I'M STILL ALIVE! Sorry for the late (very late) update, hopefully you all still have an interest in this story, but anyway, you've all waited long enough, time for Chapter 3 or the Threads of Destiny
Chapter 3
It was close to sun down when Zelda finally decided to awaken her blond companion from his nap. "Link, time to wake up," She spoke softly while gently patting his cheek. Link groaned in his sleep but otherwise made no reaction and no indication of waking. Zelda sighed at his reaction, but the smile on her face never faltered. Deciding to change her tactics, Zelda raised Link's sleeping form up a little so that his head rested just underneath her chin up against her breast. Link stirred and rolled his head subconsciously making himself more comfortable. This caused Zelda's face to flush and her body to immediately stiffen. She fought back the urge to slap him and throw him off of her on the notion that he was still asleep and wasn't aware of what he was doing.
Besides, it wasn't like she was uncomfortable with it, or that it was particularly unpleasant. Just surprising was all. Were it anyone else, Zelda would have been rather furious, but it was ok if it was Link. Besides Zelda realized it was her own fault for putting his head there anyway. She giggled to herself before trying to wake her beloved friend again.
"Link, wake up sleepy head," she spoke in a sweet calm voice that she knew would venture to Link even as he was lost in his own dream world.
Link found himself staring up at the moon, partially hidden by its veil in the clouds. The ground was covered in sand where he stood, further away to one side of him was a large abundance of vegetation, trees and ferns the like of which he'd never seen before. Those beautiful pink flowers specifically caught his eye. They seemed to give off a dim glow that reflected off the nearby plants in the night. On the other side of where he stood there was a vast body of water, so large that Link couldn't think of anything to compare it to other than the sky itself. The waves in the water reflected the moon's glow as they crashed calmly against the sandy shore.
It was weird, as if he were just spectating, unable to control his body as he brought his hands up to his face as if seeing then stained or tainted. His body let out a sigh and sat in the sand, hands falling to the ground supporting his weight as he continued to stare up to the moon. He felt unbelievably sour and tired, but sleep seemed like it would always linger just beyond his reach. Listening to the crashing of the waves, a calm presence washed over him. He felt two silky arms wrap their way around his back, followed by someone resting their head on the back of his neck. He froze, he didn't even hear them sneaking up on him. The figure's hair slid down over his shoulder. He heard the figure speak, an oddly familiar voice that immediately allowed him to figure out who the person was. Her voice was so familiar, he knew who she was, but he just couldn't remember her name and it drove him insane. His body relaxed again as he felt her breath on the back of his neck. He placed one hand on top of where her hands met.
Link heard his body respond, the two spoke but he couldn't understand what they were saying; their voices sounded muffled to his ears, as though he could only hear sounds and the phrases that they made almost like they were talking underwater. Judging from the tone of his body's voice it seemed as though he were troubled, but by what Link couldn't even guess. The two of them sat there watching the waves hit the shore in the calmness of the night as the moon began to sink ever closer towards the watery horizon.
He felt the woman pull him back towards her as she began to work her fingers through and undoing the straps that had been holding his armor on. Armor he wasn't even aware he'd been wearing. She gently set the two pauldrons, crafted from steel polished to glimmer like silver in the moonlight trimmed with gold around the edges on the ground beside them. She then settled his head down against her chest as she wrapped one arm around his torso and weaved her fingers through his hair. A new sound began to resound in his ears, it was soft and rhythmic and hypnotizing all at the same time. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. It was so peaceful and relaxing he couldn't help but feel his eyelids getting heavier for the first time in days.
"Link, wake up sleepy head," he heard quietly, softly as if calling from the edges of time. Why would he wake up? He was finally about to go to sleep; besides even if he wanted to get up his body was against the idea. He just felt so… so right where he was, like it was where he was supposed to be, why would he get up? But the voice kept his conscious going just enough to keep it from crossing over the final ledge to the rest he so desperately needed.
The woman supporting him must have felt his persistent restlessness as she began to hum a gentle tune. He recognized the tune; it was a lullaby, one which he had heard her sing it to young children before, how Link knew this was beyond him. The lullaby in conjunction with the rhythmic beat he was hearing tore apart what little persistent resistance his mind had against sleep and he felt his eyes finally close, his mind being pulled far beyond physical reach.
The first thing Link realized when he felt his conscious slowly ebb back into his body was that whatever his pillow may be it was very soft and warm. Then his still waking mind was able to hear that rhythmic beat once more, much clearer now than in the dream.
The dream… Just the thought of it made his mind race. What was it about? Who were those characters? What were they talking about? Where were they? Such questions made his thoughts race, only serving to wake him up further. Was it really just a dream? He felt the tiredness and the soreness of his body in the dream, was it real or just his imagination? Still having the lingering sensation that his body was sleep deprived Link Let out a grunt at the realization that he was waking up.
Zelda must have heard him for he could hear her giggle at him as his pillow moved in time with the sound. It was then that he suddenly realized that the soothing rhythmic beat he'd been hearing was really her heart beat, and if he could hear it so clearly then…
His eyes shot open and all he saw was the chest pink dress that his beloved friend wore that day. The sudden realization of the situation he was in caused his face to flush as he leaped from his spot and landed on a heap just in front of her, stammering apologies left and right.
"Zelda, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know! I didn't mean too-"He rushed out trying his very best not to look at her and calm the ferocious blush his face still held. She couldn't help but giggle some more at his reaction.
"It's ok Link," She said calmly as she reached over and took his elbow making him face her. "You don't have to apologize for anything." Link looked at her as if her words were an angel's song. He became nervous though as he saw that mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'll be your pillow anytime you want, but only if you will be mine in return," she said in a playful voice as she quickly closed the distance between their bodies so that they barely grazed each other and batted her eyes at him. "Promise?"
Link chuckled nervously as his blush; having just faded began to return. He tried to put a comfortable space between them, but Zelda kept up with him every step he made. Even as he slipped and fell on his bottom, she followed him all the way to the ground up until she was almost on top of him. "S-sure, I-I promise," Link responded focusing his eyes on hers rather than letting his thoughts drift, his face flustered a bright tomato red. He saw that glint in her eyes flash again as she quickly jumped to her feet with a blissful expression on her face, as if that whole awkwardly intimate situation they were in had absolutely no effect on her.
"That's great!" She exclaimed. "But we should probably save that for another time, the sun is almost down, maybe some other night?" she added with a flirtatious wink, leaving Link babbling nonsense. She giggled again before continuing. "Gosh Link, I'm just kidding, but seriously, we should probably get back, especially since in the morning you have to…" her voice trailed off and her expression went instantly from playful to that full of worry.
"Zelda, It'll be fine, no matter what happens tomorrow I'll be just fine, just you wait," Link said wrapping an arm around her shoulders, trying to cheer the blonde haired girl. He threw her a smile that she returned albeit a little hesitantly.
"Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't be worrying about it; after all I know you'll win!" Zelda returned, her words and smile making him melt as overwhelming warmth filled him.
'Goddess Zel, how do you do that?' Link thought to himself as he felt his face flush again. He was pulled from his thoughts as Zelda tugged his arm, rather gently, back to their waiting loftwings.
The flight back was quiet and peaceful, as the sun's last golden rays filled the evening sky. Zelda couldn't help but revel in how the light reflected off of their birds as they danced through the heaven's tides. Down below she could just barely make out the people of Skyloft as they scurried about to take care of the last of their business before the day ended. She saw the crimson loftwing and its rider slowly glide ahead of her before dipping down towards the city. Quickly looking back to the horizon just to see the sun finally dipping beneath the horizon, she realized just how late it was and followed her friend's lead and descended.
Night flying could be very dangerous as that was when bandit activity was at its strongest, despite Skyloft air space being the safest for leagues in all directions. But bandits were not the only dangers in the sky. There were still many unexplored islands, each one possibly containing its own inhabitants and dangers. The knights have therefore warned everyone about night flying until it had become an unspoken law throughout Skyloft and her colonies. The only ones who usually fly are the night watch patrols.
The two of them landed gracefully in the main plaza next to the large white marble lighthouse that overlooked the city. From there they saw the last of the golden light slowly be replaced with the indigo of the night. The loftwings took off back into the sky to where their nests were made on the small islands near the goddess statue off to the north. This left Link and Zelda on their own while the city slowly readjusted for the night life.
With a smile Zelda began to lead the way back to the academy's dormitories. Along the way the two of them over heard the few people outside talking about the scene that Link had made earlier.
"And so then Link challenged Groose to a duel!" a young woman carrying a basket full of vegetables said to her companion, a woman who looked similar, as if her sister, carrying a basket full of freshly baked bread.
"Really? I never thought Link would ever do such a thing," the other woman said.
"That's just it, he did because Groose was insulting Zelda and her relationship with him," the first woman said. "That's when Link got fed up and challenged Groose! All for Zelda," She added. Link hadn't noticed that he and Zelda had slowed down just enough to keep hearing their conversation.
"Really? Oh, that's so romantic!" The other woman said. She looked up from her companion and spotted the two teens. "Oh look, there they are now, together as always," she said with a sigh as if his and Zelda's lives were just something straight out of a novel.
"Hey, isn't that a betroval belt? You know what that means-" Link didn't get to hear the rest of what she was going to say as Zelda grabbed Link by the arm and pulled him on with all of her strength, urging him to go faster. Were he not so focused on maintaining his balance he would have seen how flushed Zelda's face was.
"Word really travels around fast doesn't it Link?" Zelda asked him after a few seconds.
"Well, Yeah, I mean it's a big city and I did make quite a scene there, how would it not have traveled around town by now?" Link replied a little confused.
"I suppose you're right," Zelda replied.
"By the way, what's a betroval belt?" Link asked he could have sworn he saw Zelda visibly jump and her face flush. 'The twilight must be playing tricks on me,' he figured. That is until he saw Zelda fidget with her hands a little as she swerved her head as if looking for something, anything.
"Look!" She suddenly said pointing up ahead of them further down the path. "There's the academy! Let's go!" Zelda said suddenly changing the topic of the conversation. This time Link was ready for her when she grabbed his hand and tugged him along the last of the path.
They made their way onto the academy's campus and just as they were passing the mess hall were they stopped. "Link! Zelda!" a voice called out to them. The two turned to see a boy with rosy pink cheeks and short almost viridian hair wearing a long sleeved cyan shirt under his orange tunic. He wore baggy white pants that only revealed just how scrawny he was at his boots. He also had a blue scarf fastened to his shoulder by a simple brooch.
"Fledge?" Zelda responded to the boy as he ran over to the two of them, stopping to catch his breath once he reached them.
"I've been looking for you guys all over today," He said once he settled down. "The contestants for the Wing Ceremony have been picked, come on you've got to see!" he exclaimed leading them back towards the central building of the academy where most classes took place. Once they were where Fledge had directed them in the lobby, they noticed the new Paper posted on the bulletin board.
This Year's Annual Wing Festival Contestants are:
Cawlin
Groose
Link
Stritch
Contestants Chosen based on their outstanding grades and performance in and out of classes
Train hard and Good Luck to our fine Contestants
-Head Master Gaepora
The rest of the sheet listed the rules of the race, as well as that the winner will automatically be moved up a grade without taking the exams. Zelda wasn't paying attention to any of that. Her eyes were trained on the names, notably the one that was missing.
"What? How come you're not on here Zel?" Link asked her. "You're way better than these two," he added motioning to Cawlin and Stritchs' names.
"Oh! That actually reminds me," Fledge said pounding his fist lightly on his palm. "Zelda, the Head Master was looking for you earlier," he said. No sooner than he mentioned her father did Zelda turn and start marching her way towards his office, the rest of his words fell to deaf ears.
"Fledge, have you eaten yet, I'm starving," Link said after watching his best friend disappeared from sight. He knew her well enough to know when she was upset, and he also knew when to stay out of her way when she was upset.
Fledge didn't have to say anything as his stomach answered for him with a mighty growl. He silently followed Link into the cafeteria for dinner.
Zelda didn't even bother to knock as she turned the door knob to Gaepora's office. She didn't even realize that someone else was already in there having a discussion with the Head Master.
"-And so I think it is only a matter of time until-!" the figure said. They urgently stopped speaking as Zelda barged in the room.
"Zelda! There you are, where have you been all day?" Gaepora said. The tone in his voice sound almost relieved at her unexpected arrival. The smile on his face told the same story Warm smile met scowl as Zelda stared back at the man.
Before the blond could even answer the question it was brushed aside. "Ah, It doesn't matter come, have a seat," Gaepora said motioning to the only vacant chair. It was then that she had noticed the other person in the room.
"Oh! Elder Ilia!" Zelda said as her face flushed in embarrassment. She did a quick curtsy to the elderly woman. Her white robes gleamed in the light along with her silver hair.
"It is no trouble dear, actually I'm glad you came," The elder said. Despite the warm smile Ilia gave, Zelda still felt a little uncomfortable around her. She was like that with most of the city elders, but with Ilia it was more so, she was just different, she always had this mysterious sense about her that made it seem she knew more than she would let on. Not to mention she was the one who had raised link up until his teen years, and that she was a member of the Elder Council.
Ilia also motioned for Zelda to sit down, to which she did, despite the awkwardness of the situation. She sat with her back straight and her hands folded in her lap with her fingers fidgeting with the fabric of her dress.
"Yes well, I'm sure you've seen who I've chosen for the Wing Ceremony's race-" Gaepora started.
"Cawlin and Stritch don't even have the best grades, though," Zelda mumbled out unintentionally interrupting her father.
"Well yes, but-"he tried again.
"Is it because I'm your daughter? Is that why? You can't show favoritism?" Zelda asked again. She was a little upset now as she fought back the tears that threatened to stain her cheeks.
"We on the Elder Council thought it better that you not compete," Ilia started causing Zelda to turn and face her, the first sign of tears in her eyes. Before the blond could ask why the elder continued, "Rather, if you would accept, we would be honored if you would play the role of the goddess in the ceremony."
Zelda was taken aback. The role of the goddess was the one of the most important jobs in the ceremony. She would present the "goddess's hero," the contestant who would win the race, a sailcloth and finish the blessing ritual then aid in helping the young children meet their loftwings.
She immediately remembered that Link was one of the contestants and just the thought of taking part in such an honorable and important role seemed like a dream come true for her. Not to mention it might help him come clean to her about his feelings, and if he did, then their relationship could finally move forward...
Realizing that she still had to accept the role, Zelda's first couple of attempts at making words only succeeding in making unintelligible gibberish. With a quick shake of her head she calmed herself down before smiling a warm smile at the elder. "I would be honored to accept the role, thank you!" she said.
Ilia responded with a smile of her own as she nodded. "Very good then, now I'll give you a brief overview of what you will be expected to do," she said. For the next couple of hours or so Zelda was briefed on the role she would take up, the responsibilities she would be expected to fill as well as the traditions she would be expected to keep up.
"So I have to make the sailcloth myself?" Zelda asked. While she had made several different pieces of clothing not only for herself but for Link as well, she had never had such an important project. It made her a little nervous.
"Well yes, but if you need help many of us can help you make it, however I don't think that will be necessary," Ilia spoke. "I've seen your tapestry skills with my own eyes, including that betroval belt."
Zelda paled and immediately stiffened at that. She flushed as she felt her father's gaze burn into her as she forced herself to look away from him, but in the corner of her eyes she could see that "we'll talk later" look on his face. As she struggled to avoid the awkwardness of the current situation she began wondering how the elder knew about that belt. 'The only person who knew was Krane, and that's because I needed a place to hide it whenever Father or Link were in my room,' she thought to herself. Shifting her gaze out the window behind her father's desk she could easily see the path that she and Link had trotted up on their way back to the academy. It dawned on her that she must have seen them coming.
"So, any questions?" Ilia asked the blond. Zelda shook her head.
"No, not at the moment at least," Zelda responded. The elder nodded her head and winked at the blond sending her a nonverbal message as her eyes quickly moved over to the door. Zelda immediately caught on to what she was getting at and made ready to leave.
"Very well then, I expect you have many things to do now, so I'll not keep you," Ilia said as she dismissed the blond. Zelda nodded and rose from her chair as she made straight for the door.
"Zelda wait-" Gaepora started but was cut off as Ilia walked right into his view of his daughter.
"Now then, back to what I was saying earlier," She said once the sound of the door closing vibrated through the office.
It didn't take long for Zelda to get to Link's room. Fishing through her bag she found the spare room key that he'd given her years ago. He had one for her room as well; they hardly ever used them and never mentioned them to anyone as it was against academy regulations to share room keys, especially to different genders. Yet they had managed. Looking left and right Zelda saw nobody in the halls as she fit the key snuggly into the key slot and turned it. She felt more than she heard the lock disengage and quietly opened the door.
The first thing she saw was Link's face glimmering in the moonlight shining through the window. He was fast asleep, sprawled out all over his bed with the blankets cluttered all over him. His messy unkempt blond hair was darker than normal leading Zelda to summarize that he had already bathed and had thus long since been asleep.
She couldn't help but have a loving look on her face. "Good night sleepy head, sweet dreams," she whispered as she gently closed the door and locked it again. Deciding she'd tell him in the morning she left towards the stairs not even bothering to notice Ilia watching her from a distance, a small smile on her face the whole time.
Zelda quickly made it back to her room grabbed her night cloths made it to the girls bathroom, washed changed and then back to her room again without any disruptions or problems. When she laid down in her bed gripping one of her throw pillows in a hug it felt like she was being tugged from her body as she instantly fell asleep with a smile plastered on her face.
She stood in a clearing surrounded by trees. Trees she had never seen before but looked ever so familiar. There were so many of them. Fir trees and deciduous trees mixed together in a collage that seemed like it went on forever. Some tress were bigger than others, some thicker than others. There were some large mushrooms nearby as well, about half as tall as her. But none were taller or thicker than the massive tree that stood just above the horizon.
The moon and stars illuminated the earth and sky as she gazed at the astonishing environment around her. Even from the distance she was at, she could make out a breathtakingly beautiful structure built into the massive tree high up. It looked almost like a city, but for whom she couldn't fathom. The tree itself soared higher than the clouds, only the lowest of its branches could be seen beneath the veil of clouds that surrounded the massive marvel of nature.
It was then that Zelda noticed a faint thin red thread flicker as it bent its way through the thicket of trees leading to goddess knows where. But the thread perplexed her and her curiosity had made her follow the string all the way back to where, to her own amazement she saw that it protruded from her chest. Zelda saw her body as if rippled and shifted as if she were a phantasm or a being of water. The silk white dress that hung too her body rippled and shifted just like her. She then noticed that she was standing on a glowing symbol of some sort. The light was too bright for her to be able to discern the design.
"Your Grace," A melodic yet emotionless voice said to her side. Turning to face the speaker Zelda saw a very pale skinned woman with cyan hair and matching cyan eyes hovering just above the ground. The cyan and purple dress that she wore had sleeves long enough to cover her frail arms. Her black leggings, laced with the same shade of cyan as her hair and the rest of her dress. At the center of her chest where the long draping sleeves met sat a sapphire diamond that glimmered in the moonlight. "I calculate a 70 percent chance that we shall find Master Link at that large tree, I suggest we proceed."
Zelda felt her body nod, despite all the questions that were running through her head. 'Where am I? What's wrong with my body? Where did this dress come from? Who are you? What's with the "Your Grace?"' But the most prominent question rang louder than the others. 'Where's Link? Is he okay?'
Just as she took the first step outside the weird glowing glyph on the ground did she feel a pull on her consciousness
With a slight grumble Zelda opened her eyes to see the early rays of light beginning to lift above the horizon. Looking out the window she figured the sun would rise in just a few moments. She was suddenly wide awake and alert.
"The Duel!" she exclaimed.
Alright let's stop there, I'm almost at 5k words for this chapter and I'm sleepy. Sorry about the severe delay in updating this, I spent time working/college/planning this story out so please forgive me. The next chapter will be the duel that you've all probably been waiting for… for realz this time I promise. Now then, If you have any questions about what transpired in this chapter (or previous chapters feel free to ask away, I'll happily answer then. And if you decide to be awesome and leave a review, I'll do my best to get back to you, so till next time, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! R&R
-Knownobody