Chapter 104: Pharmacy Run

…

Link and Line left the clinic with Layna lurking… somewhere nearby. Although Lutock's treatment of Queen Arla was limited, he had explained through Irleen that he was still capable of helping her fight pain caused by the illness. He remained behind, and Irleen remained to serve as a translator for him. It was a new experience for Link to not have Irleen nearby; he even felt the absence of her translator gem from his pocket. He wondered at one point why he was still wearing his hat, but he found that he could not take it off.

Line appeared to be brooding over something as they wandered back to the Conductor. It was usually rare for Link to see him thinking so hard; whatever whim Line had at the moment took less thought to enact (not that they had required much to be thought up in the first place). Link noticed that Zelda had also fallen silent in his mind, and he began to wonder if he had done something that both of them disapproved of. He seemed to have gotten enough of the king's approval to retrieve the medicine that the queen needed for her recovery, especially considering how horribly his credibility had been in the face of a table full of knights. Maybe Line was mad that they were going to expose themselves again when being at Skyrider Port was the safest move they had made all month. And maybe Zelda was a little upset that her rescue was postponed. But then… that did not seem like her, so he thought that she was fretting over her mother's condition.

Link and Line had arrived at a street down which the Conductor waited. Before the dock was in sight, Line reached out and grabbed Link's shoulder. Both of them stopped, and Link turned and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Ah—" Line started before he thought better of it. He glanced around at the crowded street before spotting an empty alley between buildings. "Over here, come on." Line dragged Link into the alley by the shoulder of his tunic despite Link not protesting. He pulled Link partway down the alley, leaving enough space from the street so he was sure they would not be overheard. "Okay, here's the thing," he told Link. He then paused as he seemed to think of the words. "Link, between the two of us, you know that I know more about the royal family."

"I think you know more than anyone else on the ship really," Link said, giving him a grin.

"Then what was all that back at Leeta's?"

The grin faded from Link's face. "What?" he asked in honest confusion.

"C'mon, Link, something is going on. Three Knights of Hyrule were about to kick our asses, and one decides he wants to spill everything just because you say four words? I've been making people mad at me for years; no one ever changes their attitude like that! Just how did you know what to say?"

Link was not sure how to respond. Finally, he decided on the truest answer he could come up with. "The princess told me to say it," he said with a dismissive shrug.

Line shook his head. "No, there's more than that. If you knew how to get the knights to listen to you, we could've just walked up to the family's ship like you were planning."

"Line, look—"

Line held up a hand to stop him. "Just… what's going on, Link? You're hiding something from me, and I don't like it. You never hide stuff from me, not stuff that might affect both of us."

Link was not prepared to tell his best friend that he had been given directions by Princess Zelda, and that was mostly because claiming that Zelda was communicating with him before nearly upset the Gelto. At the same time, Line was the last person Link ever wanted to lie to. With a sigh, Link said, "Here's the deal, Line. Yes, I know things that I probably shouldn't. But I can't explain it just yet."

"Why not?" Line asked.

"Because you'll just think I'm crazy. And!" Link held up a hand just as Line opened his mouth. "I know you'll tell me that you wanna hear it anyway, but I really don't think you're gonna believe me. I'll explain everything once we get back here with the medicine the queen needs. And I wanna wait until then because it's something I need to tell the king and queen about, too."

Line looked away and scratched the back of his head. "I wanna think we've seen enough in the past few months that anything you'd say, I'd believe it. But you're my best friend, and I trust you. Just… once we get back here. Okay? It's bothering me."

Link slapped Line's shoulder. "Okay. I mean… I don't wanna hide it from you. I just wanna make sure you're convinced that I don't need a trip to the happy farm."

"If you say so," Line relented. They stepped out of the alley and continued toward the dock. "But, by the time all this ends, I won't be surprised if we both need a trip to the happy farm." Link gave him a grin.

He glanced up at the sun just as they came into view of the Conductor. By his guess, it was mid-afternoon. It would take a few hours to get to Autumn Island, probably just a few minutes to obtain the medicine from the location they had been given directions to, and then a few hours to get back to the Port. He questioned whether he wanted to stay at Autumn Island or try to return to the Port overnight. He decided quickly to return to the Port as soon as possible, as waiting just left them more exposed to the Skyriders.

"Hey, Link," Line said when they were just two dozen paces from the dock. "Think we can jump that?"

"What, the bulwark?" Link asked, stopping and pointing at the Conductor. Line nodded. Link looked harder at the boat. The bulwark probably sat just a little shorter than him from the top of the dock. He might be able to jump it if he stood next to it, using the bulwark to lift himself. "No, not really."

"C'mon," Line urged him. "Just a good running leap."

"Line, that's too high for me."

Line put on a smug grin. "If you say so, Captain Shortpants."

Link gave him an annoyed look. "Really, Line? You're going with the 'Shortpants' thing again?"

"He—You're the one who brought up the whole height issue. We'll go on three, okay?"

"I'm not doing it, Line."

"One."

"You're wasting your time."

"Two."

"It's stupid."

"Three!"

And, in spite of his objections, Link found himself breaking into a run. It must have been some kind of reflex; in the past, Link had known Line to count down whenever he had been about to start trouble, and the end of the countdown had usually meant that they had needed to run. Even though Link realized it was stupid, he was willing to live with it considering that he had not had any means of entertaining himself like this for some time. It seemed like a good idea. Both boys reached the dock's short set of stairs and leapt over them at the same time.

Only Link did not land where he was supposed to. Upon jumping into the air, he felt a tremendous force suddenly lift him higher. He only had half a second to comprehend what was happening. Then, as he sailed over the edge of the boat, one foot clipped the bulwark. He spun forward and barely got a shout of surprise out when his face landed and slid against the deck. It seemed like his body took a second longer to hit the deck afterwards, and he just lay where he was. His face stung from the rough deck, but he could not help feeling more embarrassed than any physical pain the landing should have caused.

"Great Goddesses!" Zelda hollered in his ears. "Link, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Link groaned. "Did Line see that?"

He only had the question halfway out when Line burst into hysterical laughter, having pulled himself onto the bulwark to see where Link had landed. His comment about Link's embarrassing posture was drowned out by Zelda answering, "I believe he has, Link."

"Thank you, Princess. I noticed."

Line dropped onto the deck and stepped up behind Link just as Link began pushing himself up. "Man, Link!" Line told him. "You went flying! How'd you do that?"

"I have no idea," Link said as he used the front of the pilot's station to stand. "There wasn't a big gust or anything?"

"If there was, it forgot to grab me. Are you okay?"

Link rubbed a hand over the right side of his face. "Yeah, I guess. Layna?" Link glanced around, expecting Layna to have appeared behind him. "Layna?"

"Maybe you need to ca—" Line began to say.

"Ah!" Link shouted when he found Layna standing in the doorway to the cabin.

Line had jumped away at the sound of Link's shout, although he was also surprised by Layna's unannounced presence on the boat. "Shit, Layna," he said with an air of relief, one hand clutching his chest. "Don't you ever say anything to people?" Layna only tilted her head in response.

Link removed his hat and tucked it into his belt. "Okay, all three of you can go below," he said.

Line attempted to share a confused look with Layna, but she only turned and stepped into the cabin. "You mean the two of us, right?" he asked Link.

Link realized with uneasiness that he had forgotten Irleen was not with him. "Right…"

…

"Link, how come you did not tell them?"

Link tugged back on the Conductor's throttle mostly to lower the sound the engine was making. Just that one question was enough to clue him into the princess's silence: he had forgotten to mention to them that he was able to communicate with Zelda. He knew he had done that, but he did not realize that it might upset her. He responded, "Sorry, I just… I kinda forgot."

Zelda sighed. "Link…"

"Honest, really," Link said. "I-I made a note about your stuffed cow, but I didn't bring my journal along."

"Perhaps it is best that you did not try," Zelda conceded. "You've already forgotten that it was a cucco."

"Did I? I thought it was a cow."

"Hence why you should not have tried…"

Link shrugged a shoulder. "Okay, it was a cucco. What else?"

"I really think you should write this down, Link. Or… maybe if I was with you when you meet my parents again. I could help."

"Can you sleep that long? It'll probably dark by the time we get back to the Port."

"Hmm… I cannot be certain; I have yet to try."

Link pulled back on the throttle to stop the Conductor's engine. "Don't force yourself if you can't," Link told her as he pulled his flare gun out.

"Is that an order, Captain?"

Link paused inserting a smoke shell, staring at the wheel before him with a blank look on his face. Was she making fun of him? "Uh… w-well, you know."

Zelda giggled at him. "Aye aye, sir."

Link sighed and shook his head. He felt as if he might have nearly embarrassed himself again. It seemed to have been a miracle that she did not take offense to his command. He loaded the shell, cocked the pistol, and fired into the air above him after checking that his aim did not send the shell into the sail. The trail of white smoke erupted into a column of green just before the shell turned about and fell past the edge of the Conductor. Link glanced toward the Island Symphony to watch a similar plume of green smoke fly away from the starboard side. Then he started the engine again. He looked up just in time to watch Line fall face-first out of the cabin with the sudden push of the engine. Zelda tried to stifle a giggle, and Link bit down on his lip to keep from laughing aloud. He could not see Line after that, but the subtle thumping above the engine's whine told him that Line had probably crawled back into the cabin.

Dholit, Biluf, and Flower used ropes thrown over the Conductor to pull it into position over the boat deck while Link carefully lowered it. Line stepped out to watch the bow to make sure it did not hit the poop deck as it descended. After the Conductor had settled in its supports, Biluf dropped through the poop deck and landed on the stern of the Conductor, startling Link. She then jumped off from there onto the boat deck to retrieve the ladder.

Dholit dropped onto the launch just as Link turned. Instead of being startled, Link asked, "Where's Leynne?"

Dholit pouted. "No greetings foh me, My Captain?" she asked.

Link rolled his eyes. "Hi, Dholit. How've things been here?"

Dholit put on her usual grin and saluted. "Everything is ship-shape, My Captain," she reported.

Link returned the salute. "No one uses 'ship-shape' up here. Where's Leynne?"

"On the helm."

Link turned around to find Line and Layna approaching him. "Line, I need a cou—"

"A course to Autumn Island," Line finished with a nod. "I know. I'll get right on it." He moved past Link, and then he immediately stopped in front of Dholit. "I-I, uh…"

"Pahdon me, Aihman," Dholit said, giving a slight bow as she stepped aside. Line stepped past her.

Then, without warning, Dholit wound up and smacked Line's bottom. "Yikes!" Line shouted as he jumped away. He nearly lost his footing as he scrambled for the ladder.

"Dholit!" Link snapped.

"It was an apology," Dholit replied.

The fact that she was still grinning convinced Link that she was lying. He sighed and said, "Dholit, take Biluf and Layna back on deck; we're gonna be leaving soon."

"Yes, this I've noticed," Dholit said as she waved Layna closer. "Do I undahstand that we shall be retahning to wheah we stahted from?"

Link nodded before he climbed down the ladder. "Autumn Island."

Link's feet touched the deck. As he rounded the boat, Dholit and Layna landed on the deck in front of him. "Does this mean we've been traveling the wrong way?" she asked, looking a little concerned once she looked back at Link.

Link shook his head. "Nope. We found them. And they're in trouble, just like Cale and Lilly said." He stepped past them, and Dholit and Layna fell into step behind him as he walked to the open doorway. "We need to get medicine."

"I imagine this run foh medicine is unavoidable," she asked.

"Sure is."

Link left them and went immediately to his cabin, where he found Line pondering over the few maps they had. "This is already a pain, Link," Line told him.

Link unbuckled the Lokomo Sword. "I know," he replied as he placed the sword on top of his footlocker. "But can you at least give us a rough course?"

"Yeah, but it's not gonna be a straight line." Link dropped the pouch holding his boomerang onto the footlocker and moved over to the table to look at Line's work. Line stepped to one side and explained while he moved a finger along the map. "Okay, from here, we're closer to the Outer West Line, which we can take south. Then we hop the Descent Line straight to the east side of the kingdom. Maybe an hour or two on the Scarlet Line, and then we're there."

"How long do you figure?"

Line sighed. "This is why I wish we had a map of the area. But… my best guess would be about five or six hours. Maybe more."

Link scratched his scalp. "Five or six hours, huh? Sooo… half a day? Roundtrip?"

"At least. And, since we're up here again, there's a chance that the islands and the Sky Lines are swarming with Skyriders."

"Yeah, I know…" He glanced around the cabin. When he spotted his pen set sitting on his desk, he was struck with an idea. "Go relieve Leynne and get us underway. I've got a letter to write; I might have an idea."

"You know all those times I would say that?" Line asked as he walked to the door.

"I remember how much I use to dread it," Link answered. "Why?"

"I'm beginning to know how you feel."

Zelda giggled aloud, but Link gave him an annoyed look. "Whatever. I'm not turning into you, Line."

"I don't know, Link," Line said as he pushed the door open. "Give me a ship, and I just might sail it into danger, too."

"Would you just go?" Link snapped at him.

"I'm just saying," Line said before he slipped out the door.

Link removed his flare gun and placed it on top of his desk as he stepped around it. He fell heavily into his chair and stared at the door for a moment. "You know?" he said aloud. "I've got a feeling he's right."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing, though?" Zelda asked him. "It would mean that he's becoming the responsible one, and your life would not be so complicated by his antics."

Link pulled open a bottom drawer and picked out a couple sheets of parchment. "I hope so," he said. "It would mean that he'll be able to bail me out of trouble."

"What are you doing?"

"Well, while you're still with me, I thought you could tell me what I need to know. So I can convince your parents that you actually are talking to me."

"Oh. Okay, but on one condition."

Link raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" he asked as he reached for a pen.

"Link, I'm telling you some personal things about myself. The least you could do is reciprocate."

Link felt his face turning red. "Uh… wha-what do you want to know?"

…

Link spent the first two hours of their new trip writing, and his hand was sore by the time he finished. Part of it was making a list of personal things that he could relay to King Lauris about Princess Zelda while he told her about some of the more embarrassing times of his life (mostly involving the kinds of trouble he and Line would get into, such as the time they were caught ditching duty in a coffin, the time he and Line fell through the Sail Tavern's roof while they were trying to fix it, the time his crewmates tried to stuff him into a cannon, and the few instances of "Dodge-Link"). After that, Zelda said she was waking up and would try to be back by the time they returned to Skyrider Port. So Link set aside the notes he had made and wrote a short letter to Captain Luke. Figuring that the Island Symphony would be going to Castle Island after Skyrider Port, having a Skyrider escort them would help them get past the other vessels docked there.

The sun had started to turn the sky crimson before them. If it had been angled right, it would almost look as if the Descent Line, their current Sky Line, took them directly into the sun's path. As Link stepped out onto the deck, he wished he had considered that they would be sailing into such a sight. It was blinding, and Line was sure to be sore about having to stare into it and endanger his eyes.

But then Link stepped onto the forecastle and found that Line had already compensated for it. He wore a metal plate over his face. Link's first thought was that Line had just arbitrarily tied a plate to his head, but then he saw that the band holding it to his face was a belt that someone had gone through the trouble of securing to the plate with metal rings. He leaned in front of Line to find that there was a narrow slit in the plate.

And, when he did that, Line frowned at him. "Say it: it's stupid," he told Link.

"Can you see all right?" Link asked.

"Actually, yeah," Line said, his tone sounding amazed. "That guy you have seconding for you, uh… what's his name again?"

"Leynne."

"Yeah, him. He let me borrow it. He said he made these for himself while you guys were wandering toward Might Island. Takes a little time to get use to, what with having a metal plate on your face, but I like it. But you gotta watch how you look up; one bad angle, and you get a beam of light in your eyes like nothing else."

"Can you see the Sky Line at all?"

Line shrugged. "Doesn't make much difference; it's a pain just trying to look at the Sky Lines in the day anyway."

"Oh, theh you ah." Link glanced over his shoulder just as Leynne stepped onto the forecastle behind him. "I undehstand that we'h retuhning to Autumn Island."

"Yeah," Link replied as he turned around. "The queen needs some medicine to help her sickness. Since Skyrider Port hasn't had any major shipments, the only way to get it to her is for us to go get it. It's only made on Autumn Island, so that's where we have to go."

"We've got directions and everything," Line added, raising his voice to talk over the Sky Line's incredible wind.

"So we'h assuhed in ouh attempts to retuhn them to Castle Island then?" Leynne asked.

"As long as we don't get caught," Link said with a nod.

Leynne nodded as well. "I don't suppose I can talk you into remaining with the ship on this outing, can I? It isn't as if you need to retrieve the medicine pehsonally."

Link blinked at him, although he was sure part of the reason was the wind drying his eyes out. "You think that's a good idea?"

"Theh's no need to risk exposing youhself again. Aihman Floweh oh even Line could go ashoh and get it. I'd even be willing to do it as well. Afteh all, how much could you possibly need?"

"I gotta agree with him there, Link," Line spoke up. "It wasn't even an issue when you and I went ashore back at the Port, but here's a different thing altogether."

"I could take Misteh Floweh and Misteh Gold along to keep me safe," Leynne continued.

"Why you?" Link asked.

Leynne gave him a half-grin. "I am the one with the wallet, Link. This medicine will cost money."

"You know, we completely forgot about that, Link," Line said.

"I just assumed it wouldn't be any problem," Link replied. "Kinda like getting care at a clinic."

"Medicine doesn't cost money as long as you get it at a clinic," Line pointed out. "We're going to a shop in the port, remember?"

"Ah," Leynne said. "I just assumed."

"You'd be willing to pay for it?" Link asked him. "I know we've already used a lot of your money."

"My suhvival depends on this ship, Link," Leynne pointed out. "Besides, if money meant so much to me, do you think you would've found me in the middle of a dead wood south of Diggehton?"

"The middle of a dead what?" Line asked.

"I guess not," Link replied. He nodded. "Okay. Once we get to Autumn Island, you, Line, Flower, and Gold will take the Conductor to the island while we try to keep our distance. Keep your eyes open, though; the rest of the Skyriders may not know who you are, but Captain North and his crew might recognize you."

"I would think that Nohth would keep his distance," Leynne commented, nodding at the main deck. "Especially if he suspects Layna to be neahby."

Link shook his head. "No. It means he'll just be smarter the next time he sees one of us. Do we still have either of those muskets the Gelto swiped from them?"

"One," Leynne said. "I've disassembled the otheh."

Link frowned. "How come?"

"I've just had a few thoughts on how to make a betteh one in the event things go bad. I must admit that access to a fohge would help in my endeavoh. That aside. Even if we have the single musket, we don't have any ammunition."

"What happened to that bag of lead rounds I'd found on Might Island?"

"Too big. And I've no means to melt it into smalleh shot; I don't have a tool to fohm it correctly."

"Besides that, Link," Line spoke up. "If we go around carrying guns, they might stick out more. Just don't worry about it; we'll be fine."

"I just don't like to send you guys ashore without any way of protecting yourselves," Link said.

"If anything, I'll cahry a flah gun," Leynne said. "That way, if we do find trouble, you can come to ouh rescue."

Link nodded. "Okay."