"Hmm!" Zelda nervously hummed, frustratingly kicking her legs back and forth in the middle of Owlan's boring lesson. School was one of her number one priorities; Link being another, yet the hero was nowhere to be found during such an important lesson. She always scolded him when he missed a day, so what was so important that he had to miss it? Zelda had spent all morning on the island of Skyloft in search of her beloved friend, but he was nowhere to be found. She was almost late to class because of him! Unfortunately, if she desired to further search the island for Link then she'd have to wait until after class.
Something suddenly hit her back, and she turned around in a fluster. Another paper ball was flung into her face, this time completely by accident. She scowled at the creature who threw the ball; Groose. Of course it was only to his curiosity that he was throwing the ball. "I don't see that Link anywhere," he whispered with a smirk, although much too loud because the teacher clearly heard.
"If you're so concerned, then you may leave the classroom and search for him, Groose," Owlan teased, although the playful smile was absent from his face. He turned to his chalkboard and continued on with his lesson.
This made Zelda uneasy. It was obvious to everyone that Groose and Link had never gotten along since they were children, so had that fiend done something to the poor hero? Zelda felt herself tense up, completely enraged with that Groose. It was already hard enough to concentrate on the lesson, but now she couldn't focus one bit. What happened to Link? Where was he? Had Groose done something? Link wasn't in his bedroom this morning or anywhere across town. Some of the only places she hadn't checked were the cave and the goddess temple. Maybe he had fallen off one of the ledges. Maybe he was plummeting to his death or worse- he was beneath the clouds and fighting for his life against these horrid creatures. Anything could have happened to him. He could be-
"Zelda, class has ended," Owlan suddenly spoke, awaking Zelda from her thoughts.
Her questioning eyes darted up at him, and she quickly took a hold of her books. "Sorry, professor! I wasn't-"
"Paying attention?" He chuckled. The teacher nodded and smiled, taking seat at his desk. "It's alright. You're a smart girl, so I know you'll catch up. If it means anything to you, I thought I saw Link over at the pond early this morning around sunrise. He was most likely fishing."
Zelda nodded and immediately stood from her desk, dashing out of the classroom. The only problem was that she had already searched there, and he wasn't anywhere near the pond. Had he possibly fallen in and drowned? Or maybe the current carried him off of the island. Zelda's heart raced at a rapid pace as she quickly rushed outside, swinging the doors open. She then rushed through the gate and sped for the pond, yet to her expectations he was nowhere to be seen. Out at the edge of the pool, Groose and his sidekicks could clearly be seen fishing, laughing like nothing was wrong. Zelda pouted. They must have had something to do with Link's absence.
She stomped her feet as she approached them, stopping right behind the three with her hands placed familiarly on her hips. "Where is he?!" She shouted, startling the trio. They all silently turned to look at her, fearful of what she would do. "Well?" She asked again, tapping her foot.
"I have nothing to do with him," Groose huffed, turning back to the pond again. "I was only asking about him this morning. Why do you always gotta protect him?"
Zelda stood there in silence, wondering herself. The other two turned around, paying no mind to her any longer. She now felt left alone. They weren't going to help her, and neither were the adults. Link always went off on his own and turned up later, so of course no one worried for him, for they were used to the treatment. But Zelda was always worrying. Link was always on her mind, and yet she didn't know why. Was Link thinking about her as much as she thought about him? Apparently not or else he would be thinking about how worried she was.
The child pouted and clenched her fists, turning abruptly on her heel and marching off. She thought it would be wise to wait for him to show up again, but there was no way she could do that. Instead, the concerned Zelda sped into a run towards the Isle of the Goddess in search of that troublesome boy. She couldn't see why anyone would be all the way up there at this time of day, but there was always a possibility that he was located somewhere up on that island.
She ended up approaching Jakamar as she trudged up the staircase. He was working on fixing the gate on the isle, as that's what he constantly did; fix things. He looked back at her and smiled. "What are you doing all the way up here?" He pondered.
Zelda's eyebrows rose in worry and she slowed to a stop by him. "You wouldn't have happened to see Link pass by, would you? He didn't show up to his lesson today," she informed, her voice shivering in fear.
Jakamar leaned away from his work and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Nope, haven't seen him since yesterday. He probably took a walk or something. He'll show up soon enough like he always does." And with that, he went straight back to his work without another word or worry.
Zelda let out a quiet sigh and moved on towards the isle, making her way to the goddess statue. Her eyes darted from one corner to the other, but Link was nowhere to be found. What if something terrible happened to him? After all, Owlan said he was by the pond earlier, so he could have slipped in and drowned. Who knew what could have happened? Zelda shook her head, trying to break away from those terrible thoughts.
Zelda approached the statue of Hylia and gazed up at it in all of its glory. Oh, how elegantly did the sunshine bestow its golden light on the marvel? The young girl dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together, starting off into a silent prayer, begging for a sign of direction. She always wondered where he went off to and it always greatly worried the girl. If she at least knew where he disappeared to on days like these then maybe she would feel easier about things like this. Her eyes drifted from the floor and she looked up at statue, finishing her prayer.
Zelda forced herself up to her feet and began to heavily trudge back into the depths of Skyloft. The only place left to check was the cave, and she never dared to set foot in there. However, there was nowhere else to look. His Loftwing flew about the area, but Link wasn't on it so he obviously wasn't there. His Loftwing didn't even look the least bit concerned. Maybe she was overreacting. Or maybe she should board her own Loftwing and get a better search of the island.
With a single whistle and a run for the edge of the island, she leapt off of the side and dived right onto her bird, which easily snatched her from the air. It then flapped its mighty wings and crowed, lifting higher into the air so Zelda could get a better look at the island. She squinted to see all what was down there. Familiar faces walked through the village of Skyloft, but none of them looked even remotely similar to Link. After about an hour of scanning from the air, she realized he wasn't about to reveal himself. Zelda let out a pout, realizing how idiotic it was to search from the air.
But it wasn't idiotic. Maybe he was somewhere on one of the neighboring islands. Zelda urged her beloved Skyloft to pass over the other islands in search of her friend. He had to be somewhere on these lands, but where could he possibly be?
It was now sunset. Zelda had constantly searched all day. She landed on every island and ventured inside every building but she absolutely could not find him for the life of her. Zelda buried her face in her hands as her Loftwing landed back on the solid ground of Skyloft. She couldn't control herself; she was sobbing right through her fingers. She had worked herself over and stressed herself out over something so little. Link always disappeared and came back around. Always. It was completely stupid to cry over something like that. She quickly wiped her eyes and sent her Loftwing away, watching her bird retreat to the sky.
Zelda sniffled. It was about time to give up and head back. He would show up soon, anyhow. As she was heading back for the school, she suddenly stopped. She still hadn't checked the cave, mainly because she was stalling all day. She turned back to look at it, familiarly guarded by those planks. Maybe he was in there and maybe he wasn't, but she was desperate to find out by that point. Zelda turned on her heel and began to make her way back down into town, heading straight for the blockaded cave.
As she approached the caves, she began to feel more and more tense. She stopped at the fence, observing it. "Keep out," it warned. Surely Link wasn't as foolish as to step foot in there, was he? Even if he did, Zelda was still foolish enough to follow. She placed her hand on one of the boards and then ducked her head, squeezing her way inside. With a budge and a kick and a huff, she managed to push her way inside.
Zelda stumbled inside of the cave, almost losing her balance as she entered. Her eyes looked about the cavern, studying the walls. Keeses perched themselves upside down along the ceiling while threatening chuchus wobbled about the floor. This place looked absolutely frightening. Zelda couldn't believe she was about to cross through here in search for her friend. At this point, she highly doubted that he ever walked through here, yet she was somewhat hopeful that maybe he was at the end of this cave. With a deep breath, Zelda crossed her fingers and cautiously moved forward into the cavern.
Her eyes trailed from one monster to the other, hoping to the goddess that they wouldn't come near her. She should have grabbed a stick or some sort of weapon to defend herself in case one of them came close, but unfortunately she wasn't thinking when she came inside. She was only thinking of her emotions and Link, the lost child. One of the chuchus noticed her and let out a small growl. It then rushed for her, which was quite slow considering it was only a blob. Despite the size and speed, Zelda screamed and dashed away from it, racing further into the cave. It was a mistake to have come here. The keeses took notice to her footsteps and squeaked, flapping their wings and dive bombing the poor girl. Zelda shrieked and ran faster away from the enemies.
In the distance, she could clearly see the light at the end of the cave. Was that it? The exit? This cave was no ordinary cave; caves were supposed to be sealed to a stopping point, weren't they? Nonetheless, Zelda was grateful that there was an opening at the end. She dashed for her escape, moving her legs as fast as she could for the exit. Her blonde strands of hair waved about behind her. Her gasps became heavier with time. She couldn't even remember the last time she exerted so much energy or moved so fast. In a matter of moments, the girl sprouted out of the cave and into the sunlight, the sunset washing her in a ray of gold. She slowed to a stop to catch her breath. She was safe out here.
What was this place, exactly? She had never been down there before. It was just a piece of land connected to the very bottom of Skyloft, like a lower cliff. She wondered why she had never noticed it before when riding on her Loftwing. The girl began to stride forward, looking about in every direction. Her eyes suddenly locked onto something on the ground. It was a boy, but not just any boy. That boy was Link, lying possibly unconscious on the ground. "Link!" Zelda cried, rushing to his side. She fell to her knees and began shaking his chest. "Oh, Link! Please, wake up!"
Link's eyes slowly fluttered open. He sat up and stretched his arms out, following with a yawn. He then turned his head to look at his friend and warmly smiled as if saying a silent hello.
Zelda felt all of her worry and stresses disappear into anger. She suddenly stood on her feet and clenched her fists. "You were asleep the entire time?! Napping all day?! Is that what you do when you leave? Do you ever even think about how worried I am?" She shouted all in a mouthful.
Link only blinked, confused by her sudden change of emotion.
Zelda pouted and shook her head. She shouldn't have been angry. After all, this is what she prayed for; Link's safety. The goddess had gladly answered her prayers and showed Zelda the way. Now she knew where he went day in and day out and no longer needed to worry. Zelda sat down next to Link, suddenly smiling. "No, you're fine. I shouldn't be mad. I'm just glad you're safe," she confirmed, resting her head on his shoulder. "But please… don't worry me like this anymore. Promise?"
Link had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he nodded in reassurance; whatever it took to make her happy. He rested his head on top of hers and they stared out at the sunset. He smiled to himself and shut his eyes, his heart fluttering with the beautiful Zelda leaning on him. Maybe Link should disappear more often.
As a result of utter boredom from working on my other stories, I produced this. Woohoo! Procrastination! I was inspired by The Legend of Zelda cartoon's episode "The Missing Link." It had nothing to do with him disappearing- well, kinda. He turned into a ghost. That's it. Either way, it encouraged me to write something like this. It's not that exciting, but it was something to do while procrastinating on my other stories. Ohho. I'm not even a big fan of SS, but it was still fun. Just a fun little project.