Okay, so after being away for over a year I'm back. Yeah...sorry. There's really nothing I can say besides life caught up to me. -_-"

I thought it was about time I finally got back in the game again, and this is just the story to do it with!

I was writing it while I was playing through Skyward Sword because it's such an awesome game that it inspired me to write a fanfic about it. I must give you all a fair warning: there are spoilers for Skyward Sword in this, so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.

At first, I intended this to be a one-shot, but I had so many ideas to include in this that it ended up being nearly 10,000 words long! Much too long for a one-shot! I'll upload all the chapters pretty quick since it's already finished, but since it's getting late where I am, I'll only have time to get this chapter out right now.

One last thing: I want to apologize in advance for that gigantic paragraph...I couldn't find any way to break it up and still have it have a nice flow to it.

Chapter 1

A Feisty Flower

"Show the two whirling sails the way to the Light Tower…and before you a path shall open, and a heavenly song shall you hear…" Link repeated in his head. What exactly could those words mean? As Zelda's father had mentioned, Skyloft did have a Light Tower, but what did the lyrics mean by "two whirling sails?"

"I can see you are confused," Headmaster Gaepora stated upon spotting Link's expression. "Perhaps you should spend the night here. The answer could come to you in your dreams."

Link smiled warmly at his best friend's father, glad of his suggestion.

"Thank you, Headmaster. That's exactly what I'll do," he answered respectfully, inclining his head.

"Don't worry, Link. If anybody can figure it out and rescue my daughter, it's you," Headmaster Gaepora smiled at the youth standing before him. "Now go get some rest. You look as if you've been through a lot on your travels. You haven't had a good night's sleep in a while now, have you?"

"I'm fine, just a bit tired. I think I'll go to bed now. Goodnight, Headmaster," Link said, bowing again before turning to the door.

"Goodnight, Link."

As the door clicked shut, Link's mind began to wander. His feet coasted him through the halls of the Knight Academy without him really paying attention to where he was going, for he was too lost in his thoughts.

Indeed a lot had happened to him since he had first ventured into the unknown below the blanket of clouds separating the surface from the sky. He had met an old woman who knew a lot about fate and directed him towards where Zelda had gone. He had ventured into a temple where his friend was said to be and came face-to-face with Demon Lord Ghirahim who was intent on capturing Zelda. He had dueled with Ghirahim and won, preventing him from achieving his goal temporarily. He had traveled to a fiery mountain, following another lead on Zelda's whereabouts. He had met a mysterious woman clothed in all black with a strange eye symbol emblazoned on the front of her attire who told him to hurry to yet another temple where Zelda was being held captive. He had encountered Ghirahim again who vented his frustration that Zelda had been snatched away from him by the servant of the goddess and set his fireball of a pet, Scaldera, on him. He had defeated the fiery monster and proceeded to the next room where the mysterious woman sent Zelda away despite both teens' desire to see each other again and went on to criticize Link for his tardiness, scorching him with her words before disappearing herself. He had traversed a desert and a monster-infested mining facility, trying to locate his elusive friend yet again. He had defeated the Thousand-Year Arachnid that had made its home in the ancient mining facility and advanced to the Temple of Time, where he met Zelda and the mysterious woman, Impa, once more. He had defended them when Ghirahim suddenly blasted his way in and bested Impa, allowing them enough time to escape through a gate behind them, but not before Zelda gave him the harp she had been playing and Impa told Link to go see the old woman again. He had followed Impa's advice and gone to see the old woman who taught him how to play a tune called the Ballad of the Goddess on the harp and told him how he could reunite with Zelda. He had battled a behemoth known as The Imprisoned when it broke free of its incarceration just moments later, restoring the seal temporarily. And he had obeyed the guidance the old woman had supplied him with after the monster was resealed and returned to Skyloft in search of someone who would know the meaning of the lyrics of the Ballad of the Goddess, a certain someone who happened to be the father of the friend he was searching for.

Link regained his senses and noticed that his ambling had placed him outside the door of Zelda's bedroom. His best friend's bedroom.

"Where are you, Zelda?" he found himself whispering into the dark. He stood there for a long time, just staring at the door of her room while his mind roved over the possibilities. His heart ached just thinking about her. He wanted to be there with her. He wanted to be there to protect her. He wanted to protect her from anything that threatened her. She didn't deserve to be put under all this pressure of fulfilling her destiny as the spirit maiden. Even though there was no way that he could possibly free her from her duties as the spirit maiden, he could at least provide support for her when times got rough…if only he was there with her.

Making a subconscious decision, he reached out, grasped the doorknob, and twisted it, hoping that it wasn't locked. He quickly realized that it wasn't and pushed the door open, stepping into a room furnished with pink. As he closed the door behind him as softly as he could and looked around, a nostalgic feeling washed over him. There was a large portrait of Zelda and her father hung up on the wall right next to her dresser where there sat various girl supplies, a Loftwing wooden carving that Link had made for her, a picture of her hugging Mia the Remlit who her father had given to her as a pet, and a picture of her and Link with their Loftwings.

He turned to look at her bed. Fluffy, pink sheets draped over the edges of the mattress, frilly pillows lying at the head. He couldn't help but notice that the bed was perfectly made and that everything in the room had not even a single particle of dust on it, despite Zelda's prolonged absence. Knowing how much Headmaster Gaepora loved his daughter, Link could only assume that he had been taking care of Zelda's room, making sure that it was ready for her return, whenever that would be.

As he glanced around the room once more, an idea popped into Link's head. Why not spend the night in Zelda's room rather than his own? Sure it would be nice to rest in his own bed after being away for such a long time, but the kind of aches that he had couldn't be soothed by sleeping in his own bed. More than anything, he needed to be comforted, to have his mind eased, and the only way he could do so was to make himself feel as close as possible to the girl whose company his heart longed for.

Link removed his sword and shield, placing them at the foot of the bed. He slid off his boots, belt, hat, and gloves, putting them next to his other items. As he straightened back up again, he ran his hand through his blonde locks, letting out an exhausted sigh at the same time. Endless thoughts encircled his gray matter once more but he suppressed them, knowing that they would only impede his ability to sleep.

Without wasting another minute, he turned to the soft, recently abandoned bed of his friend and carefully slipped under the covers, dramatically changing his habit of flinging himself onto the mattress when it was time for him to rest. He wanted to be as gentle as possible with Zelda's possessions, as they were the closest thing he could get to the sentient being at the moment.

As he tugged the sheets tighter around him, he couldn't help but notice that they still smelled like Zelda. They still carried her flowery scent even after lying unused for days on end. He smiled slightly, finding a small amount of solace in that fact. Such a strong familiarity brought back diamond-clear images of the girl he had been friends with since childhood.

()()()

"Give it up, Puny! You'll never make it!"

"I will too!" 6-year-old Link argued back. "I'll show you, Groose! I will too become a knight!"

"Ehhh, why don't you just go and play with some of your friends? Oh, that's right, you don't have any!"

Link's eyebrow twitched with anger and a growl escaped his throat as Groose and his buddies laughed at his expense.

"Go on, Freak!" Groose mocked, flicking Link on the forehead. "Save yourself the humiliation and skip the knight entrance exam."

"And why, may I ask, would he be humiliated?" came a sharp retort. The voice sounded feminine and nice, but at the same time rebellious...None of the boys there needed any hints to know that it was Zelda, the Flower of the Knight Academy.

They all turned to see her standing there, arms crossed, glaring disapprovingly at Groose.

"Oh, uh, h-hi…Z-Zelda!" he spluttered, flustered at being caught bullying a kid by his crush. "I was just helping Link here save himself from making a fool of himself! I mean…just look at him! He's obviously not cut out to be a knight!" he rambled.

Zelda shifted her gaze to Link, inspecting him.

"Hmph! We'll see about that!" She grasped Link's wrist and started pulling him along with her. "Personally I think that he has a very good chance at becoming a knight. In fact, I'm going to give him a special recommendation to my father right now. Come on, Link!"

Groose and his buddies just stared in awe as one of the most important girls in Skyloft continued dragging Link towards the golden building at the west end of the island.

"Uh…Zelda?" Link started hesitantly. "I dunno…maybe Groose is right. Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a knight…"

Zelda let out a frustrated groan, finally stopping before the main doors of the Knight Academy and turning to him.

"Link!" she chastised him with just the one word. "You can't have really taken his words seriously, can you?"

"U-um…" Link stuttered as a pink hue crept into his cheeks, taken aback by her behavior.

"Honestly…" she sighed. "You can't let him get to you like that, Link. You'll never get anywhere if you let people convince you that you're not good enough. Have some confidence!"

She once again gripped his wrist and pushed open the grand doors of the Knight Academy. She strode swiftly down the halls—Link almost stumbling from trying to keep up with her—driven by her determination.

Up the stairs they went and down another hall until Zelda came to a sudden halt in front of a large pair of ornate doors, causing Link to bump into her from his momentum.

"Here it is, Link." She stated calmly, seemingly unfazed by Link colliding into her. "This is my father's—the headmaster's—room."

As Link stared at the significant-looking doors, his stomach began to perform a series of somersaults in quick succession.

"Well, no time to waste! Come on!" Zelda exclaimed excitedly as she yanked Link into the room.

Headmaster Gaepora was standing near a towering bookshelf full of tomes, reading one of the novels avidly, his back to them. Zelda ran up to her father and tugged on the hem of his robes to get his attention.

"If it isn't my little flower!" he chirped when he caught sight of what had disturbed his garment. "What brings you here at this time of day? Usually you would be out playing with Karane."

"Father, I have brought Link to see you for he wants to be a knight," she stated in a tone that said she meant business.

"Ah, so this is Link?" he inquired genially, shifting his gaze to the young boy standing next to his daughter. Link felt himself shrinking under the headmaster's gaze, afraid that he would laugh at him like Groose. "Well, I'd be more than happy to see what he's capable of, but I'm afraid that the official try-outs won't be until next year.

"I can see that something is troubling you," he added when he saw the expression on Zelda's face. "What is it, my darling?"

"Groose!" she nearly shouted, getting herself all worked-up again. "He was being very mean to Link and was saying that he would never be a knight! Please, Father…please let Link be a knight! I just know that he will be great if you let him be a knight!"

"Zelda," the headmaster soothed, crouching down to her eye level," you know that I can't just grant Link knighthood. He has to earn it. I do not mean to keep him from entering the Knight Academy in any way if what you say is true. He has just as much of a chance as anyone else."

He stroked her hair lovingly and kissed her on her forehead, assuring her that everything would be okay.

"You promise? You won't keep Link from being a knight?" she repeated innocently, holding out her pinky finger.

"I promise."

He hooked his smallest digit with hers, sealing his words with the most elementary form of contract.

"Thank you, father!" she squeaked, all smiles.

"Link, m'boy," he addressed the 6-year-old in front of him, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder," if you have my daughter looking out for you then you're sure to make it."

"O-oh…t-thank you, Headmaster," Link replied timidly. Zelda's father chuckled slightly at Link's reaction, amused that the boy that his daughter felt so strongly could be a knight was indeed a very shy one.

"Well now that that's settled, why don't you two go and play? There is still plenty of sunlight left. Don't you think it would be a shame to waste it?" he suggested.

"Yes, that's exactly what we'll do! Come on, Link!" Zelda said merrily as she grasped Link's hand in hers and steered him out of her father's room.

"Hey, Zelda?" Link began as the door clicked shut behind them. "Why did you do that for me anyway? I mean, we don't talk much and we're not really friends…so why would you help me?"

"Because," she replied simply, a sweet grin stretched across her face.

"Because what?" Link urged.

"Just because," she responded cryptically, skipping ahead of him, heading towards the stairs.

Link blinked, surprised and little bit bewildered.

"Well? Are you coming or not?" Zelda asked playfully, waiting for him.

And for the first time that afternoon, Link felt himself smiling as he ran to catch up with his new friend.

Oh yeah, before anyone says anything about it, I know that you can't actually access Zelda's room at this point in the game, but for the purpose of this story, I needed to change that.

And yeah, that "Flower of the Knight Academy" thing is a title that I gave Zelda, again for this story.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! The rest of them should be up really quick, so yay! No long waits for you! :)