Chapter 9 (Age 15)

Zelda felt herself spinning around aimlessly, truing to do something to pass the time. There were days when she was just bored. She wanted more than life on an island. She wanted more than the future she had planned. As much as she loved the idea that she could become an Academy Instructor, there was just always something nagging at her, demanding that she do… more.

She stopped her reckless twirling when she saw a small blob of red appear in her vision.

Karane chuckled and reached out to steady Zelda's stumbling feet. "How are we friends? You're so weird."

Zelda smiled sweetly. "You love me and you know it."

"Ugh, you're right," Karane said with faux disgust.

The two rarely got to spend time with one another anymore. Karane was so invested in her Knight training that they'd only hang out during classes or at night in their joined rooms. While doing homework together and talking for a while was good, Zelda missed her best friend.

"Did you want to go get something to eat?"

Karane stopped moving, her face displaying her un-hidden fear. Since that day two years ago when they'd been stuck in the middle of a crime, Karane had tried to avoid going to eat outside of the Academy. It was a sore spot, and Zelda spoke before remembering.

"Oh, Karane, no, I didn't mean that. We can do anything else. It's just the first thing I thought of."

But Karane shook it off and put on a braver face. "We can go shopping and grab food to go. Is that okay?"

Zelda nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course! That sounds great."

So, Karane and Zelda made their way to the Bazaar. Karane had no problem shopping in the Bazaar and had done so thousands of times in the past two years. Zelda left her as Karane bounced from shop to shop to grab some food for the two of them. It was only midday, so she grabbed a light soup, and Piper, the restaurant owner, covered the tops so they could take their meals elsewhere.

Zelda followed behind Karane for some time, and they left without making any purchases, much to the stall owners' displeasure. But they went outside and sat on the bridge that ran over the small river and let their feet dangle as they slurped their soup.

"You know it isn't too late…" Karane said softly. She didn't want to finish. She didn't want to be that friend, but she'd already started. "It's not too late to start training with us. We all miss you. We only see you in normal classes now. I know Pip won't admit it, but he wants you to come join us too!"

Zelda sighed. "Link won't say it, so I don't know how he feels. I don't know. I really just don't want to. I want to teach, not to fight or patrol the Sky. I don't want to be away from home on a scouting mission. I want to be here with my family and friends."

"We could come with you."

Zelda smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, Karane. It's like this: Fledge wants to be a Knight. He told me. He really wants it. But he knows he'd be better suited to a different job. He's working hard, but he's not feeling like he's making progress. No one is telling Fledge to change his career. Well, Groose and his cronies might be, but they never count. But Fledge… he has the freedom that I don't have. He got to choose and he's allowed to stick with it. So I know how much you want me to be a Knight, but there's nothing about it that would make me happy. Nothing except spending more time with you four in school, but once we graduate, that'll all be gone. I won't see you or Pipit because you're older and will be out before we will be. Then, I won't see Link or Fledge. You think by being a Knight, we get to stay near each other, but then the pull away will be even greater. At least I can be home to hang out with you when you're on the island."

"It won't be the same."

"I know," Zelda admitted. "Link told me that Eagus hardly sees his own sister now."

Karane's head snapped up. "Link hangs out with Eagus?"

Zelda grimaced, unsure if she'd spilled confidential information. "He looks up to Eagus. Who doesn't? He's the best Knight on Skyloft."

"That's true. I wish I could hang out with Eagus, honestly."

Zelda nodded, turning away. Karane caught a quick glimpse of something in her face before she did.

"What is it, Z?"

"I…" Zelda sighed. "I hung out with Jardon and his friends the other day. He could be the next Eagus, you know."

Karane's eyes lit up. "You have a crush! You have a crush on the guy you were in the play with!"

Trying to hide her guilt, Zelda turned further from Karane, blushing. "I don't know. I like him. I do. But…"

"But?"

But there's someone else I like more.

"I don't know," Zelda said. "Maybe I'm just being stubborn."

Karane put down her empty cup. "We should get you a date with someone. It's about time you went out with someone. I can help. I'm a pro at this point."

Zelda scoffed. Karane's "pro" dating status came from three dates a few months ago with a boy named Karden that she ended up feeling apathetic towards after only a week.

"No, we have to get you kissed by someone you're not in a play with, at least! You're fourteen, Z! Let's get on that!"

Zelda was beyond uncomfortable with the turn this conversation had taken. Wasn't this chat originally about her becoming a Knight? How did they get to this?

"I…" Zelda's face burned. She was surprised that there wasn't smoke rising through her scalp. "I might have kept something from you."

Karane scooted closer, ready to hear anything.

"I didn't want to kiss Jardon and have that be my first kiss. I didn't want twenty people watching me on stage the first time. So… I might have asked someone for help."

"What!" Karane nearly fell backwards. Her legs tensed and she had to stand up, walking around the bridge so she was facing Zelda. "Tell me who! I have to know!"

Zelda noticed that she'd begun to pick at her fingernail. Her eyes drifted beyond Karane, to the small clearing she and Link often hung out in. He was there, laughing with Fledge. Fledge's hands were gesturing in a wild way, telling some exciting stories no doubt.

Karane followed her gaze. "Fledge?" she hissed. "You kissed Fledge and didn't tell me!"

Zelda looked over at her friend with an exasperated look, prompting Karane to turn around once again. "Goddess, no! You didn't kiss Fledge. You kissed Link!"

Nodding, Zelda felt like she'd done something terribly wrong. She hadn't told Karane. But… but it wasn't Karane's secret. It was hers and Links.

"There's no way Link has told Pip because then I'd know. Goddess, Zelda! How could you not tell me! That's such a betrayal! I tell you everything. Half of Skyloft, your father included, thinks you've only ever kissed Jardon. But you've kissed more boys than me!"

Wincing, Zelda closed her eyes. "Don't say it like that. Link was helping me. I asked for his help."

Crossing her arms, Karane turned away and leaned against the bridge. "I just wish you'd told me. I tell you everything."

"Stop saying that. I feel bad, okay?"

Karane nodded. "Fine. But I've always wanted to know… is Link a good kisser?"

Zelda's eyes widened and she felt an unexpected pang of emotion swell in her chest. Something she hadn't felt in this way. Sure, she felt it when she saw other kids with their mothers, but she'd never felt this over a simple question. "Why do you want to know?" Zelda asked with a forced laugh, trying to keep her voice casual.

"He's so quiet, even around me. I figured… I don't know… maybe that made him a good kisser."

Zelda narrowed her eyes. "How does that even make sense?"

"I don't know. Just tell me! Who was better: Link or Jardon?"

Zelda stood up, giving Karane an exasperated look. "This is one of the reasons I didn't tell you. I don't want to answer that, so I'm not going to."

"Fine," Karane said, her disappointment apparent. "You know, Pip should be coming back soon and then we have to study for a class that you don't have. You could have it, but you don't."

"Don't, Karane."

"Fine," she said again. "Well, you'll get an elective next year. We get swordsmanship, and you get a free elective. What are you thinking?"

"Music," she answered without hesitation. "I want to play something."

"Like?"

Shrugging, Zelda tried to think of everything she might take. "Lyre?"

"That's such a boring instrument. You should get maracas! Shake, shake, shake!" Karane shook around in a little dance as she sang her words.

Zelda laughed. "Stick to being a Knight. You'd be horrible as a musician!"

Karane joined in her laughter, not the least bit offended. "I missed my true calling! My time has passed!"

"Come on," Zelda said, feeling a little better. "We can go back to the room before you have to go study."

But Karane's face had fallen, and she grabbed Zelda's arm without looking at her. "Wait."

Zelda followed her gaze to see that Link and Fledge were no longer alone.

Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch were standing just feet away from where Link stood. He was angled in front of Fledge, blocking the three's path to him.

Taking an instinctive step forward, Zelda's eyes met Link's. She could see him shake his head ever so slightly. He didn't want her to go over.

"We should help," she tried anyway.

But Karane had seen Link's motion as well. "He doesn't want us to. Maybe it's a guy thing? Maybe he has to stand up to Groose on his own."

"I don't really care," Zelda mumbled, but she stayed put, watching carefully. She wished they could at least get closer to hear what was happening. It would give her a better sense of the situation.

She could only watch, interpreting Link's movements as best she could. He was in a position that gave off the impression that he was relaxed, but she could see that he was tense and mocking Groose instead. There was an easy grin on his face as he let Groose speak. But she could see him respond, something that was rare for Link when he confronted Groose.

But whatever it was that he said, it set Groose off.

In an instant, Groose had landed a hard punch against Link's face, and in response, Cawlin and Strich joined in, each hitting him in succession.

Link was able to get them both off of him, dodging one of Groose's harder looking hits and landing one of his own straight in the giant's gut.

Zelda felt her feet move. This wasn't something she could just watch. Behind her, she could hear Karane following.

"Link!"

Karane grabbed Zelda's arm, stopping her from throwing herself between the four fighting boys.

Link held his own, landing several decent hits on each boy, but his face was already bruising, and he was no match against three of them. Groose pushed Link back long enough to motion to Cawlin and Stritch. Both boys grabbed one of Link's arms, holding him still so he couldn't resist Groose's new assault.

"No! Stop!" Zelda cried, feeling Karane's restraining arms holding her tighter.

"Fledge, help me!" Karane called, knowing there was no way she could stop three boys on her own. But Fledge remained where he stood, frozen in absolute terror. With nothing else she could do, Karane made sure she had Zelda tightly in her arms, and that in itself was a struggle. Zelda was squirming and screaming, her body doubled over as she thrashed. Karane began to shout as well, hoping someone would hear. It was their only shot.

Zelda couldn't hear her own screams. They were a mix of pleading appeals to Groose, and terror as she watched Link's body jerk back with every hit.

"Groose stop!" she finally heard herself say just as she broke free of Karane. Without thinking, she pushed Groose back and moved to stand between him and Link. She closed her eyes tight and waited for his fist to accidently hit her, but it didn't come.

"Zelda!" he cried, sounding genuinely frightened.

She opened her eyes and saw his look of shock and fear. He'd nearly hit her instead of Link. She breathed a sigh of relief, though she couldn't understand why she was so important to Groose when Link was little more than dirt to him.

She spun on her heel and turned to face Cawlin and Stritch. "Let. Him. Go."

She noticed that Karane was behind Cawlin, pulling his arm away before Zelda had spoken.

Cawlin already feared Zelda and her influence with her father. Now that he was headmaster, Cawlin knew that Zelda could have them expelled with a single sentence. He was quick to drop his hold on Link's arm, and Stritch followed suit. Zelda went to catch Link, but under his unexpected collapsing weight, they both crumpled to the ground.

Groose moved to help Zelda, but her head whipped in his direction. "Don't even come near him," she threatened.

"Karane! Link! Zelda!" they heard. Pipit was running to meet them, immediately stepping in front of Groose, blocking Link and Zelda with his body.

"What's all this screaming?" asked a Knight, flying above them from the edge of Skyloft. "Whoa!" he said when he saw the scene, hopping off his Loftwing and giving it a hand signal before it flew off. "What happened?"

Cawlin immediately ripped himself from Karane's hold. Tears sprang from his eyes. "That stupid kid started beating us up! We were defending ourselves!"

"Lies!" Zelda screamed, eyes burning into Cawlin. "They started it. They ganged up on Link, three to one. Karane and I tried to help!"

The Knight looked between them all. "I'm not authorized to make any decisions about who started it, but I can send you all back to your rooms at the Academy!"

Another Knight flew up beside the first. "What's the matter?" she asked before stopping and dismounting as well.

"Okay, let's go! That's enough. You two!" she said pointing to Pipit and Fledge, who seemed to be the least involved in any of this. "Go get the Headmaster and get Owlan. Tell him that I'm sending this kid," she gestured to Groose, "back to his room. He can get any treatment there. This kid," she looked at Link, "looks terrible. Tell Owlan to come out here first."

She looked at the first Knight. "Bring the less injured one to his room."

The Knight nodded and held Groose by the arm as they went back toward the Academy.

The female Knight looked at Karane. "What was your part?"

But Zelda jumped in. "She didn't do anything! She just pulled Cawlin off Link."

Karane nodded, bobbing her head nervously.

The Knight sighed. "Go back to your room. Don't talk to anyone, just go."

Karane ran. Full-speed ran back to the Academy.

The Knight turned. There was a third appearing behind her. "Good, get down and bring these two boys into an empty room," she said, pointing to Cawlin and Stritch. "Jak will fill you in."

The Knight did as they were told, leaving Link and Zelda remaining.

Zelda was supporting Link with her arms, and Link was wheezing, struggling to take any deep breaths still.

"Your part?" she asked Zelda.

"I tried to fight them off!" she said quickly.

But Link sat up as best he could. "No," he gasped out. His voice was little more than a whisper. "She's covering for me. She did nothing."

"No!"

"Stop!" he hissed, though it was more from pain than anger.

The Knight held up her hand. "Fine, I don't care who's fault it is. Just don't…" she trailed off, looking at Link's sorry state. Instead, she turned to Zelda. "Just don't move."

It wasn't long until Owlan and Gaepora hurried outside, moving faster when they saw Link.

"What happened?" Gaepora asked, grabbing Zelda protectively. He pulled her into a hug, though his eyes rested on Link's battered body.

Owlan was quick to start assessing Link's wounds. With a few gentle presses to Link's abdomen, Owlan shook his head. "Broken ribs, maybe. At least bruised."

Gaepora turned to Link, waiting for an answer, though he still held Zelda tightly. She wanted to break free.

Link grimaced and sat up with Owlan's help, ignoring the Instructor's protests in the meantime. "I'd rather not say."

Gaepora scoffed. "I don't care what you'd rather do, Link. Tell me what happened."

"It'll embarrass a friend."

"I don't care about that either. I have to know."

Resigned, Link nodded. "Groose came over and saw Fledge and I. Basically, he threatened to throw Fledge off the edge to force him to fly. He grabbed Fledge by the shirt and I pushed him back. He told me that I'd be the next one over, but Fledge… started to cry. When Groose said something about how much danger Skyloft would be in when he became a Knight, I might have called him… a name… or something. That's what started it."

Zelda watched Owlan carefully help Link to his feet. "Can you walk?" Link nodded, and Owlan put his arm around his back, supporting him with as much strength as he could, given Link's wounds. "Don't worry, we'll finish this conversation later when you've been taken care of."

Gaepora nodded his agreement to Owlan and then turned his attention to his daughter. "Zelda… how were you involved?"

But she barely heard him. "Link is trying to be a hero, but he had nothing to do with starting the fight. I saw it happen with Karane! I couldn't hear what they said, but Link was standing so far away from Groose when Groose punched him! Link was just defending himself and Fledge! Then, Karane and I tried to stop Groose, Cawlin, and Strich, but I got between them and…"

"You what?"

"...and I got Groose to back off. Karane had to pull Cawlin off Link! He wouldn't let go! They're horrible, Dad! They can't keep hurting Link! Then the Knights showed up and it was just a mess. But Link was defending everyone!"

Gaepora tried to let his brain catch up with how fast she was speaking. He finally put his hand on her shoulder. "If that's the truth, then Groose will face a severe punishment. But Link was also fighting, and he has to also be punished. We don't condone violence here. The Sparring Hall is the only place for that behavior."

"Then do I get in trouble?"

Gaepora grimaced. "No, Zelda. Standing between two people is not fighting. Though I have to beg you not to get in the middle of a fight. People's adrenaline is going so fast that they might not even notice you until it's too late. Please, don't do that again. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

Zelda took a step toward the Academy, but her father grabbed her arm and moved her back. "No. Not until we get to the bottom of everything. You go straight to your room, not to see Link."

"Fine," she said with an unmistakable attitude.

So, for several hours, she sat alone in her room. Karane wasn't allowed back in until the incident had been resolved, and Zelda couldn't even bring herself to do her homework. She just sat… and waited.

When she heard the long-awaited knock on her door, she whipped it open to see her father. "Go ahead."

She scurried past him and took the stairs two steps at a time. When she opened Link's door, he turned his head to her. She couldn't even bring herself to smile encouragingly as she looked him over.

His face was highlighted by a deep purple bruise just over his left cheek, but the worst bruises were covered with a blanket that he'd pulled up. It was chilly inside, but he was in too much pain to put on a new shirt. Judging from how he winced when he moved, she had a feeling that might be his outlook on life for the next few weeks.

"Are you alright?" she finally managed.

Link just nodded and winced as he took a breath, almost like proof that his ribs had injured.

Zelda took a few steps inside. "What happened? You got punished for fighting."

"No class with Master Kos for almost two months. Firs, so I have time to recover, and second, I'm just in trouble."

"What happened to Groose? Do you know?"

Link nodded. "Expelled. But your dad said not to get too excited. Groose's parents apparently have a lot more pull here than we think. He said that Groose will likely only be suspended and sent home for a while before being allowed to return."

"What? That's horrible! I'll talk to him!"

"Zelda! Wait!" Link said, sitting up too quickly. He hissed and fell back onto his pillow.

But Link had moved enough that some of his blankets had fallen and Zelda could see his blue and black chest. Her eyes widened, horrified. "He did that?"

"I'm fine," Link said dismissively.

"When are you ever going to stop fighting him? You want to be a Knight, but you keep getting into fights with someone who isn't worth it! I know you were defending Fledge, but you don't have to fight!"

"I do have to."

"Why?" Zelda demanded, getting angry. "You're training to be a Knight. You don't have anything to prove."

Link adjusted himself so he could get a better look at Zelda. "Fledge is my friend. He's someone who I can understand. We're both afraid of things. But I can't be afraid of everything, and Groose or Cawlin or Stritch won't ever make my list. I won't let them. So I have to stand up to them the only way I know how. Like you said, I'm a Knight-in-Training. All I'm good at is fighting."

"That's not true! You're the best person I know, and you're good at being a friend. And you are brave. Years ago, you stopped me from falling off Skyloft. Today, you saved Fledge. You defend people who can't defend themselves. You have strength, you have skill. I have nothing! I'm not Karane. She's much stronger. I'm glad that I could do something for once!"

Link couldn't help moving, aggravating his injuries. He clinched his fist, hoping he might forget the pain. "Stop," Link said. "You stepped in front of a giant today and called off three Knights. You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for." He paused, debating his next move before making it, needing to say it. "But Zelda, you almost got hit today. Because of me. Can you even guess how much that would have hurt? Do you remember when we were kids and you tried to stop Cawlin and I from fighting? You got knocked over. Something so much worse could have happened today because you put yourself between two jerks who couldn't stop fighting. I'm not worth you getting hurt. I'm not worth that."

That made Zelda angry. While she could see his point about being injured, his words struck her like a blow.

"You're worth everything to me, Link!" she said, taking a defiant step forward. "You're my best friend and if you think I'm going to watch someone hold you down and beat you up ever again, you're sorely mistaken. Don't ever say that to me again. Don't say you're not worth it. Don't insult my best friend in front of me ever again." She took a breath. She'd been far angrier than she realized. "Okay, you know what? Get some sleep. I'll come visit you along with everyone tomorrow."

"Hey!" he called as she turned to leave. But she stopped and waited for him. He sat up with another wince. "Thank you. I'm the luckiest guy to get to call you my best friend."

Zelda stopped in his doorway and grinned. "Now that's more like it."

Closing his door behind her, she let out a deep breath. How many times could she call him 'best friend' before he realized it was a placeholder for something more?

A/N: I think it was good to have a more Zelda-centric chapter in here. I'm much more used to writing primarily from Zelda's perspective, so sticking more with Link is a challenge and I'm calling this perspective-allowance my birthday gift haha! Anyway, it got a little bit 'real' violent here, and I wasn't sure if I should put a warning at the top because of the fight, but if anyone was upset by it, just let me know and I'll definitely add a warning. Anyway, Happy Easter (or belated Easter)!

Reviews! Clemage: Thank you and thank you for reading! I think Skyward could do really well with some mechanics tweaking (like FFVII just did) and a port to the Switch so more people have the chance to play it. Guest: I'm so glad it isn't just me. It was driving me nuts! Draegor: Thank you again! *cracks knuckles* I'm on it! RandomFF. netUser: I read that the game starts when Link is 17 1/2, so I was thinking of just rounding it up to 18 and giving myself a little bit of wiggle room between the chapters. Right now, I'm THINKING maybe around 20 chapters, but probably not more than 25. Now that they're older, I feel more comfortable writing more than 1 or 2 chapters per age. Cosmo14: I got three chapters done (that aren't chronological), so I was more inspired after this chapter ends.I think this chapter builds on his need for discipline and not just strength or courage. Hrmm sounding like a 'trifecta' of sorts! Hahaha! But I definitely have some Loftwing ideas floating around! And Groose is a bit more than annoying right now, but he always seemed like the childhood bully to me, even if SS gives him his redemption arc. I'm glad you like the quiet scenes though!