Author's note: so now that I've finished Skyward Sword, I'm not writing as much fanfics for it. Or maybe it's because I'm heavily referencing it in another fanfiction...I'm weird like that. Oh, well, here you go. Shameless ZeLink fluff! WARNING: SPOILERS if you still haven't gotten to hunting for Nayru's Flame.

Theme 40 – Promise
SS – Link x Zelda

"Thanks for the lift, Skipper!" Link said cheerily to the short robot as the Hero and Zelda departed from the small boat.

"Of course, vrrm! I'll be waiting right here for you when you're done, Link!" the ancient robot replied.

Link grinned and held his hand out to Zelda. "Come on, we're almost there."

Zelda rolled her eyes and smiled as she grasped his outstretched hand. "Where is there?" she asked for at least the tenth time since Link proposed this journey down on the Surface.

"You'll see," Link replied, like he had the other nine times. He lead her up a set of stairs, across a bridge over the sink sand that once was an ocean, up another set of stairs, and into a building. Zelda looked around the room. There was a cart waiting on a set of tracks that lead out of the other side of the building. One one wall were several plaques with tiny writing and pictures depicting an ancient robot sitting in the mine cart.

"Hey, Brother!" a voice boomed, distracting Zelda from looking around the room. In front of her and Link was a Goron.

"Hello," Link replied with a smile.

"Are you here for a race?"

"Sort of. I'm showing my girlfriend around."

"We're not riding in the mine cart, are we?" Zelda asked, her eyes widening.

"We are. Don't worry, Zel, it'll be fun, trust me."

Zelda sighed. "That's the problem: I do trust you, knowing that one day, you could get me killed anyway."

Link laughed and guided her over to the mine cart. "Just hold onto me and you'll be fine," he said as he helped her into the cart. He got in front of her and, as if by magic, the cart started up. Link grabbed the sides of the cart and grinned. Zelda wrapped her arms around him as the cart went up a steep part of the track. "Are you ready?" he asked, as the cart neared the top.

"No!" Zelda replied fearfully.

But she had no choice. Gravity took over and the cart sped off. Link whooped as he leaned to the right, picking up speed. Zelda, too, couldn't help but smile. It was actually fun. She still held on tightly to her friend.

They spiraled upward and before Zelda knew it, the cart had started to slow as it came into another building. It stopped with a rough jolt and Link tumbled forward, falling out of the cart as Zelda released him. She looked over the edge and saw Link sprawled on the dusty ground, grinning. "How was that?" he asked, getting up and brushing dust from his tunic. He helped her out of the cart.

"Scary. But fun. Can we go back to Skipper now?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"We're no where near Skipper."

"Oh. How do we get back?"

Link grinned at her in reply and she knew what his answer was. She sighed as he lead her once more across bridges and through buildings to another mine cart. He helped her in and once more got in front of her. The cart began to move and Zelda held on to him again. "This one's a bit more dangerous, so hold on!"

"Dangerous?"

Link laughed and the cart reached the top of the incline and began speeding onward. Around the turns they flew, faster than before. At one point, the track was broken and the cart simply flew right over. But Zelda wasn't worried now for her safety. She was whooping excitedly with Link the whole way.

"Two more breaks coming up!" Link called back to her. She nodded and then the cart flew up, bouncing back down on the tracks before flying up once more. The cart landed with a clank and a building loomed before them. Link leaned back, slowing the cart to a stop at the end of the track.

"That was so much fun!" Zelda exclaimed as Link jumped out of the cart and then helped her.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He went to a nearby door and opened it, motioning for Zelda to come through.

The large room was dark and filled to the brim with sand and construction equipment. Link looked around before leading her along to the right. "This used to be where they would build their ships. Skipper said that his own ship had been built here."

"The tiny boat we were on?"

"No. It's called the Sand Ship now. We saw it on the way out here."

"Oh."

"Anyway, when I came here the first time, there was a nasty surprise waiting for me over there." He pointed to a large messy area of sand. "There was a huge scorpion under the sand, and I could only fight it in order to continue on." Link continued with his narration, swinging his arm as if wielding a sword. "Finally, I got a last blow to it's third eye," he concluded, "and the creature let out death defying screech and collapsed, dead."

Zelda raised an eyebrow teasingly, but she truly enjoyed listening to Link's stories of his quest. "You have some crazy tales," she said. "But come on. Let's get out of here. I want to explore more of the Sand Sea."

"Your wish is my command, oh goddess." He offered her his arm and lead her back out into the sunny Sand Sea.

The day ended with a visit to Skipper's Sand Ship, where the two were invited to stay the night. They were perched on the very back of the ship, dangling their legs over the edge while sharing a simple meal. Link looked at Zelda and grinned. "You really are sunburned," he said.

Zelda sighed. "And how did you escape being sunburned?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm not as light-skinned as you."

"True." She leaned her head on his shoulder with a content sigh. After several moments, she spoke up again. "I've been thinking."

"Oh? About what?"

"The Surface."

"What about it?"

"It needs a name."

"Well, what better person to name it than the incarnate of a goddess herself."

"Exactly."

"Well, as long as you don't name it Grooseland, I think I'll be fine with whatever you want to name it."

Zelda laughed. "Where did that come from?"

"The first time Groose was on the surface, he decided he would name the surface Grooseland. You know how he was back then."

Zelda nodded. "Let me tell you, then, the name I was thinking of. Hyrule."

Link thought about it for a moment. "It has a nice ring to it." Link grinned teasingly. "Either that, or it's just a bit of your ego showing through."

Zelda playfully hit him. "You know that's not true! I just thought it would be appropriate, since...well, every human who comes down here looks to me as their leader. And back before Demise, every human looked to Hylia...well, me, as their leader. It was also called that way back when. It just...seems to fit."

"Hmm, I suppose. I like it, though. When we get back to Skyloft, we can get your father to change the name on the map of the Surface."

"Aw, but I don't want to leave just yet. There's so many places I haven't been but dearly want to go to. And then there are places that I want to visit again.

Link grinned. "Tomorrow, we'll go venture on. We may have to take to the sky to go to the other realms, but if you don't want to go back to Skyloft yet, we don't have to."

"Promise?"

Link nodded. "Promise."