Howdy howdy! Happy Saturday. i hope everyone is doing well. All is fine and mostly settled here. I'm with family, my husband says work is OK, and my son is being spoiled rotten. There aren't enough hours in the day, but then again, that's not new.
Anyway, for tonight, we're going back to Skyloft again with more memories from before Link and Zelda's adventure. I hope you all enjoy it.
Here we go!
Like most children in Skyloft, Link's favorite holiday was Ascension Day— the day where everyone in Skyloft celebrated the first people to find their birds and ascend to the clouds. It was a day of feasting, and music, and dancing, and the Wing Knights would fly in formations above the island. Once the sun set beneath the cloud layer, those same Wing Knights would fly out to other nearby islands and launch off brightspells, illuminating the starry sky with bursts of colorful light.
Link figured that the best place on the island to watch the fireworks was on the tippy tip top of the academy, just below the belfry. There was an unimpeded view of much of the sky, and even better: no crowds. Link was pretty sure nobody else even knew how to get up here. He'd certainly never seen anyone make it all the way up this high— at least, not without the help of a bird, and most birds couldn't fly at night anyway.
So just after the evening feast on Ascension Day, Link grabbed a picnic basket, loaded it with leftover dessert, and snuck away. He'd already squirreled a bunch of blankets up on top of the academy, and they were there still, safely weighted down by several sturdy rocks he'd had his bird carry up there. He clambered up with the picnic basket, which was awkward, and used it to weight down the blankets too, and then went in search of his best friend.
Link hadn't seen much of Zelda that day. Sure, she'd come in and woken him up that morning (just as she did most days), but she'd been busy with girl stuff. Every year, as part of Ascension Day, all the unwed maidens sang and danced and wove skyflowers into crowns, and the matrons of Skyloft selected a young girl from among their number to play the Goddess Hylia for that year's Wing Ceremony.
Zelda had looked especially fetching that year in her white ceremonial gown (which she'd told him was itchy) and her crown of flowers (which she'd complained made her sneeze). Link had loved watching her do the maiden's dance (which she hated and said was silly), and had clapped and cheered louder than anyone when she'd been announced as the next Goddess Hylia.
It was perfect. He'd be competing in this year's Wing Ceremony. He was thrilled, absolutely delighted, that she was going to be a part of it, too, though he had the feeling that her nagging was going to get even worse than usual.
Which was saying something.
Once Zelda had been named as the Goddess, she'd been swept off by matrons for a flurry of activities, and then after that had been constantly surrounded by people wishing her well and offering her advice. Link hadn't been able to get anywhere near her. But now that it was dark and people were retreating to the roofs and hills to watch the night lights, Link figured they could get some time together.
Zelda wasn't anywhere that Link initially looked on the island: She wasn't with the ribbon dancers (either performing or watching); she wasn't near the food stands (disappointing, but not surprising, Link decided as he munched down another skewer of meat because why not); she wasn't even at the firelight story circle, which she usually enjoyed. So on a whim, Link went to her room to see if she'd gone back to shed her ceremonial gown.
When Link reached the door of Zelda's chambers, he found them locked. So he knocked.
"Sorry, I'm tired," Zelda called out.
"Too tired for snacks?" Link called back.
Inside, there was a scuffling, and then a click as she pulled the lock. A moment later, the door creaked open and Zelda regarded him warily.
"Would the Goddess like some pie? I stashed some for you. Her. Whoever." Link grinned his best dopey grin, and a little of Zelda's suspicion melted away.
"I thought my father might have sent you to bribe me to go back and be fawned over some more," she said.
"Nope. No bribery. I actually found us a sneaky spot for watching the night lights. Wanna come?"
She squinted for a moment longer, then nodded.
"Let me grab my wrap."
Link led her out to the roof, then showed her how to get up to the belfry. He even pretended not to hear her cussing under her breath as she climbed after him. The sun had mostly set by the time Link had spread out the blankets into a little nest. Zelda plopped down beside them, pulling her shawl more tightly around her shoulders as Link proudly opened the picnic basket.
"Ta daaaa! Pie."
"So it is," Zelda agreed. She pulled an entire pie into her lap and began to eat with gusto. Link watched her, awed. He thought he was the only one who could eat like that. His thoughts must have showed on his face when she glanced up at him between bites, because she made an unladylike snorting sound.
"Everyone was so busy talking to me at dinner that I was barely able to eat," she explained, cheeks stuffed with food. "Thanks."
"Do you want me to go find more?" Link asked her, wistfully thinking that he'd like some pie too.
"No, this is fine, thanks." She kept eating, and Link watched as the precious pie disappeared, bite by bite, down the gullet of his favorite person in the whole world.
Oh well.
"Orielle told me she felt like one of those legendary surface princesses when she was the one selected to play the Goddess Hylia," Zelda said as she delicately dabbed at her lips with a napkin.
"Do you feel like a princess?" Link asked her.
"I feel like nobody will leave me alone," Zelda said. "So if that's what it means to be a princess…" She shrugged. "I guess."
She sighed and flopped back on the blanket, and Link plopped back next to her. Above them, the sky had gone fully dark. The brightspells would begin soon. Zelda shifted so her head rested on Link's bicep, and he curled his lower arm around her shoulders. They'd laid like this a hundred times since they were children, but for some reason when they snuggled like this lately, it had begun to feel… different. Sometimes, Link wanted to do more than snuggle. That was new. And he wasn't sure if he liked it not.
Better just not to think about it.
"Congratulations, princess," Link teased her, nudging her a little. "You'll make a great Goddess."
"I guess," Zelda said unenthusiastically.
Link turned his head to look at her. "What's wrong?"
Distantly, there was a whistle— a cue that the performance was about to begin. Link kept his eyes on Zelda, though.
She was more important.
"I don't know," Zelda said. "I just feel weird. It feels… strange. Hearing the people call me Goddess Hylia." She shrugged. "It makes me uncomfortable. I don't know why."
The first brightspells went off, lighting up the sky. Link watched the play of brilliant colored light across Zelda's face and in her eyes, then looked upwards. When she got like this, there was no use in prying. She was stubborn, his best friend.
Link watched more spells explode across the sky above the island, creating beautiful geometric whorls and falls of fairy lights. After a few minutes, he offered what consolation he could.
"I think you'll be brilliant at the whole Goddess thing."
When she spoke, her voice was a little small.
"You really think so, Link?"
"Absolutely," Link said with complete certainty. Because in his mind, it was true: there was no better person in Skyloft to play the Goddess than Zelda. She had a great singing voice, like the Goddess was supposed to have had, and she was beautiful, like the Goddess was supposed to have been, and she was gentle and soothing and wonderful… but Link couldn't say those things out loud or Zelda would think he was teasing her.
Even though he really, really meant it.
More spells went off. Zelda rolled onto her side, her nose nearly touching Link's cheek.
"Will you promise me that you'll catch the Golden Bird?" Zelda asked him, her voice soft. "I don't want anyone else to play the Chosen Hero but you."
Link shifted too, and she lifted her head on his arm a little so he could roll onto his side as well and face her. Now they were nearly nose-to-nose.
"I'll catch the bird for you," he said seriously.
"Do you promise?"
"I promise."
Zelda nodded, but didn't roll onto her back. Instead, she cuddled a little closer to Link. He found his eyes fluttering shut in contentment as she did. It felt so nice to hold her like this. So right.
Above them, the brightspells continued. But Link didn't need to watch it.
He had something much, much better right here.
You're welcome! Ugh, SS Link and Zelda are so cute I can't stand it. There's just something so delightful about puppy love.
I'll be back on Wednesday with a very silly western for Jane Keybored about Link, the gunslinger, on a mission to woo the sheriff's daughter. Until then, stay safe, stay inside, and WASH YOUR HANDS! Air smoochies to all, and to all a good night.