Chapter 3 ~ The Celebration

Link held tight to his loftwing, clutching the bright red feathers in between his fingers, trying not to hurt the beautiful bird. Air rushed around the young mans face, a buzzing noise in his ears. He leaned forward encouraging the bird to go faster. Come on, he thought, its RIGHT THERE.

Fifteen feet in front of him was a shining bright yellow bird holding a small statue in its talons. The crimson bird gave a lurch forward, and the statue was within reach. Slowly, Link leaned forward stretching his fingers out to grab it. His finger tip brushed the smooth surface just ask a large clump of rock and mud hit him in his side. Knocking him almost off the bird.

Link turned his head to see where the flying mass had come from just to see Groose surpass him and go for the statue. Another clump hit him in the face, laying him flat on the bird. Sitting up, he wiped the muck off his face and saw it was one of Groose's friends hurdling the mud. He murmured to himself in disgust and continued forward to try and beat Groose.

He had no reason to worry, within a minute he had passed Groose again and was closing in on his target. The yellow bird turned left and the red on followed, beating his wings as fast as he could. The bird was a foot away and again Link started to reach for the statue, preparing for mud. He was about the grab it when another ball hit him. Gritting his teeth and stabling himself on the bird, he reached forward, wrapped his fingers around the statue, and pulled it from the yellow bird.

"YES!" Link exclaimed. Another ball of mud hit him in the back of the head with quite a bit of force but Link brushed it off, not even angry that he would probably have to scrub his hair a few times to get it out. He had won, he was going to be a night and would be able to protect the Skyloft with his fellow companions. A smile broke out on his face as he came closer the floating island and heard the crowd cheer.

The crimson loftwing landed and Link lowered himself off it's back as the crowd came to congratulate him.

Headmaster Guapore stood there, towering over him. "Good job Link. Now you need to take the stone up to the Goddess statue to finish the ceremony. Zelda is up there waiting for you." Link nodded his head and re-mounted the bird. He already knew what he had to do, this Ceremony took place every 6 months. Even though he had not been in one before, he knew the rules.

On the Goddess statue, Zelda sat and watched the bright red bird circle the statue a few times before landing beside her.
"Hey." She said quietly. Link smiled and nodded. "I'm really glad you won the race."

"Yeah." He agreed, dismounting his Loftwing. "I am too."

"Okay, Link, hand me that Bird Statuette. I'm going to offer it to the Goddess." Link handed her the statue and she placed it in a small whole in the Goddess statue and grabbed her harp. She strummed the chords of the Ballad of the Goddess and hummed the words. When she was finished she held her hand out to Link, and he placed his on her palm and kneeled down.

"Great Goddess, guiding light and protector of our people, grant us your blessing and mercy as I act in your stead during this ceremony. Valiant youth who grasped victory at the celebration of the bird folk … In accordance with the old ways … I now bestow the blessing of the goddess upon you." She smiled down at him and reached behind her back and un-knotted her shawl. "The blessings of the Goddess drift down from the heavens aloft a sail, which I now pass on to you." She then handed him the cloth. "That is a sail cloth, Link, so you can jump from high places without hurting yourself…. You know…" She started to whisper. "They say that the Goddess gave a sailcloth to her chosen hero. I made this one, though, and I'm really glad I got to give it to you.

"Thanks for making it up here to do this with me today." Link nodded and Zelda took a few steps forward, closing the space between the two. "Now, we really should finish up this ritual…. You do know what happens at the end, right?"

"Uh…"

"You should know, I thought you would've figured it out." She took one final step, leaning her face into his, noses almost touching. Link held his breath, was she going to kiss him? "You have to jump off the statue!" She laughed, turning him to face the edge, he let all the air in his lungs loose.

"Into the circle, right?" He asked. She nodded in response. Link took a step back, then ran for the edge, jumping off. He pulled out the sail cloth and floated safely to the ground. He looked up and smiled at her. "Was that good?"

"Perfect." She said, and to his surprise, she jumped off the statue after him. Panic rose within him and he ran to catch her. Just in time his outstretched arms caught her and she landed safely. Link gently set her down.

Zelda dusted herself off then looked up to the blonde boy and smiled. "Seeing as you won today, and the ceremony went so well… and the weather is really nice… would you like to go flying with me?" She whispered the last part of the sentence. She didn't understand why she was so nervous, and she was terrified her legs would fall out from underneath her. She felt relief when Link nodded his head and gave her a breathtaking smile.

Link reached out and took Zelda's hand, causing them both to blush at the suddenness. Neither of them said a word but walked to Link's loftwing. He helped her up, and followed closely behind.

In the air, their hair whipped in the wind and they leaned back onto the bird to absorb the suns warmth. "This is perfect." Link murmured. It was so quite and with the buzz of the wind, Zelda almost didn't hear it.

"I agree." She replied with the same softness, then louder she said, "Link… Today was amazing. One of the best I have shared with you. I will always remember it. It was wonderful… There is something I have been meaning to talk to you about. We have been best friends for as long as I can remember. And recently… well, I have these feelings that I haven't really been able to understa-"

"Stop." Link said, a little too fiercely. Zelda's heart stopped. Did he not want to hear this? Her palms were sweaty, and she could feel a sadness that wasn't welcome. "I know what you're going to say and… well…" He sighed in frustration. " I feel…" He shook his head then look at Zelda. Her heart was in her throat. But something changed in Links features. They softened, he smiled. "I'm sorry." He even laughed.
And then… both his hands were touching her face. His fingers soft on her fair cheeks. Zelda felt her heart stop again, but it was better this time. This was is… it was what she had been wanting for months. Maybe even the past few years. Then his lips touched hers, and it was as if a spark went off in both of them. It was an intense, powerful kiss, but it was short. They were both left smiling.

"I'm sorry," Link repeated. "I didn't mean to scare you. I… I feel the same way." He laughed a little and they both smiled, staring into each others eyes.

Then it happed.

It was like an explosion of light went off behind Zelda, and Link flinched, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him. But the bird dropped downward. He let go of Zelda to hold onto the bird so he wouldn't fall. But Zelda did. The tornado appeared out of no-where and sucked her down into it. It pulled Link and the loftwing back, and he lost his grip and was almost sucked in. Debris hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped for air, and blacked out.

A/N: I lost track of time and already went against my word. Im sorry. Its only like... a week late ... I think. Oh well. Sometimes the story Italics and stuff changes when it transfers, and I dont spot it... but Im trying hard to fix my mistakes. c: