I don't own the Legend of Zelda
Link stood outside the headmaster's office, practically shaking with nerves as he stared at the large (and somehow intimidating) double doors. He had been standing there for at least 15 minutes, though it felt like much longer. Drenched in sweat, he considered just forgetting about it and walking away. He shook his head, what was wrong with him? He had to pull himself together, he was about to talk to the headmaster not battle Demise. Trying to ignore the hoard of snakes that withered and danced in his stomach, he raised his hand and rapped his knuckles against the door.
"Come in." Came the voice from beyond the door, to Link's slight disappointment. He had been half hoping that the headmaster had been called away urgently. Reluctantly, with the air of a man taking his final walk to the gallows, Link entered the room. Link's headmaster, Gaepora, was sitting behind his desk, reading an important looking document. "Ah, Link I've been expecting you. Sit down." He gestured towards the chair opposite him, which was artfully engraved with birds. Link sat, looking around the room while he waited for the headmaster to finish reading and for him to find the courage to speak. His eyes travelled from the old books on the many shelves to the pretty patterns in the stained glass windows and finally rested on the pink potted flower on the desk, whose sweet scent reminded him of Zelda. Link always wondered why she smelt so nice and flowery and why her hair was so golden and soft and why her eyes were so deep and full of a kindness that made them sparkle. Far too soon for Link's liking, the headmaster's voice pulled him out of his daydream."So what did you want to see me about? Nothing too serious I hope." Gaepora chuckled lightly.
"Ah... well you see... I...er." This was going to be harder than Link had originally planned. The headmaster looked at Link expectedly. "Um... me and Z..Zelda...your daughter... I... I really like her... I mean I..." Link wished that he could stop blushing madly and stammering like an idiot. How come he could claim the master sword, earn the three pieces of the triforce, save Zelda and the world from Demise yet he couldn't ask the headmaster, a man he had known his whole life, one simple question.
"Yes?" The headmaster nodded for Link to continue.
Link took a deep breath to calm himself. "Sir, I wanted to ask... Zelda's really important to me and I wanted your... your blessing to m-marry her...sir." There was complete silence for a moment, save for the regular ticking of the headmaster's clock. Link looked down at his lap and squirmed in discomfort. The worst case scenarios swirled around Link's mind. What if the headmaster get angry and expelled him? Or worse, what if he was forbidden to see Zelda? The thought of these depressing possibilities made Link feel sick. Then the headmaster slowly rose from his chair and came to stand behind Link. He put his hand on Link's shoulder and Link looked up in surprise to see that the headmaster was smiling. "Link you know I've always thought of you as a son and you and Zelda have always been so close, even as small children. Zelda can marry whoever makes her happiest, she doesn't need my blessing. It would do me a great pleasure if you were the one to make her happy. I know you'll take great care of her."
Link also smiled. ""Thank you, I will I promise."
The headmaster shook Link's hand and Link left, feeling relived that the hard part was over. Now all that there was left to do was get the ring and ask Zelda to marry him. Those words repeated themselves over and over in his mind. Ask Zelda to marry him. On second thoughts, Link decided, the hard part was just beginning. The snakes returned and withered even more furiously in his stomach as he laid awake that night, considering the prospect of proposing to Zelda. "Why does everything have to be so hard?" He groaned to himself quietly as he yawned and rolled over, to drift into an uneasy sleep.
"Gondo, I need a favour." Link leant on the scrap shop's counter, with a look of utmost importance in his eyes, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of movement and noise that was the bazaar.
"Sure kid, what do you need? Something broken." Gondo asked as he put down the old, rusted shield that he was tinkering with and moved his shoulder around to get rid of it's stiffness.
Link shook his head. "Nothing's broken, no. I want you to make something for me. I need a ring, a special ring for Zelda. I want to propose. You can make one right? I don't care how much it costs, even if it's a million rupees!" Talking to Gondo about the ring was thankfully far easier that asking Zelda's father for his blessing.
Gondo waved Link's worries away with his hand. "Don't worry kid, I don't get asked to make jewellery often but I've made a ring or two before. And it won't quite cost you a million rupees." He said with a laugh.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver. Could you make it like this, I've written a description of what I want it to look like, if that's ok?" Link pulled a slightly crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it across the counter. Gondo smoothed it out and began to read. "That should be fine. It'll be ready in about a week. I need to sort out the materials, which aren't cheap. But seeing as you're my most regular customer and you helped me fix Scrapper, I'll give you a discount. How's 800 rupees sound?"
"That sounds great, I'll see you in a week then." And Link turned with a wave, happy that he had overcome another obstacle and was one step closer to making Zelda his bride.
He returned exactly a week later, filled with excitement at seeing how the ring had turned out. It was everything he had hoped for. The ring was gold and in the centre there was a large, blue sapphire that matched Zelda's eyes. Engraved either side of this precious jewel was a pair of wings, like the Goddess's. Finally, the note score for Zelda's favourite song, the ballad of the Goddess, was inscribed inside the ring.
"You'll be needing this." Gondo passed Link a small, black, velvet lined box to place the ring in. "I made it specially, free of charge of course."
"Thanks Gondo, this is perfect!" Link said gratefully as he carefully placed the ring in it's box, as if it was the most special thing in the whole world.
"Any time and good luck kid!" Gondo called out to Link cheerfully as he left, fuzzing with nerves and excitement.
A few weeks later...
Light poured through the small, square window, whose shutter Link had forgotten to close. Outside loftwings could be seen swooping around Skyloft, their brightly coloured feathers ruffled by the gentle breeze. The giant birds shrieked their shrill cries and the bell on Beedle's airship shop wrinkled as a small boy threw stones at it. However, Link didn't see or hear any of this. He was far too busy sleeping the day away. Until, that is, a certain blond haired girl pulled away the comforting warmth of his covers and shook him awake. "What's a matter?" Link said sleepily, raising his head an inch off the pillow to look at Zelda through half closed eyes.
"Link, come on sleepyhead! You can't sleep forever, seriously I need to get you an alarm clock! You've already missed breakfast. You said you wanted to go somewhere with me and you're late for a date that you organised!"
"5 more minutes." Link mumbled as he laid his head back on the pillow.
"Link." There was warning in Zelda's tone and she stood with her hands on her hips at the end of his bed.
"Ok ok, I'm up." Link gave in and got out of bed with a stretch.
"That's better." She said as she encased him in a quick hug. "I'll meet you at the plaza, don't be too long."
After making sure that Zelda was gone, Link quickly changed his clothes(he had slept in yesterday's clothes again) and grabbed the little box from his desk draw, before rushing out the door after her.
Zelda was right, Link had planned this date in advance. He had planned it very carefully, so that he could propose to Zelda in the best way possible. Admittedly, he hadn't counted on him oversleeping and being late but Zelda hadn't seemed like she was really mad at him. He assured himself that nothing else would go wrong.