…" Irleen had to pause to gather her thoughts. "Well, people linked by a gem like that tend to occasionally share dreams."

"Yes, I remembah you explaining this to Leynne and myself befoah," Dholit said with a nod.

"Irleen, does the gem have any effects even if one person is awake?" Link asked.

"Eeeeeh, that's… not a really well-studied occasion," Irleen replied. "Um… I think I read something about one person hearing the other person's voice, but that was a long time ago when I read that."

"But is it possible for me to hear Princess Zelda's voice on occasion, assuming she has the gem now?"

Irleen glanced back at Dholit. "I guess so. Wait… Have you been hearing her voice?"

"Yes."

Irleen sighed. "Oh, boy. No wonder you're so obsessed with this idea that she's been trying to talk to you. I wish you'd said something earlier; I'd've told you as much. Yes, it's possible to hear the other person's voice, but she has to be hearing yours at the same time. It's… not a really common occurrence."

Dholit raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm to assume then that you thought you weh having a convehsation with Princess Zelda and Lwamm panicked because she caught you and thought you had fallen mad?" she asked.

"I tried to stop her before she caused a panic," Link said. "Spontaneously declaring that your captain's insane isn't a very good idea on an airship. I know I haven't done much to keep you from thinking otherwise, but I need you to believe me."

Dholit glanced at Lwamm, who responded with a curious look. Then she smiled and narrowed her eyes at Link, almost as if declaring "Well played, Link" as she told him, "Well then, I shall set Lwamm straight in this matteh. But it would help if you would keep youh pastimes undah bettah wraps, My Captain."

"Thank you, Dholit," Link said. "You two can return to your duties. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, My Captain," Dholit said, saluting. Lwamm quickly copied the salute. Link responded, and they left the cabin without a further word.

Irleen sighed again after the door closed behind them. "Link, sometimes I think you just need a good whack on the head," she told him in an exhausted tone.

"Sorry, Irleen," Link said. "But I couldn't just tell them I was hearing the princess's voice; they'd really think I'd lost my mind. I-I didn't mean to use you or anything, but… I needed you to tell them it might be possible that I was hearing her."

"Look, Link…" She paused as she searched for the words she wanted. "I… I know you want to believe that the princess is trying to talk to you, but just that gem alone doesn't make it possible. I know I've said there's the occasion where people share dreams, but… although I've come to accept that you have been seeing these things because it's possible she has the gem, there's just no way for you to get messages to each other like that."

"Oh, my," the princess said to him. "No wonder there is so much doubt in my attempts."

Her words had caused Link to miss some of Irleen's statement, but Irleen continued, "… to all this stuff happening to you. I'd like to think it's possible, Link, I really would. But whether it's real or not, you need to remember that you have a crew relying on you."

"I know," Link said, resting his head on the desk. "It just seems like I can't do anything around here lately without the crew thinking I've snapped."

"Well, in your defense, it's a wonder you haven't yet."

"Please have faith, Link," Princess Zelda told him. "I know you are still rational."

Link gave a half-hearted chuckle at the desk. "Thanks."