A Pirate's Life For Me; Zelink, Pirate AU (The Legend Of Zelda)

Chapter Seven; Injuries

One week had passed and Tetra insisted that she no longer be confined to her bed.

No one could stop her anyway. She would go crazy if she was cooped up like that for much longer.

While she was down she had seen to it that Link kept busy, and she also made sure he hadn't said a word. She kept Impa as her informant. Impa knew things that no one else did, and she wanted her to be the only one privy to such information.

She was starting to feel a tightness in her chest which she felt was unrelated to her injuries. One more week and then her days on the sea would be over... unless she made the ultimate choice.

Before her were two options -

Go home and pretend nothing had happened during the summers that she was away...

OR

Renounce her other life and sail the seas for the rest of her days.

The choice would seem like a simple one... But a large part of why she was a pirate was the same reason she felt that she had to go back. To make a difference in Hyrule. To actually help people.

It was on the eighth day that Tetra visited the storeroom to check on the supplies to make sure they would last the next week. She sighed as she checked and then leaned back against the wall. She felt so tired... like her eyes couldn't help but droop and her muscles couldn't help but fail.

She slid down the wall until she hit the ground. As she touched the floor she noticed that her side didn't even hurt anymore.

---

"Captain?"

She heard the word only faintly through her haze.

"Tetra!"

"Captain..." she mumbled in response.

"Captain," he said in relief. "What are you doing in here?"

She slowly opened her eyes and saw Link in front of her. "I was just... checking supplies..." she replied weakly, even though she tried to strengthen her voice.

"Something's wrong. You need to get back to your cabin."

"Mmm fine..."

"Sorry Captain, I don't think you are."

"What do you know," she snapped, but the retort didn't hold as much weight behind it as it usually did.

"You're tan and yet right now you're pale as a ghost."

She frowned and shook her head. "I'm fine."

Link crouched in front of her and narrowed his eyes. "Tetra," he said firmly. "Please, you have to get back in bed."

She almost corrected him, but as tired as she was it wasn't worth the effort. "Why do you care," she mumbled, her head lolling to the side for a moment.

"Do I need a reason?"

"Why..." she repeated.

Link smirked, she had a whine in her voice. She would have been horrified if she wasn't pained drunk like she was. "Because you are the most interesting pirate I have ever met. No, you're the most interesting person I've ever met."

"You shoulda known Grium..." she mumbled, her eyes sliding to a close.

"Grium?" he pressed, speaking softly, as though ashamed he was taking advantage of her current state.

"Captain Grium... he's... he died..." She opened her eyes and stared down at the bandages on her hand. "So I killed the one who killed him...the one who hurt me," she finished and then groaned. There was a thud as her head hit the wall; her body went limp.