Chapter 5: Home

Zelda frantically tried to keep all of the different questions coming at her at once straight. She was seated on the table inside the academy and listening to her bridal party. The older women were sewing some of the more intricate details of the wedding gown that hung nearby while Karane, Orielle, Piper, and little Kukiel talked with the bride. Karane, playing the Goddess in the ceremony, was the head of the party and so she was helping Zelda make decisions while the other women fired questions at her.

"Do you want the lanterns to be the same blue as your Loftwing?"

"What colors do you want incorporated into the decorations?"

"Where are you even going to have the ceremony, down there?"

"Will there be cake?"

"I WANT CAKE!"

Karane silenced the group. "The bride will answer one question at a time. We don't want to overwhelm her." She looked at Zelda. "What do you have to input, bride?"

Zelda touched her finger to her lip. "Well…. To your lantern question, I'd like the ones sent to the Goddess to be white, in honor of the Goddess's representational color… For the luminaries leading to the ceremony and signaling the forest's best landing spot, I want blue and red, like our Loftwings." She smiled. "I think gold and white colored decorations at the ceremony would be pretty."

"Alright, we have our color scheme. So, where on the surface…Hyrule… do you want to have it?"

Zelda thought about it for a moment. "There is… a great tree. It's not too far from the town we're building. There are some pretty ruins behind it that lead deeper into the woods and a small pool of water at the tree's base. I'd like to have it there, in that clearing, I think." She kicked her dangling legs a little. "The Kikwi tribe can help us make the path there easily accessible from the town. We can clear a trail."

Karane nodded. "I'll tell Pipit to maybe check it out while he's on guard duty. What was the next thing on the list?"

"Cake!" squeaked Kukiel, excitedly.

Zelda giggled and looked at Piper. She knew that she would be in charge of creating that since she made the food in the bazaar. "Piper, I'd like a cake, if you can make one, please. The only requirements I really have are that it will be pretty and taste delicious." The woman smiled and nodded, happy to accept the task for the girl.

"Now, as for the wedding customs…. "Karane began asking about the details of the ceremony and who would be a part of it.

"…And of course, we'll need to have a practice the day before," she wrapped up after several minutes. Zelda nodded and turned to look at her dress's progress.

She gasped.

It looked beautiful, and it was only half done. The women had finished the main skirt and were finishing up sewing the decorative skirts and bodice pieces. The pale purple and blue feathers her Loftwing had shed for her were still unattached, but Zelda could visualize where they were to be placed. The women had told her that they had a special surprise for her when they finished.

Zelda beamed and began to help Karane, Kukiel, and Orielle create the paper lanterns and luminaries that would be lit at the party on her wedding night.

…

Link laid under his tree on the surface, once again tired. It was another hot day and he had already helped the Skyloftians build two houses without a break. Groose had forced him to leave and take a rest. He only now realized how worn out he was from the difficult work. It was no wonder Fi had to constantly remind him about the percentage of his dwindling health and stamina, whatever that meant.

He began drifting off to sleep only to wake at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Pipit," Link greeted, sleepily.

The senior student nodded in greeting and crossed his arms. "Hey Link. Exhausted? It's always good to get some rest. It'll keep you going in the long run." He looked around. "This is my first time down here. I have to tell you, it really takes my breath away. It's so big and there are so many trees!"

Link smiled. "There are a lot more than trees down here. I hope you'll go exploring sometime soon."

Pipit hesitated. "Yes… I think that would be quite an experience." He turned to the Goddess statue. "I'm here to fulfill the honor of guarding the Triforce this afternoon for the first time."

Link yawned. "Well, it's up there. Go see what the knights want you to do," He flipped his green hat over his eyes. "I'm taking a nap. Do me a favor and watch over me as well."

Pipit shook his head. "Napping as always. Some things never change, Link. I'll keep an eye on you." He whistled and his Loftwing landed in the clearing.

Link listened as the birds flaps faded away and rolled to his side, holding his sword sheath next to him close to his body. He quickly fell into sleep's welcoming embrace.

Another dream.

This time, he watched from behind a magic diamond barrier as Ghirahim performed his sadistic ritual on Zelda. He winced as he heard her painful screams but he was trapped behind the wall and could not run to save her. Suddenly, Pipit leapt out of nowhere and began running down the spiral shaped land and cutting through monsters. He watched as Pipit quickly made it to Ghirahim and faced off against the demon. To his horror, he watched as Pipit was struck by the demon's blade and fell to his knees. Link remembered when he had once fell the same way as he was struck by Ghirahim. It was as if he was watching himself battle. He tried to break through the diamonds to aid Pipit, but nothing happened. Groose then manifested by his side, controlling the Groosenator, but the machine was firing harmless meowing remlits at the fashionable demon. Link growled in frustration as nothing was stopping Demise from taking Zelda's soul…

Link opened his eyes as the faint sunlight of Faron woods filtered through the trees. He covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath. These nightmares need to stop, he thought, frustrated with his mind.

He sat up and stretched, glancing up at the Goddess statue as he did so. At this angle, he could only see Pipit's yellow hat positioned near where the sacred Triforce was hidden. He knew Zelda was safe in Skyloft.

He blinked. Zelda hadn't been having nightmares lately. Maybe the wedding is keeping her mind off of everything, he reasoned. Perhaps tying the knot would also aid in curing him of his residual worries, but even so, the thought of living on the surface near stray monsters only added to his anxieties. Of course, Skyloft had always had some Keese and Chus living in the waterfall cave, but no one except the children were seriously afraid of them. Down in Hyrule, there were all sorts of creatures waiting to be discovered.

It was both exciting and terrifying.

Link believed his dream was warning him of the dangers his friends could potentially face by leaving the safe haven of Skyloft. Even though the evil had been destroyed, there were still some stray monsters residing on the surface that could possibly cause some problems. There were many knights that could protect the settlers, of course, but Link still worried about it.

Link glanced over at the builders and watched as more framing was raised into place. They were building the town exceptionally fast. At this pace, it would be ready to have people move in within a few weeks. He went to Groose, who was taking a water break of his own.

"You know, Link, maybe you should take the rest of the day off to help Zelda. It's your wedding too, bud." Groose said before chugging some water out of his glass bottle.

"Are you sure? We've been moving at such a great pace."

Groose nodded. "Go ahead. Pipit already agreed to take your spot when his shift is done. Which will be soon. He wants to start work on his own house."

Link smiled. He had already constructed the framing for his and Zelda's future home. It just needed put together, and he could do that another day. There was still time. "Thanks, Groose."

He headed to the clearing near the Goddess Bird Statue nearby and whistled for his Loftwing to retrieve him.

…

Zelda had just finished shopping at the bazaar. She placed her bags on a bench outside to alter her grip on the handles when she felt herself being pulled into a surprise attack hug from behind.

"Link! You nearly scared me to death!" She laughed and playfully hit him. He just grinned back. "Look what I got," she exclaimed excitedly, turning to her bags.

She pulled out a large strip of white fabric and some red and yellow thread. "I'm going to design a crest for Hyrule. I'm thinking I'll make it look kind of like the design on your sailcloth but with the Triforce added somewhere. We can use it as a banner in our house and maybe eventually put it in the castle somewhere!"

Link chuckled. "That castle isn't going to be done for a very long time. We'll be so old we might not even remember to put it up."

Zelda stuck her tongue out at him. "Did they let you take a break today?"

Link nodded and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yea… Apparently I've been working too hard down there and not enough up here."

Zelda laughed. "Well, you do need to try on what you'll be wearing in the wedding anyways. You can't just wear your normal knight uniform if you're the groom," she added, eyeing his weathered green tunic.

"Yes, yes. I'll do it. What do you need help with today?" He asked.

She looked around thoughtfully, then said, "Well, the preparations should be done within the week. But we still need to formally invite everyone! Karane and I already wrote all the invitations last night. Can you deliver them for me?"

Link nodded. "Of course!"

They went back to the knight academy and retrieved the stack of delicately rolled parchment invitations. Link then kissed her before leaving to go deliver the invitations to everyone in the town and on the nearby islands.

Zelda sighed and sat on her bed. The preparations were nearing completion. She didn't want too many decorations for her wedding because she wanted Hyrule's beauty to provide the natural atmosphere she wanted. Her bridal party would finish her dress within a few days and Link's clothes were already done. Piper would whip up the cake the day prior. All that was really left to do was practice the ceremony and set it up. After the ceremony would be the all-night party followed by her and Link's vacation departure.

They had one week until the date they set. Zelda could barely contain her excitement. It was all she was thinking about. She picked up a brush and combed her long hair and then realized that, in her excitement, she had neglected to help out with the construction on the surface.

She frowned and put down her brush. Link had been doing back-breaking work while she was in sitting around in la-la land about the wedding. She couldn't forget her responsibilities as a citizen of Skyloft. Pulling her hair back in her usual low ponytail, Zelda opened her window latch and whistled. Her Loftwing appeared outside and she gracefully jumped out the window and onto its back. "We're going to the surface to see how everything is going," Zelda told her bird.

She landed and slid off her Loftwing near the Sealed Temple and walked towards the town. A Kikwi welcomed her and guided her to the newest house being constructed. Pipit was up on the roof, pounding nails, while Cawlin and Groose installed the wall boards. Pipit looked up from his work. "Why, look who it is! The Lovely Zelda!" He removed his floppy yellow cap briefly in greeting. "What occasion gives us the grace of your presence?"

She smiled at his gushing chivalry. "Hello everyone. I've decided to help today. Whose house is this?"

"Mine," declared Pipit proudly. "And perhaps Karane's as well in the future."

This statement was followed by an exceptionally loud bang on the wall board. Zelda looked over to see Cawlin, hammer in hand, scowling at the wall board. He continued his hammering, mumbling something Zelda couldn't hear.

Zelda returned her attention back to Pipit. "Lovely. Anything I can do to help?"

Pipit wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked around. Unfortunately, unlike Link, he had failed to realize how hot the surface was before charging into intense manual labor. "Well, we can start building that house when we finish mine," He pointed to a pile of framing already pieced together that just needed assembled into a house. It was lying across the grass "road" from Pipit's house. "Actually, Link put all of that framing together himself. I think… I think it's going to be your house." He looked at the Spirit Maiden. "Are you sure you want to help?"

Zelda stepped over to the pile of framing and bent over to touch a stud. She ran her fingers down it until she found Eldin ore bolts. "Our… home," She whispered and suddenly felt very excited. "Yes, I want to piece it together. Link has done enough. It's our home anyways."

She sat in the grass and waited until the boys had finished constructing Pipit's house. She was glad she had chosen to wear pants and a short sleeved tunic today since it was hot and she would most likely be getting dirty. She watched as Pipit's cute little house finished taking shape.

The homes were very basic, only consisting of a single room with a gable roof and a few windows, so they were built quickly. The Gorons were constructing the fireplaces and chimneys for the houses one home at a time. The residents of the houses would have to finish covering the exterior with stone or brick and even expand the homes, if desired, on their own.

The boys took a short break before beginning work on Zelda's house. She instructed them where she believed Link had intended the pieces to be and then began hammering in bolts and nails.

Several hours later, the sun was beginning to set. Zelda was on the roof finishing up pounding nails on the shingles. She hopped off and watched as Pipit delicately installed the final window's covering into place.

She stood back to look at their work. Link had constructed the framing perfectly, so the house looked very neat and cute. He had carved the roof's rafters in such a way that they curved delicately away from the ridge. There were also detailed pieces of trim on the outside of the door. It was the cutest, most beautiful creation he had ever crafted, and she herself got to help put the final product together. She almost cried. "It's beautiful."

Groose, Cawlin, and Pipit stood back as well. "Link was always good at carving. He should've been an architect. Missed his caling," Pipit said, amused.

"Yeah, he's just the chosen hero instead. What a bummer," commented Groose.

Zelda smiled at the creation and skipped inside before proceeding to sit on the wood floor. "Look at this! It's my house!" She was giddy with glee. There wasn't even any furniture or decorations inside but she was looking at it as if it were a diamond ring.

The boys laughed and gathered their things to go back to the Sealed Temple for the night. Zelda and Pipit called their birds to fly back to Skyloft together.

"You know Zelda, I'm going to pop the question to Karane, but I'm going to wait until after your wedding and the excitement dies down. We don't want to steal your thunder or anything," Pipit said as they glided on their Loftwings. "Don't you dare tell her!"

Zelda squealed. "Don't worry, I won't! I'm so happy for you! I'm sure she'll say yes."

Pipit's face flushed and he cleared his throat. "Thanks, Zelda."

They landed and Zelda walked back to the academy. She was surprised to find Link sitting on the steps inside the door, finishing up his, most likely, sixth bowl of pumpkin soup.

"Link, if you keep eating that much, you'll gain weight. You aren't running around as much as you used to," Zelda scolded playfully as she ruffled his shaggy hair upon entering.

Link looked up at her defensively. "Hey, I've been doing a lot of lifting lately. Where have you been all afternoon?"

Zelda smiled and showed him her dirty hands. "Lifting some things…" She walked off to wash her hands in the kitchen before Link could respond.

She was thankful her wedding dress was now hidden in her room so that Link could go in and out of the kitchen freely. He followed her and sat down at the table. "You were helping to build the town?" He asked before slurping a spoonful of soup.

She nodded. "Yep! Guess what, our house is done!" She turned to see his face.

He blinked in surprise, swallowing his mouthful of soup. "Really? Do you think it looks okay? I kind of made all the carving decisions on my own…"

Zelda shook her head. "It's beautiful, Link, and don't you go thinking otherwise." She found the cauldron of soup and dipped the ladle in to capture some of her own, then sat beside Link with her bowl. "Did you do everything you needed to do today?" she asked, and he nodded. She unexpectedly gave him a tight hug. "Only one more week until we can go home."

Link blushed, and then burped in response.

...

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A/N: Woooo! The next chapter will be the final preparations and the wedding ceremony! I'm so excited to share it! :) Also, if you can't tell from my little hints, I love Ghirahim's creeperness. What will the wedding be like? See you on the flip side!