The Wind Waker

XXVI

TETRA STEPPED out of the King of Red Lions onto stone that, in the past thousand years, had only felt Link's boots upon it.

She gawked at the beauty of Hyrule, and Link did as well. Now that it was no longer a grey, timeless world, color illuminated it, made it become more real somehow.

"It... this... this is really here...," Tetra said.

Link nodded, smiling slightly.

It was nice, seeing Tetra acting a bit more relaxed. She had complained about the quality of his vessel compared to her own, and she'd complained about being left behind.

But she had also seemed to display more varied emotions. At times, she'd even been a bit pleasant to be around.

Link led her through the gardens, overlooking a now flowing river below them. It was very impressive. The river at the Forest Haven was but a twig to this trunk of a river. It looked big enough that a boat could've traveled down it.

He walked briskly towards the castle, but paused when he saw Tetra hanging back.

She was stooped down next to one of the patches of flowers, feeling a lavender petal in her hand. That look in her eyes... she was genuinely moved.

The gardens were beautiful. There were wildflowers on Outset, and he saw some cultivated flower beds on Windfall, but nothing like these grand designs.

Something about this... seeing Tetra this way... she ceased to be just a common pirate. She appeared less rough to him. She was more than just the persona she put on.

Tetra saw that he'd been looking at her, and expected a sharp quip. Instead, she stood up straight and acted aloof.

"It's all quite... impressive," she said.

"Yes," Link agreed, "it is."

He walked in step beside her as they entered the castle. She ran her fingers along the grain of the pristine white stone, tracing her fingers along reliefs chiseled into the blocks.

Then they entered the central hall. Tetra stopped, and stood with little movement for a while.

Color restored to it, the intricate tapestries were now on full display. The light from small windows in the ceiling now caused stones to sparkle. Even the shadows seemed to have beauty.

"It's real...," Tetra said. "Isn't it? There really was an ancient kingdom beneath the ocean."

Link gave her a confused look.

"I thought that was obvious," he said.

"Well," her face darkened, "some of us aren't so quick to believe everything we see."

"We sank beneath the ocean and you saw the entire land laid out beneath you."

"Yes," she said, "but... but now I'm seeing it up close. I can touch it. I can see the tiny details. As though... as though long forgotten voices are heard again."

There was something... very un-Tetra-like about those words. They were words that he himself had thought, in different phrasing.

Their lonely footsteps echoed through the hall, and Link stepped before the statue of the ancient hero, holding aloft the sword Link now held.

Link initially felt a pang of fear; the statue covered the way ahead. But when he came close, the stone grinded, and slid away in his presence.

Tetra blinked wide eyes.

"I'm not even sure what to say about this anymore," Tetra said.

"Trust me, I know the feeling."