Chapter 14: Balloon

Stone clicked against their feet as the pair strode along the town wall. On one side rumbled the low humming of the festive town. On the other the soothing whistle of wind as it glided through the grassy fields.

"That was not my fault," Zelda laughed as she stepped at his side, the bright lights of the town dancing across her face against the night sky, "you threw off my aim."

Link scoffed, "Oh please, I've seen you hit targets while a demon was literally charging at your face, you can't blame me for that."

"Would you believe that you were actually more distracting – oh stop here." Zelda dashed ahead of him, leaning over something tucked against a parapet.

He moved around her, craning his neck in an attempt to make out what she was doing. While the poor light kept it hidden well, he managed to catch the odd sheen of light on metal. A small chest. Zelda leapt up, and nearly sent him flying in the process. Catching himself, it took a second to focus on what she was now twisting in her hands.

The first thing he noticed was how green it was, with the close second being how large it became when Zelda flung it out onto the stone ground. He guessed it was about their height in length and looked to be made of cloth of some sort, held together by stitching neatly attaching the material to a criss-cross of sticks.

"It's a sail-cloth," Zelda said, grabbing two of the corners and pulling them together, nodding towards the remaining cloth she added, "can you grab that please."

He mirrored her and Zelda strode towards him, allowing the cloth to form into a balloon-like shape. As she handed him her side, she walked back to the parapet pulling something else, much smaller this time, out of the chest.

"So what's this for?" He asked as she came back and began tying what he now realised was a small bottle, that looked to be filled with water, to the sail-cloth.

"Do you know why we hold the festival?" she asked as she finished tying the bottle on, taking the now complete device from him.

Well that stung a little, did she think so little of him?

"It's to celebrate the new wind right? Bringing a new season and that kind of thing."

She glanced over, eyes bubbling with energy as she spoke. "Exactly, so you know that my Grandfather started it right?" She gestured for him to give her space as he nodded, "Well this is kind of a family tradition he started, apparently it was to honour a friend of his from the Great Sea." She flung the contraption into the air with a mighty thrust, but nothing caught it. As it gently floated back to the floor, Zelda let out a huff and began bundling it up for another attempt.

He stepped over as she attempted to stretch it out again. Taking a side each in hand, the two stepped apart, the material pulling tight in the wind. They waited, feeling the breeze as it brushed along the town walls. A chill ran down his back, the gust forcing him to plant his feet. Zelda yelled something, but it was lost over the gale. Zelda's grip loosened as she flung the sailcloth skywards again, and he barely managed to do the same.

It was shaky, swinging in the wind like a pendulum flinging about the sky. Worry clutched at his chest. Was it going to fall? What if it hit someone? He reached out, ready to catch it as it hung above their heads, the bottle inches from him. It practically brushed his hand as the wind finally caught the cloth, carrying the contraption high into the air.

The two stood together, watching the device as it danced through the air, no noise except the rumble of celebrations behind them and the dying moan of the gust. He took a breath, allowing knots in muscles he hadn't realised were tense to relax.

Glancing to Zelda, he couldn't help but study her. She'd leant against the parapet, gazing at the device shrinking into the sky, the gust carrying it higher and higher above the fields. The look on her face was all too familiar, an odd mixture of pain and happiness. The face of someone wandering through memories.

"Do you miss him?"

Her face twisted, like she was trying to wring an answer from it. But then, he noticed her smile. It was small, and a little sombre, but there.

"It's a little strange to be honest, but no. I mean it'd be a lie to say I'm ecstatic, but it's kind of… difficult to really?" She chuckled, hand wiping something from her eye. "That sounds so weird, what I mean is, I know he would have loved to be here, to see all of this, but at the same time I think the fact that we still hold this festival, still remember the legacy he left behind, would make him happy and that just… makes me happy too I guess."

That was…really sweet, at least in her odd Zelda way. He couldn't say he fully understood, but that didn't really matter did it? It was something personal. And something she'd decided to share with him.

"Thanks, it means a lot that you'd show me this." He said as they watched the sail-cloth gently floated out of sight, his voice softer than he'd thought.

Her head fell onto his shoulder, and she let out a quiet scoff. "Don't be silly, I invited you up here, I should thank you, for helping me with all this stuff."

He chuckled. "Then let's agree to both be thankful, we're allowed to do that right?"

Zelda giggled, wiping at her eyes one again. "Deal." She let out a shiver and lifting her head, she added, "Alright, it's getting too cold, even for me. I noticed a stand selling Ember Seeds earlier, want to see if they're still open?"

She set off before he'd even finished nodding his head. She had too much energy. Stealing himself, he jogged a few steps to catch her up. As he fell into pace with her, he caught a glimpse of her looking to the fields one last time before the two fell back below the wall.