It started as a whisper, a small and fluttering thing on the wind that called her name. Zelda had heard it a lot lately. Constant worming, a soft murmuring like windchimes. Gentle like the clouds in the sky.

This time was no different, of course. It'd become a standard throughout her day. One moment she was talking to Link and then the next-

Well, when she turned toward it, there was nothing. Also per usual.

Zelda frowned slightly, a strange little pout upon her lips as she stared into the bleak cloudline. Link watched her, rubbing at his head as he shuffled about. Awkward as ever, the silly man. But it was part of his charm and incredibly endearing.

It made her smile, and then she started with, "Did you…"

He hadn't. It was clear as day when it came to his confused stare; in the way that he cocked his head slightly as his gaze narrowed at her.

Zelda sighed. "I swear there was someone calling my name."

"You were the only one talking," said Link. He looked mildly concerned, an expression usually found on Zelda's face instead. Funny, how roles are often swapped.

"No, I-" Zelda stopped abruptly. She bit at her lip. Twisted her fingers nervously.

She'd heard the voice more and more as of late; it seemed ever-present in her mind. Link was safe, she told herself. Link would listen without judgment and likely believe her. The boon of knowing each other since diapers, supposed Zelda.

But for some reason, she couldn't articulate her thought, her tongue entirely tied. Like heavy cotton and a mouth dry as sand. Or, what she imagined sand to be like, according to books.

Zelda dropped the topic in favor of finding Link's Loftwing instead, a far more important endeavor at the moment.

Later, the voice came again. Entirely expected. A quiet murmur that rode upon the late-day breeze that floated around her. Above her. Below her. Everywhere, it seemed.

And yet, the voice belonged to no one.

"Perhaps it's the sky itself," murmured Zelda, her hand held close to her breast, fingers clenched as she wondered.

"I'm sorry?" asked Link.

Zelda turned to him, pulled from her thoughts. "It was the voice again," she said to him. "I've heard it more and more lately."

He looked concerned again, his mouth tugged into a tiny little frown. His hand held out, stopping just shy of her, ready to comfort. Zelda wished that he would, a soft touch that would calm the flip-flopping in her chest.

Or maybe it'd make it worse. It would be a welcome distraction.

Link didn't, as he often does. It was clear as day to just about everyone except himself, the feelings that he wore on his sleeve. He wasn't the most observant man, so Zelda nearly reached out to him instead.

She resisted, knowing deep in her bones that it wasn't the right time for that. There was a flight ceremony, a vast dinner planned, and others waiting on them.

Still, her attention was elsewhere. Zelda turned to the vast horizon below Skyloft, puffed with featherlight clouds that looked so soft to the touch. She always wondered if they would be were she to sweep her hand right through them while astride her Loftwing.

"Link," she suddenly asked, still watching what lay below. "Have you ever thought about what is beneath the clouds?"

Link hadn't and told her as such, and Zelda smiled, having expected such an answer. Everyone always said the same. No one else shared her curious and bright nature, or the lurching of her heart as it pined for what she couldn't see.

The world below, there must be one. Just as the sky stretched on forever, there must be something underneath it all.

Zelda often wondered what drove this strange wanderlust that everyone else seemed to lack. If asked, she would describe it as instinctual, her daydreams an inherent part of her core.

Her fingers itched to seek out and try. Her Loftwing was the only thing who kept her on Skyloft.

Well, and Link too. If she were to disappear, who would take care of him?

"Zelda-" said Link, finally.

"It's nothing," she cut in, smiling widely as she turned back to him. "Just a whimsical thought."

Link scratched at his head again, a nervous gesture when he was caught speechless. Which was more often than not. Finally, he said, "Your father is probably waiting for us."

"Yes," she said. Link turned and walked away, whistling for his Loftwing to follow along. It did so, dutiful as ever. They shared a bond unlike anyone else she'd ever known.

Zelda lingered behind, her foot tapping impatiently against the ground. Wondered if maybe there was something like that for her. Unbreakable friendship, an everlasting connection that would transcend all time.

Perhaps it lays below, she mused, sighing softly as she watched the clouds again.

Then she chuckled, thinking that destiny certainly wasn't for her.