The World Unknown
Zelda and Kifan, a fearless team, diving through the open sky. The wind swallowed Zelda's scream of joy and tugged her blonde hair free of its ribbons. Her pulse quickened, her stomach dropped, and her lips widened into a smile. For a moment she thought that they would plunge into the cloud barrier, but at the last moment, Kifan's blue wings snapped out and carried them up.
Zelda let one hand trail into the cold clouds. What lay behind the barrier? Ever since she was a child, she liked to imagine that there was another world below them, a world full of brave people and fantastic beasts and exciting adventures. She supposed there was a possibility that the clouds went on forever with only the azure expanse of the universe beneath them, but the idea of another world just felt so right.
She and Kifan had tried to go through the clouds once, years ago. Kifan could barely flap her wings, and the icy air stole Zelda's breath. They were trapped in the barrier, unable to escape in either direction. They might have died down there if not for a passing knight noticing the disturbance and helping them out.
As of yet, they had no way to get down there, but Zelda felt certain that it would happen someday.
Kifan beat her powerful wings against the summer air and shrieked, startling Zelda out of her memory. Shaking her head in self-chastisement, Zelda applied a slight pressure to her Loftwing's left flank and steered her back towards Skyloft. The sun was beginning to set, its red rays drifting across the sky. She had to get home soon. Since she hadn't yet graduated from Skyloft's Knight Academy, she couldn't fly after dark.
She nudged Kifan towards the northern side of their home island, behind the Waterfall Cave, in the hope that she might find a certain someone napping in the grass. He was to compete in the Wing Ceremony the next day, and although he never seemed to feel nervous, she thought he could use a little encouragement. No one but Zelda expected him to win.
Sure enough, Link was in their usual spot on the ledge behind the cave—asleep, as she'd expected. She could tell even from twenty feet above, because his limbs always spread out in wide angles when he slept. They landed next to him, and Zelda dismounted. Kifan ventured over by Link's crimson Loftwing and picked around by the cave entrance, no doubt looking for dead keese on which to snack.
A lock of light brown hair blew across Link's face, and Zelda resisted the urge to smooth it away. She nudged his shoulder. "Wake up, sleepy," she said. "It's still early."
Link opened one eye, blue as the daytime sky. "Hhmpf?"
"Come on," said Zelda. "Let's go on an adventure."