The sound of the Goddess' Ballad filled the air. The young man held the harp against his chest, lazily plucking the strings, leaving time gaps between each note. A girl in white stood across from him, facing the open forest before her. From their perch on the Goddess' statue, they could see the entirety of the trees and thriving greenery. A gust of wind carried a group of colorful birds past them, each bearing a rider. One, with spiked red hair waved as he passed, and the girl returned the wave with a smile.
The man stopped strumming, though he hadn't yet finished the song, to watch the trio of Loftwings climb higher into the sky, aiming for the clouds.
The girl suddenly spun and faced him.
"Look around us, Link! All my life I've dreamed of seeing the surface for myself, ever since I was a child. I always want to feel the solid ground under my feet, and see the clouds above my head and watch over the Triforce. I…I think I want to live here. " Link tucked the golden harp under his arm, focusing all his attention on the excited blond. "So…what about you? What will you do?" Her smile was so inviting, he couldn't help but return it then. He could read her nervous smile so well by now, he knew what she wanted him to say.
He tenderly reached for her hand. When she moved it to meet his, he opened his mouth to speak, and suddenly two more Loftwings glided past them, so close that they stirred up a gust of wind and forced him to clamp his mouth shut. Link's rare crimson bird, and Zelda's blue one. They watched, suddenly captivated by their majesty, as they rose back into the clouds, until they were just red and blue stars that blinked out.
"My Loftwing seems to like yours." Link said, and Zelda nodded. "And…well, I can't get back to the sky without him." Her face lit up. "I guess I'm stuck here." He said, with a sheepish smile. They both knew that it would only require him to find a bird statue, and the gust would carry him above the cloud bank. As if to deter the thought of leaving even more, he reached into his pouch and produced a dirty, wrinkled sailcloth. "I'm sorry, it's a bit messy now."
"It's well-used." She corrected him, obviously happy that her gift had been helpful in his travels. He shook it off and wrapped it around her shoulders, despite the stains. It made Link happy.
"Zelda." He spoke her name with all seriousness now, with such earnest that it made her shiver. "I am your chosen knight, and I will follow you until the ends of time, if that is your wish. I'll only return to Skyloft when you give me that sailcloth." That day had been so full of emotion already, Zelda couldn't suppress the tears of joy.
"I prayed that you would say that. Not those words exactly, but you're staying with me, that's all that matters." He reached to her face and pushed the tears away.
"No more tears today."
"But I'm so happy." She took the cloth off of her shoulders. "We need to get down, though. So…" She held it out to him.
He leapt off the edge of the statue, and Zelda screamed in joy and clutched his shoulders as her feet swung away from the solid stone balcony.
The sensation of falling had never been associated with doom in Skyloft. It was a feeling of liberation, and an act of trust. The children were afraid to jump at first, but after seeing the bigger kids and adults dive headfirst towards the clouds without a second thought for years, the fear became unwarranted.
Zelda, at that moment, was the happiest she had ever been.
Link unfurled the cloth at the last moment, as brave knights should, and landed softly in the grass. Zelda looked back up at the tall stone Goddess, and closed her eyes as if sending a prayer. Link waited for her, closing his eyes in a brief thank you to the Goddess. He paused, and opened his eyes again, this time fixed on Zelda's back. He closed his eyes and thanked the Goddess.
The two of them walked back inside the temple, hands touching.