Chapter Two: Courage
Link's gaze was glassy eyed and staring as the funeral concluded. It was probably a good thing there weren't any bodies, because seeing his parents dead would have probably made the boy break into a fresh wave of tears. He had seen how they had died in his dream, and it had been haunting the boy ever since. It had been a couple days, and all of Skyloft had gathered together to pay their respects to the two Knights. They were at the graveyard and everyone was giving Link their heartfelt regrets and apologies. He was just a child after all, and had just lost both of his parents.
Poor Link had hardly registered what had happened during the whole funeral. He just knew that he felt unbearably lonely. His parents were gone, and their Loftwings wouldn't return to the Skyloft, making the boy that much more lonely. They were mournfully circling around the area where their partners had fallen through the clouds to their deaths. Now sitting on the steps leading to the graveyard, Link pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face into his arms on top of his knees.
An arm wrapped around the boy's shoulders comfortingly, and he glanced up long enough to notice it was Zelda. He supposed he wasn't entirely alone. He knew that she knew what it was like to lose a parent, but he didn't feel in the mood to talk to her. She knew this well though and just gave him as comforting a hug as she could manage. Zelda looked helplessly up at her father, but the man knew the wound was far too fresh in the boy's heart for him to speak or act cheerfully as usual.
Link paused as he heard a conversation not too far away. The adults were now speaking, and in the group were several Knights and a few of the men from the village. They had thought they had moved far enough from the distressed child that he wouldn't hear them, but his long ears were sensitive and he heard their conversation.
"It was odd," one of the Knights said. "It was like the whole group had suddenly gained intelligence! They've never fought like that before!"
"There's no way," another man argued. "They're just overgrown insects! How could they have banned together for an attack?"
"I don't know," a female Knight suddenly chimed in. "Maybe there was someone controlling them?"
"Oh and who would that be?" another man from the village asked. "No one in Skyloft would attack and hurt that poor boy like this, and the Surface is just a broken shell. There can't be anything living down there. That's why we're living up here after all!"
"Well how would you explain it?" the third Knight demanded.
"They just left the Thunderhead and attacked," the first man said with a huff and crossing his arms. "How else?"
"You didn't see how they fought," the first Knight said, furrowing his eyebrow.
"I still don't think it's anything to worry about," the second man argued for the first.
Link couldn't quiet understand what they meant by all of that, and he was far too upset to care anyway. His parents were gone! They weren't ever coming back. He had known what he had seen in his dream, and he had known what was going to happen. But he just felt numb and saddened. What was he supposed to do now? Where was he supposed to live? He felt so drained and lonely. Zelda gave his shoulders a reassuring squeeze, but that did little to ease his pain.
Gaepora came over to the children and asked Link to follow him and Zelda back to the Knight Academy. Link was in too much a stupor to really do much of anything else but follow the man blindly through the streets and towards the upper levels. He looked up towards the statue of the pleasantly smiling goddess and felt worse. How could she be smiling when nothing in the world was right? Gaepora took Link back with him into his office and sat the boy down in the chair. Zelda hurriedly left to get Mia as she scampered off down the hall.
Gaepora felt as if his heart had just been torn out as he watched the boy's now lifeless eyes. He couldn't imagine what was possibly going through the boy's head. Slowly he knelt down and looked the boy in the eyes. Link looked up with a detached disinterest in the world around him. Gaepora sighed and looked at the boy seriously.
"Why are you so upset Link?" he asked. "Your parents wouldn't want you to be saddened or grieve for them. They'd want you to play and be happy. Soon you can get your own Loftwing and you'll get to experience the joy of flying."
"Why are the gods so cruel?" Link asked without a second though. The boy's question took the man aback for a minute, and he looked at Link closely.
"You must never say that Link," he replied. "The gods are not cruel, but neither are they overly kind. Yes, they could have chosen to save your parents, but they chose not to. They made a decision, and it's not up to us to question why. Your parents are gone yes, but you should use this to grow and become more mature. The gods have plans for us all Link. You must simply discover what yours was. Your parents had their parts to play, and yours must be all the greater for it. The gods gave you this burden, but you can carry it."
Link turned his eyes to the man, and it seemed like he was considering his words. But his eyes were still dulled and filled with pain. The man couldn't help but feel sad again. Yes the boy had just lost his parents, and he could take comfort knowing that they were safe in the Sacred Realm with the gods, but it was still painful all the same. He was so young to lose his parents! His part must be great indeed, if the gods were trying to strengthen him by losing his parents at such a young age.
It obviously didn't sit right with the boy, and it honestly didn't sit right with Gaepora either. How on earth was he supposed to tell a child why the gods chose to save some lives and not others? He was unprepared for the situation, but he knew also that the boy's faith was hanging in the balance. He looked at the boy again.
"You must forgive the gods," the man said. "Yes, your parents are gone, but they are also with the gods in the Sacred Realm. There is no pain there, and they would want you to be happy and smile again. Can you do that for them?"
The boy seemed to consider for a long while. The idea of there being a place where they could still be happy made the boy's spirits lift just a little bit. He turned his eyes back up to the older man, and Gaepora was pleased to notice a little hope in the boy's eyes again. Gaepora smiled and nodded to the boy.
"You see?" he asked. "You can't let this get you down. One day you'll understand why this had to happen. Until then I suppose we should find you a place to stay."
Now that Gaepora was on the subject, he was thinking. He could leave the boy at his old house. The people of Skyloft looked after one another after all. But he also knew that the boy would need to stay as near Zelda as possible. He'd need the support the two of them could give each other. Sooner or later the boy wouldn't be so sad and would embrace life again. It would take some time, but he knew that time was the best healer for the boy right now. Gaepora made up his mind and nodded.
"I know," he said. "You can live hear in one of the spare rooms in the Academy. It won't be as much room as you're used to, but I think it will do you good. Besides you could visit Zelda more often. How does that sound?"
The boy again said nothing for a while and looked at the man. He seemed very conflicted, but at last he nodded. Pleased Gaepora stood to begin making arrangements for the boy. It might take some doing, but he'd make sure he'd get Link back on his feet again. He had known his parents well, and he had helped train them to be Knights. Besides Link had raised both his and Zelda's spirits after the girl's mother had died. Link would be a promising young man someday, and Gaepora was determined to help him become that way.
Gaepora went to the door and opened it, stepping out of the way as Zelda stepped back in. The girl had Mia dangling from her arms and a small smile on her face. Her father closed the door behind her, and the girl turned to her friend. She paused when she saw his still downcast face. She carefully crossed the room and purposely placed Mia in his lap.
Link blinked at the playful cat creature, who then began purring and rubbing along his face. The boy began to pet the Remlit, making the creature purr louder and rub all the harder for it. It did little to improve the boy's mood, but it made Zelda glad to see him responding to Mia. She bounced a little on the balls of her feet and peered at her friend until he finally looked up at her. Then she beamed brightly and laughed.
"Don't look so sad," she said. "There are still plenty of things to be thankful for. That was the lesson you taught me when I lost my mom, so I'm going to make you remember that."
Link just looked at her for a while, saying nothing. Zelda again frowned as she looked at the boy. He wasn't seeming to respond to her at all. It made her want to make sure that he listened, but she didn't want to rush him either. She took a deep breath and reminded herself how long it took her to be happy and smile again. She instead crossed her arms and gave Link the defiant expression he was used to seeing her use. He paused when he saw it.
"That's no way to be behaving," she said. "You haven't slept or eaten. Your parents wouldn't want you to be acting like this. Just think of all the good things yet to happen! You can get your Loftwing soon. It's only going to be three more years! I know you've always want to fly on your own Loftwing."
"Maybe," Link said, relenting a little. She smiled and poked her finger into his face, making him jump and look at her again.
"No maybe to it," she replied. "You'll be a great flier one day. I know it! Trust me, I know you. So cheer up a little alright?"
Link just blinked and continued to watch her for a minute. It seemed impossible for him to ever be happy again. What was he supposed to do without his parents? But Zelda just had a way of reaching him right then. He knew she understood, at least partly, what he was feeling right now. He also knew that she was right when she said his parents wouldn't want to see him looking like this. He reminded himself that he wasn't quite alone and gave her a small and crooked smile.
"Okay," he replied. "I'll try."
"That's the spirit," Zelda said with a huge smile. Then she paused as she thought of something. "But where are you going to live?"
"Your father said I'm going to live here in the Academy," Link explained.
"Great," Zelda cried, clapping her hands together cheerfully. "Then I'll get to see you even more now! I know, we can play together even more now! Isn't that great Link?"
"Yeah I guess," he replied, looking down. Zelda's frown returned.
"What's wrong with that?" she asked.
"It's just that," he began.
He paused, not really feeling like saying that. He motioned vaguely around himself. Just looking around the office brought up memories of his parents. They had been trained in this very school to do the job they had died doing. He wasn't sure that he wanted to be here. Everyday would just drag up more memories of them. Zelda looked around as well and seemed to instantly understand what her friend had meant by it.
"Your parents?" she asked. Link nodded, prompting a sigh from his friend. "It'll be fine Link. They loved their jobs didn't they?"
"Yes but-"
"Then why worry over it?" she asked, surprising him. "They did what they loved and that's all there was to it. Isn't that the best way to die? Doing so in a way you won't regret?"
Link was silent. He had no answer for her. He wondered when she had gotten so wise. Perhaps losing her mother had made her grow up a little too fast. He knew his parents had loved their jobs, so dying doing it wouldn't be so bad, right? It still hurt though. There was a deep wound in the boy's heart that was torn and painful, and it was still very fresh.
"Your parents were brave," Zelda said in a soothing tone. "So you need to be brave too. Right?"
Again, Link was silent. How was he supposed to respond to something like that? How was he supposed to be brave? But suddenly as he sat in that room, surrounded by painful memories of his parents, an idea started to form in his head. The door opened and both children looked up to see Gaepora reenter the room and swiftly close the door before Mia, who had seen it open and leaped off of Link's lap, could scurry out of it.
"Well that should do it," Gaepora said gently. "I'll have the upperclassmen move you in here Link, so don't you worry about a thing. They're very reliable. So is there anything else I can do for you Link?"
The man had said it out of kindness. He found it hard to look at the once cheerful youth with such a downcast face. He waited patiently for a response as Link seemed to be formulating it. Slowly Link looked up and met the older man's eyes, and then said something that surprised him.
"Do you think when I'm old enough," Link said. "I can train to be a Knight too? Like mother and father?"
"Why of course boy," Gaepora said, blinking a little in surprise. "But why would you think of that now?"
"Because I want them to be proud of me," Link repiled sheepishly, looking down. Gaepora smiled and crossed the room, laying a hand on the boy's thin shoulder.
"They are proud of you my boy," he said. "But if you want to train to be a Knight, I think they would be thrilled. They'd love to see you become a strong young man, willing to protect people. So I'll gladly take you into the Academy when you get older. You'll have to wait until you get a Loftwing and take classes from the very beginning of course, but don't you worry. You'll do fine."
Link let a small smile touch his lips then. If his parents were going to be proud of him he could do anything. The boy already loved helping people, and the thought that they would be happy to see him becoming a Knight made him even more determined to become one. He could be brave, just like Zelda said.
Zelda was absolutely ecstatic to see Link suddenly so interested in life again and pulled him out of the chair and out of the room outside. Mia scampered off down the hallway again as she was prone to doing, and Gaepora just smiled after the two friends. Link was something special. He had just lost his parents, but he was still looking to the future and managing to smile. If the gods had plans for anyone, it would be him. And Gaepora just knew it would be something grand. Link was after all, one of a kind. He had more courage in him than anyone else he knew.
Alright after this comes one heck of a time skip. We're skipping three years to the point where we'll see Link meeting his Loftwing for the first time and getting ready to join the academy. Then we'll probably time skip again, if not have another chapter between the time skip. Either way I hope you're enjoying so far. Also I've decided the name for the Crimson Loftwing. With help from a friend I discovered the Scientific name of the Shoebill which is the bird the Loftwings were created to resemble, is Balaeniceps Rex. So to stick with the concept of the Skyloft having people with all bird like names I am naming him Balaen. I thought about just Rex, but I liked Balaen better. It sounds cooler. Zelda's will be called Peleca from the scientific name of a Pelican (Pelecanus). Just because I thought I should stick with the theme.
Also since Link is a child it's rather easy for him to just understand and be encouraged. He will still be effected by his parent's deaths later.