Chapter 1
I woke up with a jolt and slammed my head on the ceiling. My legs were cramped, my back felt achy, and now I was about to have a headache the rest of the day. I stood up and looked back at my child-sized bed. There was a sweat stain from where I had laid. Confusing. I don't remember feeling hot or sweaty. I don't feel sick. So, I simply decided to roll my sheets back and let them air dry.
I stood up and walked to my vanity and took a seat. The bright pink always made my eyes hurt in the morning, but the visible wear-and-tear markings always bring me blissful smiles and memories. I dropped my hair down from the bun it was in. My long, grimly, waist-length hair dropped down and covered my ears. Good, because instead of the normal pointed human ears, mine are small and rounded at the tops. The white hair always made me look older than I am. I have the round face, big brown eyes, and deep red lips, but my dumb white hair adds an old-lady complex to everything.
I've been called Snow Head since I was little. I'm one of the only young and female humans on Skyloft with white hair. Link said he found me abandoned in a basket when I was a day-old. He was on the surface and didn't know if I was already named my parents who left me. So he just didn't bother to come up with one. At first, I was called "girl" or "kid" but eventually Snow Head was something that stuck around. I'm just grateful to have a name in the first place.
After brushing my hair and trying to make myself presentable, I got changed into my red knight outfit. I had just graduated from the academy; I don't know how, but I did. However, I can't officially become a knight unless I do the ceremonial fly to the surface and bring back an artifact. That's the capstone of all my hard work.
I jumped down from my loft into the dining room. I saw Link washing some dishes and I could tell I startled him. He dropped a pan into the sink and splashed himself.
"I'd appreciate if you didn't act like an eight-year-old." He grumbled as he grabbed a dish towel to dry himself.
"That's a lot to ask." I grinned.
"Your breakfast is on the table." He pointed at the basket of bread and a plate of eggs. "I'm running late for work, so I'll have to get out of here as soon as I'm changed."
"Are you going to be able to get everything done before tomorrow?" I asked while I sat down ready to feast.
"Tomorrow?" He seemed confused. I sighed. I should have figured.
"My birthday?" My smile faded a bit. "My seventeenth birthday, you promised me that we would both fly down to the surface together so I can become a knight." Link looked burdened by what I just said.
"Listen, I'll see what I can finish by tonight," he began "but if there's a lot of stuff to get done we may have to postpone. After Gaepora's passing-"
"It's been crazy" I interrupted. "I understand, you have a big job to fill. And the surface isn't safe enough for anyone to colonize down there yet. You and Zelda were barely able to keep everyone safe." I tried to put on a reassuring smile.
"Thanks." He turned and walked into his room. I lost my appetite, now. I stood up and cleaned up my breakfast. Link walked out and left for work so that left me plenty of time to do whatever.
I grabbed my satchel and walked out. I headed towards the bazaar in the center of the island. I walk in and immediately on my right I'm caught off guard by a tight hug embracing me. I looked and saw Mable, my best friend. She was a year or so older than me and was my second favorite person on this island. She's my best friend. I look over at the potion outlet. Her mom glared intensely at me. I took the hint and gently push Mable off me.
"I hope you've had a good morning." She grinned and began to walk with me through the rest of the bazaar. "You excited for your big fly?"
"If I get one..." I mumbled.
"Hey, you'll get one, even if I drag you down to the surface myself." Mable laughed and hooked her arm through mine. As we walked through the bazaar, I noticed that everyone would go quiet around me. I noticed it every time I came here. There're tons of shouting, music, haggling that just stops or get quieter the more I got close to a particular area. It is a thing that gets in my head easily.
"Mable, I want to become a knight so bad, but I feel like a lot of people are against me." I sigh and look at her. She frowned and looked around the bazaar at the many eyes staring us down.
"I wouldn't say that." She lied. I could tell that she noticed it too. "You're going to become a knight no matter what, I'm sure that Link- "
"Mable!" Mable's mother shouted across the bazaar, "Your shift has not ended for the night! Leave that girl alone and get back here!"
"Listen, I have to go, but I'll catch up with you tonight. Go see Zelda or practice your shooting or something." She ran off towards her mother. I took a look around and saw all the people crowded around staring at me. I began to make my way towards one of the exits. The back of my neck had hairs standing on edge.
"She still thinks she's going to become a knight?" Someone whispered behind me. I tried to just keep moving towards the exit and focus on something else.
"No, no, everyone knows that won't happen if we can help it." Another person whispered back. I sped up my walking and yanked the currents of the door out of my way. I quickly got my composure. Mable was right, I need to go do something. I need to calm down and get somewhere outside of town. I make my way to the academy. I saw two young academy students practicing their shots. They had set up some targets in front of the sparring grounds. I walked past them to go inside the sparring hall to retrieve a bow. Inside I go back to the stock room where we keep the extra bows. I grab one but as I was walking out, I noticed another bow wrapped in a dusty cloth. I go and unwrap it. It is a silver-lined steal bow that glimmered even in the dark closet. I looked at the plain wooden piece of crap in my hand. I don't know who's this was but I'm sure they wouldn't notice if I only shot a few with it. I giddily grab a few arrows from a barrel and walk back up to the boys who are shooting at targets.
"Do you mind if I join you two?" I ask them. They turn around and just stared at me. They said absolutely nothing and just stared. "Okay, well, I'm just taking a few shots." I shrug. They were so quiet. It hurt my head with how quiet they were. They finally stopped staring after I walk up to the marker and thread my arrow to the bow. Taking a deep breath, I exhale, release-bullseye. I turn around to grab another arrow and the boys are gone. I guess they felt out-matched. I take a few more shots, all landing in the red center. This bow was meant for me. I wanted to know who it was. After I ran out of arrows, I began to walk to retrieve them from my target. As I'm walking forward someone grabs me by my bicep and rips the bow from my left hand. I swallow hard and turn around. It was Professor Eagus.
"Just because the headmaster is your dad doesn't mean that you get to take what's not yours, kid." He grits, "I would think that such a promising alumnus like Link would raise a rat like you to know better."
I bit my tongue before I spat out angry words. I took a deep breath and remained calm, "Sorry, whose bow is it, sir? I just saw it in the ba-"
"Not of your beeswax! We all know the headmaster would not trust you with anything so nice." He turned around quickly and started to walk back to the sparring hall. I swore that he had been off today-I lookup. On the overpass, I see the two students who were here before snickering above me. My breathing quickens. I need to stay calm, but my frustration is getting the best of me. I feel my face heat up. My heart is racing, my fists clenched. I wanted to bury their snickering faces into the dirt. My right hand is forcefully opened, and Familien fingers intertwined with mine. At this same time I heard a sizzling and burning of flesh. I unlock my eyes from the boys, I look over. Zelda is holding my hand tight and smiling at me.
"I felt like you needed some comfort." She grinned. I reflexively jerk my hand away, I saw her hand, it was burned and raw, but there wasn't an ounce of pain on her face. I had burned her; my eyes fall to the ground and I take a step back. "Do not feel ashamed," Of course I was ashamed. I've had mishaps with my anger in the past. Link says that's the reason why everyone doesn't like me. He and Zelda have tried to teach me. Link told me that when I was younger, I almost killed someone because of a tantrum I had. My biological parents must have been lost humans who adapted magic and spells to help them survive down there. "Snow Head. I'm okay." She reassured me. "Let's go somewhere away from here."
We started our trek toward the waterfall. We always went to the waterfall when I was feeling down. She would calm me down when the islanders would frustrate me. She was the only person who treated me with respect and understanding, unlike everyone else here... including Link.
"I don't get it." I huffed.
"What don't you get?" Zelda laughed as I hopped across the stones that lead to the waterfall. Zelda carried herself well, taking elegantly long steps over the gaps of water.
"I do all of the stuff! I only do addition, but it still just leads me to a negative answer!" I groaned. Zelda paused to look at me funny before she walked to the next stone platform. She was confused. "I do the polite things, I work hard, I am nice, but in the end, people still hate me. I get mad because they hate me and I'm in this endless loop of getting angry and people hating me."
"Sometimes people aren't able to make things work as they wish it should. We will put all the hard work in, but if something is a little off, it doesn't work out. But that doesn't make it your fault. " Zelda began to get out of breath a bit. She took her last step to meet the solid ground and began to fall backward. I grab her arm before she fell into the rapid water. She got on her two feet or...one foot. I look at her wooden leg with a shoe strapped onto it. I realized what she said wasn't just meant for me.
"Do you think your dad is disappointed?" I asked her. She dropped her eyes to the ground and took a deep breath.
"It was my father's dream to give the best for the people of Skyloft. Even though we put in tremendous work trying to conquer the surface for humans, it won't work until we advance more. Most of the monsters are gone now that Demise is vanquished, but it is still a dangerous place. As for right now... staying in Skyloft is best for our people. He died knowing that we still have a future of advancement and hope ahead of us." She bent over, knocked a few times on her wooden leg, snapped back up and giggled. "Even if we get banged up a little to get there, we will still get there." We continue to head our way into the cave and out to the back to overlook the vastness of clouds, mountains, oceans, and pastel-like visuals.
"I can't wait to see what is down there," I stared in awe.
"If anyone could handle themselves down there, it's you." Zelda gave me a friendly elbow to the arm.
"Why, because I was raised by the goddess' chosen hero?" I rolled my eyes and pierced my lips. "He doesn't even let me fly without supervision."
"No, because you're your own courageous person who had an important future ahead of you." She corrected me.
"If I can get there-" I looked at my feet
"You will get there. And if you don't, you'll keep fighting until you do."
"What are you two doing here?" Link's voice erupted from behind us.
"Just some quality girl-time. What are you doing interrupting us, Sleepy Head." She sassily responded.
"Well-" Link stuttered and tried to collect his words, "she is in trouble, I got news from Professor Eagus that you tried to steal a bow-"
"I wasn't stealing it!" I snapped at him.
"I don't believe you. Not only are you a thief, but you're a liar as well. Say goodbye to your knighting ceremony. You aren't worthy."
"-but my birthday?!" I screeched as tears began to fall down my cheeks.
"Now, Link, that hardly seems fair for Snow Head." Zelda stepped forward to defend me.
"Doesn't matter. You aren't raising her." He gritted,
"I could've done a much better job than you are certainly doing now!" She shouted.
He shouted straight back at her, "I doubt you could've raised a bomb like her any better!" I took a step back. Tears flooded my eyes. Zelda immediately whipped her head around to look at me. She quickly pulled me into a hug. I buried my head into her shoulder and breast. I was so much taller that it was uncomfortable, but I felt like my whole world was collapsing. All my hard work in the knight academy, it was all wasted. My birthday fly ripped away. My parent thinks I am a bomb. If I could just stay here with Zelda, I'd be okay. But as soon as I felt like I was calming down, I felt Link's grip tug me away and I felt him gasping in pain.
I could feel his hand burning against my arm. I look up at him and my emotions switch from grief to resentment. I fueled my anger and stared him dead in the eyes. I could feel my body heat exponentially and his skin starts to melt on his grip. He ripped his hand away and hissed in pain. "Let's. Go." He gritted. A little smirk emerged on my face to see him in pain. I decided to walk with him. I didn't have much of a choice. It was getting late, I needed to meet Mable soon anyways. I look back at Zelda and she had her arms crossed looking at her feet. She looked sad, almost lonely.
Thank you for reading chapter 1. If you like the story, please continue reading. If you like what you've read by chapter 3, go ahead and give it a follow. If you like what you've read by chapter 10, go ahead and give it a favorite. It really means a lot and it is a simple and free way to support my writing. I really appreciate feedback so feel free to leave some reviews too. I also have a Wattpad, which I can easily give more constant updates on late/early posts. So go ahead and head to my profile and vote in my poll to choose which way you prefer to read my stories, and by the time this book is finished, I'll decide how I'll be posting my next one. -Empty Iris.