Hi everyone, this is my revision of the first chapter. It's very, very similar to what I had before. Literally, it starts off with only some word changed and deleting some thoughts. The ending is where I actually had to write the part over. If you haven't see my Author's Note as to why I've restarted this story. Thanks, and enjoy :)
Where am I? I see nothing but dark… There's this calm yet eerie atmosphere.
The ground shook. I looked down to see a massive dark figure rise from the ground. It had a billion teeth in its colossal mouth as it roared. I stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Then I felt something breathe in my right ear. I turned, seeing a blur of golden.
"CAW!"
"WHA—!" I yelled, nearly jumping out of my skin. Thud! I lay there, feeling the back of my head start to throb, my heart racing. I slowly opened my eyes to see the same shade of gold.
"Well, it worked!" I heard a familiar voice. Then something white blocked my vision. I took a white envelope off my face and my eyes met with those unmistakeable violet ones.
"Oi, CC…" I groaned.
"Morning, sleeping beauty!" She teased. "Like my wake-up call?" All I did was sit up and stare at her, still half sleep and annoyed. "I'll take that as a no."
"W-what time is it?" I yawned and stretched.
"Around eleven. You didn't think I would let you sleep through the ending ceremony, did you?" That's today?! How could I forget?!
"Well, aren't you gonna read the letter?" CC asked me.
"Oh, right…" I opened the envelope and read the letter aloud:
Wake up, sleepyhead!
We can't have you missing the Wing Ceremony, can we? Get your lazy butt up and over to the Goddess Statue! We've got practicing to do if you're gonna win!—Zelda
"Practice? Oh…" I stood up and stretched more.
"The ceremony starts in an hour," CC reminded me. "C'mon, Link! We have to get as much practicing in as we can!"
"And by 'we' you mean 'me', right?" She thought for a moment.
"Pretty much!" She laughed and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out my room.
Outside the Knight's Academy, the weather was still perfect for the Wing Ceremony. CC guided me up the stairs to the Isle of the Goddess, where the Goddess Statue was. Zelda stood in the center of the courtyard, playing some kind of golden instrument. It had strings and kind of sounded like a mix of a piano and a guitar.
"Finally, you're up!" She greeted us.
"The Loftwing alarm clock worked beautifully," CC smiled. "Great idea, Zelda!"
"Don't know what kinda beauty you're talking about," I groaned.
"But now that you're up," Zelda continued, "You've got to practice!"
"I've been practicing," I groaned.
"Not enough!" CC added. "You can't just lazily glide into your victory. You saw how hard it was for me to win." She won the girl's portion of the ceremony the day before. Even though it was only her and one other girl, they were evenly matched.
"You two sound hesitant for Link," a deeper voice came. We all turned to see Headmaster Gaepora, Zelda and CC's father. Well, Zelda's biological father and CC's adopted father.
"Well, kinda," Zelda answered. "He's neglected to practice as hard as the others."
"Yes, yes, I do admit that's true," he agreed, "but that special connection between him and his Loftwing shows much promise."
"Yeah yeah, we know the story," Zelda whined. "Ten years ago when our class got Loftwings, the two rarest birds swooped down from the sky: the Crimson Loftwing and the Golden Loftwing. Red is the most rare color for Loftwing feathers, and so is the trait for feathers to have a chrome-like shine to it. So technically, the Golden Loftwing is actually yellow with shiny feathers. The two birds are inseparable, and who were the two lucky ducks to get them?" All eyes turned to CC and I.
"Inseperable, just like their masters..." Zelda added. CC looked at me, our eyes meeting for a moment, then she looked away and turned red.
"Quit stalling, Zelda!" She changed the subject. "Link needs to start practicing!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the diving platform. I looked over the edge at the sea of infinite clouds.
"Go ahead," Zelda joined us. "Dive off and call your Loftwing." I shut my eyes, concentrating on thoughts of my bird. Something's wrong. Where's that sense when I think of my Loftwing?
"I… I can't sense him," I mumbled as I turned back to look at them. Zelda and CC looked at each other in disbelief.
"Don't try to make up excuses!" CC lectured.
"Yeah, off you go!" Zelda added. They spun me around and pushed me off the edge. I was a little startled at first, but then I focused and whistled for my Loftwing. I didn't hear any crowing of flapping, nor did I see the flash of red I'm supposed to. Panicked, I noticed how close I was getting to the cloud barrier. Damn, where is that bird?!
A pair of orange claws wrapped around me. I looked up to see the same golden feathers I woke up to. The claws loosened and I fell to the ground.
"Are you ok, Link?" Zelda's voice came. I opened my eyes, seeing her face full of worry and guilt.
"Y-yeah," I sat up and brushed my bangs out my dirty blond bangs out my face. Then we watched the golden Loftwing land behind us, as CC dismount from her. The bird seemed very impatient to get flying again.
"Something's definitely wrong," Headmaster Gaepora walked over to us. "For a Loftwing to ignore its master's call… that's unheard of!"
"I'm sorry, Link," Zelda apologized. "We shouldn't have pushed you off like that."
"Yeah," CC shared the same look of guilt. "We should have listened to you."
"It's fine," I said and stood up.
"This is terrible," Gaepora said. "Without your Loftwing, you won't be able to compete… and with the ceremony less than half an hour away…"
"Then do something, Father!" Zelda demanded. "You're the headmaster! Can't you delay it?"
"I suppose I could… but not for long."
"I'll search for my Loftwing as quick as I can," I told him.
"We'll help," CC volunteered her and Zelda. "If we split up, we can search faster." Zelda nodded in agreement and rushed off the platform, flying off on her sky blue Loftwing. CC walked over to her bird to pet her on the head.
"Don't worry, girl," she said softly. "We'll find him. Let's search the sky." She mounted the golden bird and flew off into the sky to start their search.
I went back to the academy to gather and information. I met up with Karane, a senior girl at the academy, who told me to ask Pipit since he's basically a bird expert. I found him in the lobby just outside the classroom, reading the bulletin.
"What?! You're Loftwing's missing?!" He reacted.
"I couldn't sense his presence," I said, "and when I tried to call him, he didn't come."
"This is strange… this has never happened before. I'm not sure what happened, but I'll join the search by asking around." With that, he left off to ask students around the academy. I walked around town to ask people, but they all gave me the same hopeless response. Then, I neared the plaza and spotted that horrid, stuck-up ginger and his gang. Oh great, I bet he knows something about this...
"Heh, don't matter how tough they say these birds are," I heard him when I got close enough. "That bird's not getting' outta there any time soon…" his two gang members Crawlin and Strich, turned and spotted me. They nearly jumped out their skin and shrieked. Then the ginger turned and looked me dead in the eyes.
"Ahh! L-Link!" He screamed in his deep voice. "H-how long you been standin' there?!"
"Long enough, Groose," I folded my arms and stared him directly in his sickening yellow eyes.
"It don't matter no way," he continued. "'Cause nothin's gonna stop me from winnin' the race to day, you hear? So don't come beggin' for me to let you win!"
"Yeah, right! I'll win on my own!" My eyes met with one of his fat fingers, just inches away from my face.
"You still got your head on the clouds, shrimp. Always thinkin' 'bout those dolls. If you man up, maybe you'll come in second. That is, if you find your stupid bird."
"Groose! You picking on Link again?" Everyone turned to the voice behind me. CC walked up, looking quite angry.
"CC!" Groose said, his voice shaking. "Uh… n-nah. Me and my buddy Link were just—"
"Save it, you ginger," she interrupted him. I snickered at the insult as she pushed me out the way to face him.
"I told you time and time again," she pointed a finger up at him, "you mess with Link, you deal with me. Got it?" He just stared at her with that same stupid love struck face he always makes around her and Zelda. CC raised her fist, making him jump back.
"Pff, yeah whatev," he smoothened his ridiculous pointed hair and walked over to the plaza's diving platform. Crawlin and Strich quickly followed him. "You'll be changin' your outlook of me after the race!" The gang jumped off the platform and flew off on their Loftwings.
"Urg, if I get stuck with him during the ritual," CC sighed then turned to me. "Do me a favor, Link."
"Yeah?" I responded.
"Kick his ass in the race." I laughed and nodded.
"Heeeey Link!" Someone called. Pipit walked up to us, dragging my dorm neighbor, Fledge, along with him. "I caught Fledge acting funny when I asked him about your Loftwing."
"I-I'm so s-sorry, Link!" Fledge stuttered. "Groose threatened to beat me up of I told you…"
"Told me what?" I asked.
"Well, I overheard their conversation on putting your Loftwing somewhere near the waterfall. But they caught me before I could get away to tell you and told me if I sad anything they'd make sure I could never ride a bird again."
"The waterfall? Of course, they always hang out there," CC stated. "Thanks for the info."
"No problem! Pipit would never leave lower classmen in trouble!" The gloating of being a senior… it pisses me off so much.
"C'mon, we'll take my bird over to the waterfall," CC said once Pipit and Fledge left.
"B-both of us?" I thought out loud. The two of us on one bird?
"Yeah, I know," she continued. "It's against the rules, but this is urgent!" For once, she didn't see right through me.
We ran off the diving platform and she called for her bird. There was a flash of gold, then we landed on her Loftwing. The golden bird kept crowing and flapping like crazy.
"What's wrong girl?" CC spoke to her bird. "Did you find Link's Loftwing?" In response, the bird took off towards the waterfall.
We started hearing birdcalls—more like cries—faint in the distance CC's Loftwing zoomed towards the sound, revealing a ledge beneath the waterfall. There, boarded up in a small cave, my crimson bird was freaking out, trying to break out. We landed and ran over to the wooden boards imprisoning my bird. We pulled on the ropes keeping up the boards, letting them fall and free the red bird. He wasted no time to fly out and join with CC's bird. They flew around each other in grace, happy to be reunited.
"Oh, we get no love?" CC joked.
"We're the ones who got you out," I added. He flew over and nudged us with his head.
"Alright, now that we found him and know he's ok," CC said, "we should get back to the ceremony. Dad can't stall it forever."
We flew back to the plaza, joining the rest of the contestants. CC went to tell Gaepora everything was ok now, leaving me to deal with an outraged Groose.
"Hmph, so you found your dumb bird, huh?" He greeted me. "I'm still winnin' the race, and once I do, I'll get my special alone time with CC and Zelda."
Alone time? That's right. The winner of this race joins with the winner from the girls' race, CC, in a ritual up on the Goddess Statue. The student who was chosen to represent the goddess, Zelda, gives the two a prize.
One of Groose's giant fingers in my face interrupted my thoughts again.
"You'd better start learnin' how to live without those dolls," he demanded. "Don't think just because the three of you go way back, you get dibs on them. Imma be the one to win their hearts up on that statue!"
"When did this turn into a fight for love?!" I wondered.
"Since you showed up, that's when!" He yelled.
"G-Groose! Watch out!" Crawlin tried to warn him.
"Behind you!" Strich called. I looked behind Groose and smiled at what the two were referring to.
"Shuddup, would ya?!" Groose yelled. "I'm tryin' to enjoy my moment! Heh, I am so gonna win Zelda. Hell! I might even get CC! With my skills, I'll be able to get 'em both…"
"Oh really?" Everyone turned to the two voices behind Groose. CC and Zelda stood there, their arms folded, staring angrily at Groose. All the color in Groose's face disappeared, leaving him looking lifeless.
"What was that you were just saying?" Zelda asked suspiciously. Groose just stood staring at them with the stupidest frightened expression on his face. I covered my mouth, trying to hold in my laughs. CC walked up to him, making him take a few steps back. She opened her mouth to say something, then smiled peacefully.
"This is the part where you run off before I remind you of what happened in fourth grade," she kept smiling. Groose squinted as if confused.
"Fourth grade?" He murmured
"Oh, did I hit you that hard?" Her voice rose, her hands tightening into fists. "Then allow me to induce the nostalgia!"
Zelda and I each grabbed an arm, holding her back. She struggled, grunting through her clenched teeth, trying to break away to the retreating Groose. Out the corner of my eye, I saw the headmaster walk up, eyeing both CC and Groose.
"Is there a problem?" He asked suspiciously. CC stopped struggling, her face still red.
"No," she and Groose said in unison.
"Alright then…" Gaepora continued. "Let's finally get this ceremony started!"