"Let go of it right now, Groose!" The young blonde demanded, stomping her small boot into the dirt.
"Try and take it from me, short-stuff." He chuckled coldly, holding the miniscule object high above his red hair.
She whined, as she held her hand up to reach it. "Come on! I worked so hard on making it, and he's going to wake up any minute now!"
"Pleaase." Groose scoffed, and his two close friends giggled behind him. "He wouldn't wake up even if the island fell!" She furrowed her eyebrows, fuming at the young bully's tormenting. She hated when someone tried to bash at Link, even if his statement was probably correct. After all, she did let her friend sleep in a little extra on his special day. But that was it. No one was aloud to tease Link on his laziness but Zelda. She took a step back and raced the few steps in between the two, and leaped to tackle the red-haired child. Groose's eyes widened in surprise, and hopped a step back to dodge the sudden attack. She fell flat into the dirt; messing up the nice pink dress her father got her.
"Haha you missed me!" He taunted and hurried towards the nearby cave, his cronies tailing close behind.
She looked up from the grass that she lied on, her eyes full of disappointment. There was no way she could go in there. Her parents warned her that it was far too dangerous to enter the cave alone. When the noon bell struck above the academy, she was reminded of why she needed that object. It was Link's gift. Today was his birthday. That was the gift that took almost a month to make. It was a small crimson-red chest, shaped like his Loftwing, (the bird that he was given to him by the Goddess). She still didn't have hers yet, but her father said when the time was right, she'd get her very own bird too. But it wasn't the chest she was worried she'd lose, it was what was inside.
She leapt up from the grass and raced into the cave, with no hesitation. This was for Link's special birthday.
The cave was cold and big. She was just glad she could see by the daylight pouring in from the entrance behind her. She took a few small steps, her eyes locked on the ground as she walked. The sounds of her light footsteps echoed throughout the cave, multiplying the sound by what felt like a hundred times to her. The sound must've travelled, as she heard distant screeching. Wait…screeching? From…keese?! She frantically glanced back to the sound and saw a herd of bat-like creatures chasing behind her. She hurried deeper into the cave, losing sight of her surroundings as it gradually became darker. The keese stopped screeching, either she outran them or they couldn't see her either. Zelda began to shudder. How does she always find herself in the most difficult of situations? Maybe she should've asked her father for help. She never does though, and next time she probably won't either. That's just the way she is. It was her job to protect her best friend. Not her fathers. And it was her special chest she needed back.
The young blonde braved on, continuing forward into the cavern. Her heart pounded with every reckless step she took. Oh goddesses, just a little light would be helpful! She thought to herself. The girl continued to trek forward until she heard a faint roar of rushing water. She hurried her steps until she found herself gazing above at a ray of light seeping through before her, as if her prayer had been answered. Her breath caught in her throat. The waterfall that can be seen from the village outside was even more radiant from the inside. She blinked out of her loss of focus, and nodded to herself. She had to focus on the task at hand. She followed the pathway, now alit, her steps pounding with adrenaline and newfound hope.
"Why is this stupid thing so important anyways? It's just a dumb box." His bright red pompadour bounced as he shook the container in his hands. The faint jingle inside was too quiet against the thundering waterfall they sat behind to catch his attention.
"I dunno, Groose." Cawlin shrugged. "There's probably a ring inside." The tall blond snickered.
"Shuddup." Groose barked.
"It's probably nothin'." Stritch commented, a little guilty for chuckling. "She just made him a dumb box. He ain't worth nothin' more." The bully's companions laughed, while Groose glared at the box in his lap.
Up the sand hill and past plenty of more keese, Zelda soon found the light-filled opening of the cave before her. She sprinted to leave the creepy cave, as quickly as she could.
As she stepped outside the cave, she saw the sky had turned to this warm shade of pink. How could it be so late? She couldn't have missed Link's birthday! She hurried down the path to her right, in hopes to find Groose and his cronies as quickly as possible. When she arrived, she found nothing but the broken chest hidden in a gap in the wall. They couldn't open it without the key that Zelda held dear, and they must've dented it in frustration. She sank to the floor, lifting the small trinket into her hands. Her eyes felt wet and a sticky tear slipped down her left cheek. Link's birthday was ruined. He didn't have his special gift or anyone to share his birthday with but her and she wasn't even there.
His footsteps pattered against the stone nervously, as he ran hurriedly around the plaza. No one had heard from Zelda, not even her father, and it wasn't like her to run away. She didn't even wake him up this morning! He felt this throbbing ache in his chest, and his mind was crammed with concern. In the corner of his eyes, he found a bobbing red image hiding behind a crate. He slowly approached it, when a shaking but sudden voice spoke, "Get outta here! I'm…I'm busy." Link's eyebrow furrowed, and he asked if he was alright. "I'm perfect, ya dumb kid. Now get outta here, OK? Can't you hear, nothin'?!" The blond pivoted to turn away when Groose spoke again, his words freezing Link in the spot. "Ya better find her. She's alone out in the cave…She might be lost…b-but I dunno."
The rush of wind almost tore out his bangs, racing his crimson stead out behind the waterfall cave. He had to be sure Zelda hadn't found her way out before he went in. He leapt off the bird, but saw no clue of his blonde friend. To his own surprise, he slipped into the cave's entrance with no fear or hesitation.
The rush of the waterfall had been silenced and it was so quiet in here, he almost forgot what noise sounded like. He raced into the dark, going nowhere but straight. With one clumsy and reckless step, the boy's feet slipped underneath him, and he started tumbling down a rush of sand. He groaned as he rubbed his back, a little sore from his fall. However, when his eyes fell upon his best friend, the pain seemed to slip away from his memory.
Quickly, he ran to find himself back by Zelda's side. Her bright blue eyes were lost into the sight of the gap in the wall, staring deep into the starry night sky. Without thought, he scanned her tiny form for injury, but she didn't appear to be hurt. At least not on the outside. He asked her what's wrong.
She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. "H-How'd you find me in here? It…It's so dark!" Her eyes met his, and she detected the same anxious glaze of blue. He told her how he was looking for her and how Groose admitted to him that she was here.
She sighed at the mention of the bully's name and glanced down at the object cradled in her hands. She lifted a hand from it, revealing the broken object to Link. His head cocked in confusion, but she told him to sit down. "I'm so sorry, Link. I know it's not perfect…but I've been making this for you over the last few weeks. I tried to make it all perfect and all cause you really deserve it…but Groose found it this morning…and he…you know…" Link's hand reached over and covered hers over the small trinket. He told her it was perfect and he loved it. She cracked a smile, and her eyes became watery again. "I'm sorry for not being there with you on your birthday. I wanted the first birthday we share to be perfect." He shook his head with a reassuring smile. Her smile faded into thought, her eyes trailing to the side. Then she remembered something.
She lifted the necklace hid under her pink dress and pressed the shape of the heart into a cut out on the chest of the Loftwing. A mechanism clicked faintly, a little damaged, from within. Regardless, the top part of the chest unlocked. Zelda then forced the box into his hands, and he was taken off guard by her eagerness. "Open it." She said. His hands shook out of slight fear of his friend, but his face melted into a smile as he saw the inside of the box. There was a pair of indigo earrings tucked into the box, and a small message carved underneath.
Take these as my gift and wear them to remember that I'll always be by your side.
He smiled softly at the thoughtful gift. "I remember you said your family pierces each babies ears on their first birthday. I might've not been there for that," He chuckled; she was two years younger than he was. "…but you won't go through any more pain ever without me there. And I know they don't have special powers or anything, but I made them myself…with some help from Gondo of course." He drew her into a sudden hug and she stood there dumbfounded, with her hands hanging loosely by her side. Before he pulled away, she wrapped her arms around him tighter. "Happy birthday, Link."
When she pulled away, their eyes met and she giggled as he slipped the earrings on. "They look so good on you!" He blushed slightly and turned away to hide it from her. She smiled to herself at his modesty. "You know…" She said softly. "I kinda like it in here." He turned to her in surprise, his blush still vibrant, even in the dark. "I love the way you can see the waterfall from here. It's always nice to have a new way of seeing things." He nodded and told her that maybe scary stuff isn't always that scary. Maybe being scared is worth it if it means being happy. Her face warmed up as she glanced at him, taking in his words. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted.
"Ho, I've seen you've found my Zelda." The young two sprung in surprise. Zelda's father must've found them somehow. "It's far too dangerous to stay out here, so why don't we make our way home now and we can have a chat over some hot tea?" They exchanged a smile and followed the red clad man out of the cave.
YAY! A new story, although I know it's been long! Sorry but I've been so busy and all :(( I hope you enjoyed it, just some short fluff of Link and Zel's childhood in Skyloft. But you probably knew that by now... Anyways, I hope you liked it and REVIEW because i love reviews, but then again, who doesn't right? XD