The Day of Choosing
{Author's Note: This short story [read: novella] centers on the back story of the Skyward Sword Link and examines the nature of his life in a boarding school and loftbird-human relationships as a whole. Almost everything in this story is bound to be wrong. Also, Narol is a name/acronym I made for the Nameless a*#&%^e rival of Link. Pronounce it how you will.}
Even though home disappeared behind us a long time ago I keep facing behind us, trying my hardest to hang onto home. I look down at the clouds below and shiver; early mornings are always so cold, but at least on the farm the work keeps us warm. I can even feel Stride shivering beneath us, for all his warm and thick feathers. "Dad, how far away is Skyloft from home?" I asked one more time.
"Well, it's not a short trip," He replied again, "I imagine you may only get enough time off from school to visit us once a year." That news never made my happy, no matter how many times he said it, but he'd always follow it by saying, "But at school you'll learn new things and make great friends. In fact, it was at this very school that I met your mother." it made me feel a little better, but no less cold.
"Look Link, we've made it!" I turned around and peeked around Dad and Stride's head's towards where we were flying. Skyloft proper had green grass, fresh suspension pools and lots of room, just like home. But it's not really home, I thought with growing anxiety. We landed on a wooden deck next to a giant statue of the Great Goddess; Dad took my bag and headed for the stairs going downward towards the dorms. "Stay Stride, stay!" he called back to Stride, who obediently tucked his legs underneath himself and started cleaning out his feathers. "C'mon Link; boys' dorm is to the left, the girl's dorm is to the right: do not get them confused!" I followed behind him, trying to take in all that I can. The stone walls, the Goddesses outstretched hands, the girl in the corner of my eye staring at me as if I was a disembodied head; wait, what? I turn towards the girl's dorm and only see a flash of yellow and blue in the doorway of the girl's dorm. Dad marches on into the boy's dorm; I follow him while looking over my shoulder. Did I imagine the whole thing?
"Everyone in the dorms shares a room with one other person until about their fifth year at the academy." Dad explained, helping me unpack my clothes and other things into the bedside chest, "it looks like your roommate's already unpacked and gone. Come to think of it, isn't today . . ." Dad stopped himself before he said anything more and smiled fondly, "Isn't today what, Dad?"
"Oh nothing, just reminiscing a bit. Listen, I need to get Stride ready for the flight back home. Finish unpacking and I'll meet you at the flight deck in a few minutes, alright?"
"Alright, see you then Dad." As he left I unloaded my last change of clothes, my toothbrush, and a picture of home and all of us together: Dad, Mom, a few ranch hands and me. The picture was taken when I was three, which makes it all the more nostalgic, even if I can't remember the ranch hand's names. As I go to store my suitcase under the bed I hear someone knock on the side of the doorframe. The boy standing there looks two years older than me, but I guess we must be the same age since we're both on the first-years' floor, no upperclassmen are allowed. He had a mullet of red hair, wide cheekbones, and was pretty muscular for an eleven-year old. "So, did you just get here?" he asked in a gruff, very unfriendly voice. "Yeah, just landed ten minutes ago." I responded calmly, but it's obvious I'm on edge. "Listen up, kid,"
"Link. Call me Link."
"Alright "LINK", I've given this warning to all the local kids in Skyloft and all the newbie's who showed up on time; but I had a feeling there'd be one straggler who'd miss the memo."
"Oh, please pardon me and my father for leaving at four A.M. and flying for five hours to miss your all important memo, nameless kid I just met." My sarcasm seems to be lost on him.
"My name's Narol, that's the first thing I wanted to tell you actually. Don't forget it. Now that we've introduced each other, let's get down to business," He cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat, "There's a girl at this school, she's also a native Skyloftian. Her name is Zelda. You'll recognize her by her stunning good looks, her unwillingness to be seen with a pipsqueak like you from the boonies, and by how far out of her league you are from her. But in case it isn't clear enough to you, I'm the only guy on campus allowed to talk to her. We've known each other forever, so she wouldn't even want to be seen with the bumpkins who have to have their parents fly them here."
"Huh," I stood up and tried to meet him at eye level, but his eyes were a few inches higher that mine, "so even though this Zelda girl wants nothing to do with anyone but you, you feel the need to tell everyone to stay away from her anyway. Isn't that a little redundant?"
"ALL RIGHT, THAT'S IT!" Narol grabbed the collar of my shirt and slammed me against a wall, "Swear you won't ever be caught talking to Zelda, or I'll force feed you a knuckle sandwich."
"Fine, I'll steer clear of this Princess of yours." I choke out hastily.
"That's great. And knock of the sarcasm; it's starting to bug me."
"I'll do my best." He set me down and left. Sheesh, what a psycho! I go back to trying to store my suitcase, but it's just not fitting under the bed! I pull up the covers and push it aside, only to find a box right where I was trying to store my suitcase. I pull the box out and set it aside, opting to store my suitcase first before seeing what's inside the box. Once that's finally done I pull the mysterious box up onto the bed. Offhand I'd say it's a nesting box, growing up around cuccoo nests all my life; but the indent for the egg is much bigger than that for cuccoo eggs. There are a few bits of brown egg in the box, and deep inside the box I found a small, green feather. It's the shame shade of green as Stride's feathers, but this one's a tiny molting feather. The rest of the box looks to be about twenty years old, the hay has lost most of its color and some of it looks moldy. Ick. I open a window and dump the stuff out . . . onto Narol's head. Whoops. I quickly pull my head inside, set the box on my bed and head for the door. It's been a few minutes, right?
"Ah Link, you've made it back." Dad stood on the edge of the platform, looking ready to jump onto Stride.
"Yeah, you'd be surprised what kind of sick garbage can be found in a dorm rooms."
"I hear ya; some kid got pelted with a big wad of rotten hay on the way out the dorms, while you were inside. He raised a pretty big stink about it." Dad couldn't help but laugh, just to stave off the sadness of our parting, "I guess this is it, you've finally grown up. Eleven years of trial and error for this day." Dad pulled me into a hug, "Take care of yourself Link." I've been dreading this moment for weeks, and the 'warm reception' I got isn't making it any better. In an attempt to hold back tears, the question slips out, "What if the kids here turn out to be jerks?" Dad pulled back and sighed, "Link, it's a matter of course that some kids here are going to turn out to be cruel. But don't worry about them. There's only one person you need to pay attention to: yourself." It was so vague, and yet his words seemed to make so much sense, "Thanks Dad."
"One more hint: you'll want to go to the auditorium as soon as possible." Dad pulled me into another hug, "I love you son."
"I love you too." I replied simply. He let go and prepared to jump off the dock. As he ran towards the edge, a thought came to me a moment too late, "Dad, wait!" I shouted as his feet left the platform. He whistled for Stride and the two took off, he waved as if he didn't hear me.
"Where's the auditorium?" I finally said, wishing I had thought to ask before he jumped.
"I know where the auditorium is." Said a voice so quietly I thought I imagined it, but when I turned around there stood the same girl I thought I saw earlier. I had to ask, "You're not imaginary, right?" I got a laugh in return, "No I'm as real as you are. I can show you where the auditorium is if you want."
"Oh, um . . . ok, thanks." I stuttered. This may very well be my first encounter with a girl my age.
"Thank you, actually," she told me as we began walking towards the Goddesses' statue, "I don't know why, but a lot of kids have been avoiding me lately. I have no idea why."
"Really, wow." This conversation isn't making me comfortable, "I wonder why."
"Me too. I'd start talking to them, they'd seem fine; then suddenly their eyes go wide and they look around like something's after them. Then they make up some excuse and run off. It's really starting to freak me out."
"Hmm, you wanna know what I think," I think back to earlier, "Maybe the local kids think they're too good for out-of-town kids and after listening to your voice they realize you're from another island and take off."
"That's a good theory . . . except my dad's the town mayor. I've lived here all my life."
"Oh . . . sorry I said the locals are stuck up, it's just I-"
"No worries, everyone makes bad assumptions once in their lives. So anyways, you come from another island?" wow, she changes subjects fast.
"Yeah, my parents own a farming island; it's a five-hour trip over here. I'm actually kinda glad I don't have to wake up and do chores all day anymore."
"Wow, what do you guys farm?"
"Wheat, cuccoos, and a few dairy cows. It's pretty small. So wow, your Dad's the mayor of Skyloft?" We walked through a doorway into a stairwell going down; it was awful dark.
"Yeah, which is why I thought the kids here would be a bit nicer to me. It seems like you're the only person giving me the time of day."
"I can't say I'm surprised, I got a really nasty reception too."
"Really, what happened?"
"I was unpacking and this big oaf called Narol came in and went berserk on me. You've probably seen him around here."
"Really, Narol?" the girl looked at me in shock, "he always seemed a bit foolish, and always played himself up as the "King of Skyloft", but I never thought he was a bully. What did he do?"
"Not much, he just kept telling me to stay away from his snooty girlfriend on threat of force-feeding."
The girl thought for a moment before replying, "I didn't know Narol had a girlfriend."
"Really, because he seems to have an obsession on keeping everyone away from her; He waited in the dorm rooms just so he could tell me. I don't even WANT to meet her after what he said."
"Hmm. Well, here we are." We entered a heavily lit room with a lot of other kids in it, all first years, "Well I hope we get to talk again."
"Sure thing. I'm Link, glad to meet a friendly face!" I responded, and held out my hand.
She took it and smiled, shaking it gently, "Glad to meet you too, Link. My name is Zelda."
A middle-aged woman at the front of the room began talking just after that, a perfect chance to blend into the crowd. Why in the Goddess's name did I not ask her name in the first place?
"May I have your attention please, first years?" The woman droned on for a few minutes about pointless things like 'the power of respect' and 'cleaning up after yourself' and other things we either already know or are incapable or unwilling of learning. I look around for Narol and found him in a crowd to my right. He still has chunks of moldy hay stuck in his hair, but his sneer prevents me from laughing as he picks the pieces out and glares at me. Great, first day and now I'm going to die. "And now without further to do is your principal, Salazar Nohanson." An older man walked out in front of the crowd and cleared his throat. He kinda looked like Dad, except his hair was pure white and long, instead of being short and dusty blonde like his, and mine.
"Good morning children. As you can see, part of the auditorium is closed off for now by these high curtains. We'll be raising them shortly. Today is a very special day for you, for as of today you start your formal education. And as luck, your parents have enrolled you in the most prestigious school in all of Skyloft: The Skyloftian Academy of the Holy Youth." He cleared his throat again and continued, "As your parents may or may not have told you, everyone in Skyloft must receive a bird when they go to school on their first day. But they may not have told you this: the decision is yours on which bird goes home with you." He gestures towards the edge of the auditorium and the curtains begin to rise, "today is considered a pseudo-holiday, in that you must attend school but you are not given any classes. Today's the day you find a life-long partner. This is The Day of Choosing."
Eggs, thousands and thousands of giant eggs sat on pedestals surrounding the room, in every color a person can imagine; set up in intricate aisles and rows. "These are Loftbird eggs. Each first-year student will be issued one egg by the end of the day, but which egg they take is their decision entirely. Please notice two things: one, no two eggs are alike and shell color is arbitrary; so please don't pick an egg simply because it looks pretty. Follow your intuition on which egg you take home. Second, if you lose your egg or chick or if your egg breaks prematurely, you will not be issued another egg. You get one chance at raising a bird, so don't squander it. Be decisive and enjoy the choosing process." He stepped out of the way and the crowd began running towards the eggs. Maybe not the best decision, but none of the eggs were smashed so I guess no harm no foul (I am so, so sorry for that pun. I will try not to make anymore.). Kids begin snatching eggs left and right, some kids not even looking at what egg they took. I look up again for Narol, but now he's distracted with finding the best egg. He settles on a bright red egg with yellow zigzags, and then proceeds to use it to gloat about how decisive and wonderful he is even though I'm pretty sure he picked it for the color. I happen to find Zelda while looking for an egg; she's standing in an isle across from me looking over several eggs, and by luck doesn't seem to notice me. She stops by a plain white one and picks it up; she seems to be talking more to herself than me, "this one seems to be calling to me. It looks so average, and yet . . ." she tucked the egg under her arm and left.
I look down at some of the eggs that are left; my eye stops on a dark-green one. There's been a running joke in my family ever since I was five that the color green was my color; one night back then I had managed to wander into the barn and was found sleeping on Stride's back, nestled deep into his feathers. Nah, something feels cheap about taking this one. It could be intuition, or the eggs "calling me", but I leave the green one be. There's a nice gold one sitting next to it, with bizarre writing on it I can't make out, but it doesn't feel right either. I walk past countless eggs, almost as if I'm being led to a particular egg. The drive is taking me to the back of the room, far away from most of the other kids. Here there are more eggs and less empty spaces, but I pass most of them by without s a second glance. Finally I found what I was looking for, even though I had no idea what I was trying to find in the first place. It's a shiny silver egg, with a bit of a blue finish on the sides. When I pick it up, my reflection shows up in it just as easily as if I was looking in a mirror. There's only one person you need to pay attention to: yourself, I remind myself, as I take the egg outside. From now on, all I'm going to worry about is this egg and the reflection it casts.
I rest my egg on the ground ahead of me while I pick at the tall grass just outside of the Academy, building a small bundle to replace the moldy bunch that was in the old box. Without a knife, scissors or anything else sharp it was difficult; but at least I was also making some spending money on the side. Nice of them to provide a nesting box for us, but did it have to be so . . . disgusting? I see his reflection in the egg before he actually says anything, "Hi Link." Goddess, talk about disgusting things!
"Give me a break Narol; I didn't know that girl was Zelda."
"Oh, sure, and it never occurred to you to ask her for her name? You're so rude."
"Sorry, I was too busy listening to how miserable your little memo is making her."
"You little rat." Oh joy, he's decided to hoist me up by my collar again, "Nobody cares about you here. I could just toss you off a cliff and nobody would know the difference," he looked behind me, at my egg, "you call that an egg?"
"Hey, it's better than that eyesore you were showing off."
"Keep talking pipsqueak, maybe I'll toss that off instead. I remember something about 'no replacement eggs' being said."
"You don't have the guts," I snarled hoping it really was a bluff, "Or should I say 'the eggs'?"
"Heck, I might toss you both over at the rate you're going!" he threw me down on the ground, just an inch to the left of my egg.
"Alright, he gets the message Narol. He'll stay away from Zelda from now on." I looked back up and saw a kid next to Narol I didn't notice before. He was about my height, a little on the heavy side, and had slick black hair, "Besides, you could be spending this time talking to Zelda. I heard that ever since she left with her egg she's been sitting on the statue platform with it. All alone, just staring at it. I think she could use your company." Narol's face began to soften, even beam. He looked back at me once, as if to say, 'don't follow me' and left me alone with his apparent lackey as fast as he could go. Ironically he offered me a hand up, "I'm sorry about that. Narol can get a bit extreme when people threaten his pride or when he's jealous; I try to keep him in line. Name's Brutus."
"Thanks Brutus. I'm Link."
"Yeah, I know," He picked up my egg and handed it to me, "He kept ranting about you all the way here. You sure seem to like egging him on."
"Hey, I can't help it." I scoop up the grass I've gathered; "I get snarky when I'm scared. Come to think of it, I don't have much control over my sarcasm at all. It just comes out on its own."
"At least stay away from Zelda. He may be all talk now, but Narol'll mess you up if you give him a reason."
"I believe ya, but even then I doubt he'd go as far as to toss me off a cliff. But fine, I'll only speak to Zelda if spoken to." I carefully stand up.
"Not even then. Earlier today he decked a guy for asking her where the bathrooms are. Their conversation took less than thirty seconds; he didn't even get her name! Now that kids missing teeth, but at least his bladder's empty." Brutus looked away from my face to my back, "Dude, you've got one heck of a grass stain on your back."
"Really, being tossed in the fresh summer grass gave me a grass stain? Who knew?" I handed Brutus my egg and turned my head towards him, "would you mind backing up a bit so I can see it?"
Brutus did as I asked, "Part egg, part mirror; it's no question you picked the most useful one."
"Yeah, it practically called to me." Looking back in my eggshell I could see what he meant: the grass stain consistently covered everything from the collar of my shirt to my butt. From the looks of things it was pretty irreversible, "Aww man! How am I going to explain this to Mom and Dad?"
"Hey, it's not that bad: Green suits you." Brutus handed me my egg back, "If worse come to worst you can always roll around in the grass until your clothes are a uniform color."
He looked up at the Goddess's statue and sighed, "Well, it looks like Narol might be coming back soon, and he probably won't be too thrilled with me talking to you."
"That fast? He only went up there a minute ago!"
"He ran, remember? Anyways, it seems like Zelda didn't have much to say to him after all. You're still gonna want to get out of here before he gets back. And no more talking to Zelda, okay?"
"Fine by me. Take care of yourself Brutus."
"You too."
I took off at a bit of a run towards the dorms. Just the idea of seeing Narol again makes me wanna puke! Picking one local girl to hoard and going after anyone who dares exchange even a single word with her, AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW! I stop running and sit with my back against the wall, dropping my bundle of grass and resting my egg in my lap. I can actually see Zelda in the statue's hands, if I assume that tiny blue dot I'm squinting at is her. I wonder what she's thinking about from up there. I can also see Narol leaving the statue's main entrance to the upper and lower staircases. He'll probably be coming over here any minute, and after being snubbed by her I wouldn't put it past him to beat my face in to make himself feel better. I get up, pick up my bundle and look back at Zelda one last time. For the first time since I spoke to her I grasped fully what she was saying: It seems like you're the only person giving me the time of day. Ouch, does Narol even realize what that must be like? No wonder she's sitting up there alone, I wouldn't be surprised if she was crying. Subconsciously I take a step towards the statue. "No, don't worry about her." I mutter to myself turning towards the dorm rooms, "Dad was right, it's every man for himself here."
I pretty much kicked the door open to the dorm; even if I wasn't in the mood I was in I'd probably have to kick it open anyway on account of my hands being full. Looking back at me with shocked eyes was my apparent roommate: he was a lighter shade of blonde than me, and from the look of things was sketching his egg on a thick notepad before I broke his concentration. After the initial shock he seemed utterly mellow, as if this was in fact a daily occurrence to him. "Bad impression of the school already?" he asked.
"Don't even get me started." I muttered. I begin filling the box with the grass; thick amounts on the outside, and a small divot for the egg. I look the box over before placing my egg in it, and for the first time I notice the writing on the outside of the box. I can barely make out the red letters, but the image was frighteningly clear: half man, half bird. Wait, isn't that a logo?
"I suppose we'd better introduce each other sooner or later. Call me Lothar." I was barely listening to my roommate talk while I looked closer at the lettering, barely able to read the red print.
"Karura." I sounded out, reading the faded letters under the freaky logo.
"Karura, huh?" Lothar replied, "Odd name; as I remember it that was the name of an old loftbird rookery."
"What, oh sorry!" I swiveled around, embarrassed at myself, "I was just reading the side of the box; my name is Link."
"Alright, Link is easier to remember anyway." A small silence began after that, at which time I went back to the box. As I placed my egg inside the nest I thought more about said company: how it went out of business fourteen years ago due to the new policy of donating all fertilized eggs to the state-funded school programs that began years earlier. Since then the property the rookery own was sold and turned into a farm . . . our farm, in fact! My thoughts were cut off again by another inquiry from Lothar, "so what made that huge grass stain?"
"You remember that guy from earlier today, Narol."
"The pompous one? Vaguely. You did something to piss him off already?"
"I talked to this girl he likes; he wants to throw me and/or my egg off a cliff now."
"Wow, talk about disproportionate retribution." Lothar turned away from me and back to sketching his egg, "don't worry about it too much. Guys like that only get that kind of power now, but in the real world the smart guys have the edge. I'm sure someday Narol'll be forced to step back and allow you to do as you please, it might even be sooner than you think."
"Yeah, let's hope." The rest of the day passed in our dorm room. Lothar sketched his egg twenty times from different angles before deciding to just hold it over his head and stare at it like a giant orange crystal ball. I sat with my egg and polished it three times, until I could see the entirety of the room clearly. Whatever happens, I need to protect this egg. I silently vowed to never let it out of my sight. Dinner was rolled into our room at eight: a tub of stew, a sliced apple, a medium-sized roll and a small bottle of milk for each of us. All meals, except for lunch, were served this way. As we ate I voiced a thought that I had been going over in my mind for hours,
"I think I'm going to name my loftbird Karura, though."
"I guess it would suit a bird better than a child. I'm going to call mine either Baron or Komali, I haven't decided it yet." Lothar took another swig of milk, "It has a nice ring to it, Karura. Very melodic."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." I begin humming a simple tune low enough that he couldn't hear me, "Ka-ru-ra, Ka-ru-ra, la-la-la-laa-La."
The next day we were all led down to the main courtyard not long after seven, when we'd all been forcibly woken up and urged to get ready. The first official day of class was today, and being late for any reason would not be tolerated. In keeping with my silent promise yesterday I took a thick red scarf mom had packed for the winter and made a sort of sling to carry Karura's egg in, then grabbed some pencils and a small notebook and entered the crowd going down the stairs towards the courtyard. Every grade, from first-years to teenagers in their seventh year clamored down the stairs in a mass exodus of the building. It was all I could do to keep my egg from being smashed against the walls or the other kids. In hindsight this was beginning to look like a bad idea. Once we got out of the dorms the crowd began to disperse a bit; the older kids went immediately towards a collection of buildings along the sides of the statue away from the dorms, while the first years crowded towards a billboard in the center of the courtyard. "It's a list of who goes to what class." Lothar said finally, "they divide the first years into three classes, from who left the auditorium on the day of choosing first to last. Good luck on getting a good teacher." Lothar merged into the crowd around the kiosk while I joined tentatively. After waiting almost five minutes I got to the front I finally saw the lists: I was put on the middle list, Mrs. Aryl's class. Guess who was also in her class? Narol and Zelda. Guess who was not in her class? Lothar or Brutus. I wondered for a moment if the Goddess secretly hated me before making my way towards room 118.
"Good morning students." Mrs. Aryl stated with a dull smile and a rehearsed tone, "Today is your first day of seven years in formal education. As such, these first two days will be dedicated to making these seven years easier." She took out some chalk, and much to our chagrin began writing on the blackboard fast enough to make it squeak yet slow enough to make the squeaks last. On the blackboard she wrote and underlined DAY ONE and DAY TWO, "Tomorrow we'll be discussing subjects such as course requirements to pass each year, how to conduct yourself around campus and of course the ever-anticipated 'Trade-courses'." She wrote these down in bullet points under day two. "But today we'll be discussing something just as important if not more important than that: Loftbirds." She wrote this under day one and underlined it twice. "I noticed some of you have chosen to bring your eggs to class today. Would all students who've brought their eggs please come to the front of the class with said egg?" three kids stood up, and like I need to say who they were. Narol sat at the front of the class; he got their first and held his gaudy egg under his arm like some sort of ball for a sport. Zelda sat in the second row and carefully cradled her egg like a precious gem. Being in the last row it took me awhile to get up there, and since I tied my egg into the sling so tightly it took a little longer to get it out. "As we've said before, Loftbird eggs vary in color and pattern just as much as the birds inside. Since we have three students up here I might as well bring up another important fact: in three days, counting this one, each of your eggs is expected to hatch." The whole class let out a low murmer. "Anyways, back to the eggs. Narol, may I see yours?" Narol reluctantly handed his over, "Some eggs, like Narol's, have bright colors on them and intricate patterns. They can be in any collection of colors: from simple contrasts to grayscale to pastel rainbows. The patterns themselves can also very: zigzags, spirals, diamonds, triangles, polka dots, writing, what you will." She handed Narol back his egg, "Thank you Narol, you may return to your seat." Narol took his egg and strutted proudly back to his seat. "Next we have one like Zelda's," Mrs. Aryl took Zelda's egg and held it up for the class to see, "Some eggs have just one color, in fact some are in normal colors like brown, red, light blue, and even white like this! Thank you." she gave Zelda back her egg and nodded to her to go back to her seat. I could've sworn she looked back at me while she went back, but I shook the idea off as Mrs. Aryl held up my egg for the class. "Ah, now this one is interesting," she held it up so the entire class was reflected in the shell, "occasionally we'll get an egg like Link's, with very unreal properties. This one reflects like a mirror, while others have appeared to be in wood-grain, stone, fabric, one was even recorded to be completely transparent! Regardless of what your egg looks like, each one is special and should be treated as a treasure, as should your loftbirds when they hatch. Thank you Link." I took Karura back and tied him back into the sling before loosening the sling from my shoulder down towards my waist so the egg can hang safely under the desk.
Now that we've discussed egg types, let's discuss bird types." She wrote down a few breed names under the Loftbird sign and left some space, "First there's the Querpecco. Can anyone tell me about them?" several hands go up, including mine. Stride's a Querpecco, after all.
"They're green." One kid says.
"They're super patient and calm." I say.
"They represent mastery in flight." Says what I can only assume to be the class bookworm.
"You're all absolutely right." She writes all these things down under the name and then writes down another breed: the Night Rebellion.
"How about the Night Rebellion?"
"They're tough." Says Narol.
"They can be mean." Says Zelda.
"They have dark purple feathers to camouflage into the night." Says another kid. Mrs. Aryl wrote all this down under the name. This continued with several other bird types: the Ashling, with dust-filled eggs; the Greater Thunderbolt, wicked fast and extremely observant, even the tiny golden Suncrest. She almost ran out of room before turning back to the class and addressing us without quizzing us on loftbird types.
"There are two other breeds of bird that I should mention, since they're so rare that your parents probably don't talk about them much; but this year we have the fortune of having one egg from each." She held up a drawing of a blue bird with purplish wingtips, "the first one is called a Cyan Maiden. In general we get an egg from a Cyan Maiden once every twenty years. They are so named for being birds chosen by the Goddess herself to seek out her most beloved maidens. Generally, those who get these birds will go on to be priestesses or priests. They can fly at extremely high altitudes." She put down the first picture and held up a second one. This bird was bright red and had a confidant gleam in its eye, "We haven't had an egg from this bird in over seventy years, and in fact scientists thought they went extinct for years until a flock was found just two months ago. These birds are said to be the inverse of the Cyan Maidens; in that they are red instead of blue, they can fly at especially low altitudes as opposed to high altitudes and that only the truest and bravest of heroes may fly one, according to Skyloftian superstition. In truth not all of its capabilities are known due to the isolation from the birds. They are called Akami."
"Yeah, there's no way I'm getting anything BUT an Akami." I could hear Narol say from one table away. I was sitting at a mostly vacant table, and finished with my lunch I had decided to polish my egg. "After all, I am the bravest, toughest, most heroic kid in all of Skyloft. Maybe in the whole world!" Sheesh! "Besides, Akami's are red, my egg is red, it makes perfect sense!" still, hearing him go on about it makes me think more about what type of Loftbird Karura might be. A patient Querpecco? That made sense, like father like son. A sly Ashling? That dust in its eggs might be useful. An aggressive Nights Rebellion? No, not one of those brutes! I'm so deep in thought I don't even register Zelda's reflection in my egg until she speaks, "Hi Link." I freeze, I stare into my egg registering her reflection and Narol's as he turns around to look at me. Zelda's happy expression turns to a cautious one, "umm . . . I was wondering if . . . maybe . . . we could talk about something?" Narol looks at me as if I killed his mother. I gulp and whimper, her face looks sadder and sadder as the seconds pass and she realizes that whatever keeps the other kids away has gotten to me too. I turn around for just a moment and our blue eyes meet, "Sorry." I whisper, before grabbing Karura and breaking into a run. I don't stop running until I'm back in Mrs. Aryl's room. She looks up from her paperwork, when she realized it was just a kid she rolled her eyes and went back to writing. I shambled back to my seat and buried my head in my arms. Boy, looking out for myself sure does hurt.
The rest of the day went on a lot like the first half: Mrs. Aryl would bring up a detail of bird care, write it down on the board and expect us to remember it. She has a habit of stating the obvious, which is good I guess; if you're a moron. When class ended I bolted again out of the room into the crowded halls back towards the courtyard. "I ask you not to say a single word to her, for your own safety," (Where'd Brutus come from?), "And what do you do? You say one, single, solitary word to her."
"What should I do?" my heart rate goes up just a bit. If Narol does decide to thrash me, there wouldn't be much I could do.
"First off, I'd put your egg in a safe place. He loves talking about smashing that thing. You're also going to want to get off the campus grounds until nightfall. He'll be looking for you."
"Isn't it against the rules to leave campus grounds?"
"The teachers and townsfolk don't like it, but there's no official rule," Brutus and I ducked behind the dividing wall of the boy's dorm, "You're gonna want to leave soon, while the crowds are big." I remove the sling with Karura's egg in it, "Would you mind taking my egg up to my dorm room? It's room number 42. And if Lothar's there could you tell him to not let anyone in until I get back?"
"Yeah, ok." Brutus took my egg and headed for the stairs to the first-year floor, "Just remember that you owe me." I slipped back into the crowd, hoping Karura would be ok. So much for my promise to never let him out of my sight, but if it's to keep him safe I'll live. When the coast was relatively clear I made a break for the western bridge connecting the Academy to the rest of Skyloft and began looking for a place to stay for the next five hours.
"Are you here to buy something, or kill time?" the older kid behind the counter asked as I paced once more from the front of the Bazaar to the back. This was the best I could come up with, I swear. I tried hiding in one of the loftbird caves under the city but it just picked up my head in its beak, walked me over to the city and dropped me on my butt. It would've been funny if I wasn't so scared. Then I stayed at the potion shop for an hour until the shop owner kicked me out. I even bought a bottle of red potion before he tossed me out! I've been here for three hours, just pacing and avoiding as much small talk as possible; it's been easy since it's a slow shopping day. In fact, the only shop open in the whole bazaar was his little repair shop. And now he wanted to kick me out, that's just great. "Well, to be honest, yeah . . . I'm killing time."
"Hey, fine by me," he went back to turning screws into a piece of metal that looked like deranged bug pincers, "If I were my dad I'd have to throw you out, but I'm an academy student; I get it. Sometimes you just need some time away from the teachers and the other kids and all the other noise, I can dig that."
"Actually, I'm not just killing time," I finally admit, "I'm kinda trying to hide."
"Hide? What in Skyloft does a first-year have to hide from?"
"Does the name "Narol" mean anything to you?" I stop in front of his stall, relieved that he had no plans to immediately toss me out.
"Oh, you got caught up in that whole Narol/Zelda mess!" He laughed as if life and death situations made good jokes, "Don't worry about it kid, you've got backup on your side."
"Really, 'cause from what I've seen all the other kids are running scared too."
He laughed again, which was getting a bit annoying, "I've lived in Skyloft longer than Narol and Zelda, and I s'pose you too, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: you don't do anything to get Mayor Gaepora mad, assuming you value your life. So when he finds out that Skylofts' resident dipstick's giving his beloved daughter a hard time of it he'll fix him like nobody's ever been fixed before."
"Uh-huh," I replied without enthusiasm, "and how long do you think it'll take for him to resolve this issue?"
"I imagine he'd set out to fix things before sunset, at least. Zelda's been in a bad way since yesterday, so when he finds out Narol's to blame he won't waste a second. Anyways, if you're scared to go back to your dorm over it I'd say you have nothing to worry about, but if Narol still manages to give you a hard time tonight you just march yourself back here and ask the guy running this stand, my dad, for Stan. If worse comes to worst, I'll help you figure this out."
"Thanks Stan. Call me Link." I replied with relief, heading for the door.
"No problem, take care of yourself Link." Walking outside a faint sense of joy returned to me from when I first spoke to Zelda, along with a bit of cruel humor from when I dumped the moldy hay on Narol's head. What was I thinking, being afraid of Narol like that. Now that the problem's resolving itself I can do whatever I want again, even talk to Zelda about whatever it is she wanted to talk about; I might even get to apologize for being such a coward earlier today. I don't register the sting of his large knuckles until I'm on the ground and Narol's gotten two more punches in.
Several punches and kicks followed, all thrown by Narol. He didn't say a word as I screamed and begged him to stop; his face was locked in the reddest fury I've ever seen in any body that alone was just as horrifying as the throttling itself. Finally I gave up and curled into a whimpering ball, exposing just my back to his attack. But just as suddenly as it began, Narol stopped, right in conjecture with someone shouting at him. I uncurled my body enough that my head could poke out again. "I will not have such violence in my streets, you hear me boy?" a man with a ridiculously long eyebrow shouted in Narol's face, which he was hoisting up to his level for good measure. Narol nodded furiously, but the grave look from the guy didn't fade. He pulled me up to my feet and dropped Narol simultaneously, "I'm walking both of you back to the academy." He pointed at me, "I want you to take care of your injuries and then head back to your dorm. As for you Narol, the principal and I are going to have a chat with you, and rest assured your parents are going to hear about this." Narol looked like he was going to throw up, so I'd say we're about even.
Everyone I walked past gave me freaked out looks as I passed them on the way to my room. I was stumbling a little from the walk, but decided that I was going to stay in the dorm room until morning, if only because it was so late and because I was in no mood to talk about what happened. I tried to open the door, but something was holding it shut; I knocked on the door only to get a calm question from Lothar, "What do you plan on calling your Loftbird?"
"Karura." I huffed out. A moment passed before I heard something shift and the door swung open and Lothar's calm face shifted into horrified surprise, "What happened to you?" he asked before I stumbled into the room.
"Narol happened." I growled before collapsing onto my bed. I pulled Karura onto my stomach and looked into his shell. I had a split lip and a black eye, but I was pretty sure that by morning I'd be covered in bruises. Today was not a good day. I put Karura back in his nest and went to to bed, ignoring supper all together when it arrived.
The next day Brutus came to our dorm nearly an hour before the scheduled wake-up call and pretty much woke us up. Lothar had put his easel back under the doorknob, again in case of Narol, so I had to get up and move it. Brutus took one look at me and shuttered, "Man, Narol really DID do a number on you."
"What do you want Brutus?" I asked while Lothar registered there was someone else in the room and tried to make himself presentable.
"Well first and foremost I wanted to give you some news on Narol: mayor Gaepora has personally banned him from being within ten feet of either you or Zelda. You because of yesterday, and Zelda for obvious reasons. Also he was told to knock off his hoarding act over her. I'd say all in all we got him good."
"We?" Lothar scoffed, "Do you really think Link got himself beat up with the intention of getting Narol in trouble?"
"Well, no, but it is a spring board for another idea I had."
"Wait, so now we're conspiring against him?" I asked, suddenly wondering if this was a dream.
"Hey, why not?" Brutus added, "The guy's a jerk, and he deserves to be knocked down a few pegs!"
"Alright, so he's lost the girl, got in trouble with his family, the school and the village as a whole, isn't that everything that brings him some bravado?" I asked.
"Well, it's not everything," Brutus gestured for us to come a bit closer, "You know how he keeps talking about how he's destined to get an Akami and all that?"
"Yeah, so?"
"If he actually DOES get the Akami his head will swell back up again. We'll never hear the end of it! But what if he just happened to . . . I don't know . . . lose his bird?"
"Are you suggesting we take his egg or his hatchling and kill it, just because we hate him?"
"Brutus kinda has a point here," Lothar chimed in, "He'd be getting an exceptionally rare bird with some unknown capabilities, plus he'd take it to mean he was some sort of 'chosen one'. I don't know about you, but put this all together and it makes me uncomfortable with anyone who receives an Akami, especially Narol."
"I figure one of us wouldn't be able to get it from him, but three people should be able to get the job done: Two to hold Narol back, and one guy to get his bird and-"
"No, that's sick!" I almost screamed, not believing what I was hearing, "what's wrong with you two? Not even a creep like Narol deserves to have his one and only bird killed right in front of him! Besides, there's no guarantee that he'll even GET an Akami, so if he doesn't what then? Are you going to kill his bird anyway, or are you going to kill the Akami regardless of who owns it? And if so, what if it's one of you? What if it's Zelda, what if it's me?" Lothar and Brutus looked at each other, neither one knowing what to do if that's the case.
"Count me out, in any event." I growled, getting ready for class as fast as I could and then waiting with Karura on the wooden dock where I last saw Dad for signs that class would start soon. Anything to get away from those two maniacs!
"The Baker's Trade-course mostly consists of standard culinary courses, as well as a few more advanced mathematics classes, physics courses and a course on artistic presentation," Mrs. Aryl droned on to our half-asleep post-lunch class. Every trade course she offered sounded more and more boring, until she got to the second to last one, "Then there's the Knight's Trade-course, a favorite amongst students and faculty. In fact, they're so revered that each year the graduating knights get a tunic in a color specifically chosen for the graduating year." I took out a piece of paper to write down what she was saying, when another, neatly-folded piece of paper tumbled out of the pile. I looked it over and shrugged, taking the piece of paper and the strange message and writing down what Mrs. Aryl was saying. "The Courses include hand-to hand combat, swordplay, basic archery, sky combat, conditions training and classes on tactical knowledge." I wrote it all down as fast as she said it, although reading it later it was a mess, the capped the string of scribbles with the word DO WANT repeated across the page. I know its sacrilege to go against the tradition of farmers my dad started, but I don't think anyone in my family would disapprove of me being a Skyloftian Knight. "Finally we have the Priest/Priestess trade-courses, which as you can see blah blah blabity bla herp de derp de teedily tum wahwahwhawhawhwawha peas and carrots." Mrs. Aryl continued on in such fashion (I'll admit I didn't catch all of what she was saying.) I unfolded the message idly, hoping it wasn't Brutus again trying to solicit me for his plan.
Link,
Meet me in the Goddess's hands after class.
I REALLY need to talk to you.
Zelda.
Man, she's really desperate to speak to me, isn't she? Well, I guess I kind of owe her that, after all that's happened in the past two days. Still, what does she mean by the Goddess's hands? Mulling this over I realized it meant the hands of the Goddess's statue. Great, but how do I get up there? The final bell rang while I mulled over those thoughts, "Now remember children: tomorrow your eggs will be hatching, and I won't have a bunch of peeping in my room. As such you will leave your eggs in your dorm room during class. Dismissed." Yeah, there's no way I'm leaving Karura where Lothar and Brutus can get to him, you know, just on the off-chance . . . well, better find a way up to the statue's hands.
Later that day, and after much trial and error I found the second staircase in the Goddess's statue leading up to its hands. It makes me wonder what other weird stuff can be found around Skyloft if you look hard enough. Zelda was sitting in the same spot as the day before yesterday, only she was facing where the stairwell came out instead of watching the grounds. Her face instantly paled when she saw the bruises and cuts on my face, "My Goddess, I am so sorry about yesterday!" she sputtered as she jumped to her feet. I sighed and sat down next to her, "Hey, don't worry about it. It was Narol swinging those punches not you."
"Well, yes, but it was because of me that he was doing that. Anyways, I should have realized it was me all along, if I'd known I swear I would have told him to knock it off."
"Seriously, don't worry about it. I believe you. Besides, it's over with now, so why worry about it?" a bit of a silence began after I said that, not that I minded, being a bit used to keeping my mouth shut by now.
"That's not exactly why I wanted to talk to you about, by the way." She finally said while I adjusted into a comfortable backwards lean.
"Ok, so what's on your mind?"
"Before I tell you, promise you won't think I'm crazy."
"Trust me, I know at least three crazy people already; I think you're fine."
"Alright, here it is: ever since I was five, I've had this weird dream, and I think it's prophetic."
"And you're sure it's not just Déjà vu?"
"How could it be déjà vu, if you've been in it every time I've had it?"
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked after another tiny silence.
"Well, not like you are right now. I guess I should explain better: we're both much older in the dream, like . . . like maybe 20ish. But most of the basic features are the same: the hair colors, eye colors, if it isn't you in my dream that it's nobody else I know of."
"Alright, so what happened in the dream?" I sat up, a bit more nervous about what she might say.
"Well, we were flying on a pair of Loftbirds: yours was red, and mine was blue."
"Huh, that actually sounds like an Akami and a Cyan Maiden."
"That's what I thought too. While we're flying everything is peaceful, but then a tornado suddenly appears under us. I'm sucked in, but you manage to stay on your bird; the tornado was closer to me. As I'm falling, I hear this weird chanting-"
"Wait a minute, the tornado is chanting? Or is something in the tornado chanting?"
"I'm not sure where it was coming from; it just seemed to be there. I did sort of recognize what it was saying, but it didn't really mean anything to me: 'Ghirahim, Ghirahim,' was all it said, over and over."
I tried my hardest not to laugh, "That sounds like a cheesy villain's name, doesn't it? 'I am Demon Lord Ghirahim and I shall summon a giant tornado because I am sick with anger!" thankfully my crude attempt at lightening the mood got a laugh out of Zelda.
"So while that's all happening, I see you jump off your bird and dive into the tornado, towards me. I see you reach out for me and see you shout something, but I just can't hear over the roar of the tornado and the chanting."
"And then what happens?"
"That's it, after that I wake up every time. It always feels like I've fallen from the tornado into my bed."
"Well, I must admit that is a strange dream," I said when I could speak again, "but as far as reoccurring dreams go it's not so strange."
"The dream itself isn't strange, but the fact that it's an older version of us is what worries me. Father doesn't believe me when I say this, but I think it might be some sort of premonition. What do you think?"
I sighed, trying to find a way to respond to all that I've had to take in from this conversation, "Well, I don't know; I can't tell the future, after all. I do believe it has some sort of meaning, but I can't tell what it might be." I stood up then.
"Thank you for listening." She added sincerely as I headed for the stairs.
"No problem. By the way, tomorrow if your egg happens to have an Akami in it, try to keep it a secret from everybody at school. I've heard some kids talking about doing some awful things to whomever gets that one, and I'd hate to see you lose your Loftbird."
"Ok, thank you for the warning. See you tomorrow in class."
"Right, see you then." It took all my focus to get down the stairs without falling down them. Funny, I always thought that being in a girl's dream would be more enjoyable to find out about. Oh well, guess I'd better get ready for tomorrow.
The next day nobody could shut up about their hatching eggs and their hatchlings, from sun-up all though lunch. Narol's egg hatched overnight, producing a Night's Rebellion. Well, lucky for him. I kept Karura close to me as kids came back from lunch and everyone talked about what breeds they got: Ashlings, Querpeccos, Greater thunderbolts, but no Akami. Lunch ending was a bit of a relief, and for once not having Lothar or Brutus in class was an advantage.
"And so the Legend goes that the Great Goddess gathered the people on a small hill near the sea and used her powers to raise it into the sky, thus creating Skyloft as we know it." Mrs. Aryl was telling the Legend of the Goddess as a preamble to our history classes, since according to the local priests it counts as history; but really? A land beneath the clouds? Only an idiot like Narol would believe a load like that (and to tell you the truth he seemed the most interested, behind maybe Zelda). Suddenly, while Mrs. Aryl gets into the part about the sacred harp and the sword, I feel a small*tink* "-And so the powers of evil were forced back into the earth, with our world in the sky to remain-" *tinktinktink . . . tink* what is that? It feels like it's coming from . . . oh no not yet, class is almost over! "And so began the recorded history of modern Skylo-"
~CRACK~
I pull up Karura's satchel just before the shell, broke and interrupted a shocked Mrs. Aryl. I undid the sling's main knot and set the bundle on my desk. In place of a silvery egg sat a reddish-pink hatchilng, about the size of a regular Cuccoo. He had a beak way too big for his head and bright yellow eyes that locked onto mine, "K-Karura?" I said quietly, vaguely aware that everyone was staring at me. Karura responded with a shrill peep. "Link!" Mrs. Aryl added in an even shriller bark as she stalked over to my desk, "What did I say about bringing your egg to-" she took one look at Karura and stammered. And then the final bell rang. Kids started pouring out of her classroom in an attempt to avoid the awkward situation . . . all but me and Narol. I know because I could hear his blood boil over Mrs. Aryl's next words, "Link, do you realize . . . your bird, it's the Akami." Immediately after I see Narol go from angry to a creepy type of thoughtful and watch him storm out of the classroom. How else could this go wrong? I stammer out a goodbye to Mrs. Aryl, grab Karura and sneak out the door. I can't go back to the dorm room, and the city's not an option, for now I'm just going to head for the Goddess hands and hope an idea comes to me. As if!
"I don't know what to do, boy." I looked over the edge of the balcony while Karura tumbles around beside me, chasing worms and small beetles, using the width of my body to block him from the deadly edge.
"Who knows, maybe the guys were just kidding when they said they wanted to kill you. No, I'm not going to take any chances. Maybe I could hide you in the Bazaar, like right behind Stan's shop. That'd be too imposing; after all we just met two days ago. I could keep you in the underground caves, but would the older birds pick on you?" I gently scratched under his chin-area and sighed, wondering if this is what being a parent is like. That sigh tuned into a great puff of air as something heavy forced me onto my back, which turned out to be Brutus. Karura peeped helplessly as Lothar grabbed him by his legs and passed him off to (who else but) Narol. "So, this whole time, it was you with the Akami." He sneered while Karura could do little more than helplessly flap his wings and protest with shrill peeps. "Get off me and put him down!" I growled just as weakly from under Brutus' weight. "Sorry Link," Lothar said from the sidelines, "But we've been thinking about what you said and you're right: if anyone could get the Akami, it could corrupt anyone."
"That's not what I meant you dunderheads!" I growled and weakly reached my left arm towards Karura, whom Narol was dangling over the edge of the Statue's hands.
"Did you hear that guys? He just called us dunderheads!" Narol let his pinky slide away from Karura's legs, letting him sag more towards the ground far below.
"No, please!" I finally mutter, letting the reality sink in: these idiots are serious.
"Link, I personally have three reasons why I'm doing this." Narol smirked, "One, you're a sarcastic brat and no one likes you for that." He removed his ring finger and Karura slid down a bit more. "Narol, I'm sorry! Please don't do this!" I thrashed like crazy under Brutus until Lothar restrained me further. "Two, you're way too lucky for your own good; this is just the thing to level the playing field." Then he removed his middle finger and I actually began shedding tears,
"Guys stop, this is crazy!" I blubbered, wondering how I could even speak at a time like this.
"And three: you Just. Don't. Know. Your. Place." His last finger flicked outward and Karura fell to what would obviously be his death. Over my screams and sobs I could hear Brutus, "When we get off of you and you go down there to collect the body, you're to tell everyone that he fell on his own, an accident if you will."
"Or else you'll be next!" Narol smirked, until said smirk crumpled into pale terror from something behind me. I was barely able to turn my head around enough to see a fully-grown blue bird; a cyan maiden, it had to be, with three riders: The principal, Mayor Gaepora, and Zelda. Four when I realized that ball of pink fluff on Zelda's lap was a very shocked and very alive Karura. "You three are in so much trouble." Gaepora said calmly but with faint malice.
The next three hours passed in a whirlwind. Brutus and Lothar received weeklong afterschool detention, while Narol got a two-day suspension for threatening a bird's life. Interesting fact: actually killing a Loftbird would have got him expelled, and maybe even some jail time. It was also deemed appropriate for me to get a room change immediately, seeing as my roommate might take another swing at my bird; however, since most of the first-year dorms were already full and nobody seemed keen to room with a potential bird killer the only room I could get was one on the second-year floor. My new roommate, Pipit seems to have more respect and less killing intent towards Karura, being a self-proclaimed loftbird geek. Between the moving, the doling of punishments and the general confusion of the afternoon a thought occurred to me: the only person who could have known in time to save Karura and gather Zelda, Mayor Gaepora and Principal Nohanson was Zelda herself. The sun was beginning to set when I set out for the Goddess' hands once more, now knowing the way by heart.
"Thanks for catching Karura." Zelda didn't notice me until I sat down, too absorbed in the sunset, I guess.
"Oh, no problem," she smiled and turned back towards the setting sun, "I just wish I could have gotten here sooner, so I could properly tell him off." She made punching motions at the air, causing me to snicker at the mental image.
"But I mean it Zelda, Karura and I owe you big time. From now on, if you get into any sort of trouble, count on us to fix it."
"You mean it?"
"Of course! We pretty much owe you our lives at this point." Zelda's smile grew even wider.
"So does that mean we're friends?"
"I don't see why not."
"Even though you're a boy, and I'm a girl?"
"Tell you what: if it really is impossible for boys and girls to be friends, I'll . . . I'll kiss Narol." Zelda stared at me in shock, I knew I had to add something to ease the tension ". . . on the lips." Another awkward silence . . . and then we laughed so hard people on the ground could hear us.
That was about seven years ago, and Zelda and I have been friends since. I also intend to keep both my promises regarding our friendship, should the need arise. This story is only the beginning of my strange and wonderful life in Skyloft; but I'll have to stop writing for a while, since the bird rider's ceremony is in three days, and Zelda says Karura and I need more practice flying and taking trust-dives. Hopefully when I get back to writing this I'll a good starting point for an autobiography, should anything happen during my active duty. But those dangers are for other chapters; let this be a calm beginning before the storm.