Lloyd's heart soared as he watched his bird take to the sky. It was like his bird's freedom echoed within his own chest.
Smiling, he ran to the edge of the island to keep his bird in view. Zelda followed, also grinning. His bird arced through the clouds, the bright green feathers striking against the whites and blue.
"Your bird seems just fine, Lloyd," Zelda observed happily. "We should hurry to the ceremony."
Lloyd nodded; spirits high. The jubilation buzzing through his skin would put him in a good mindset for the race. "Yeah, let's just give him a minute to stretch his wings. I think he was cooped up in there all night."
It was the silence that made him glance over. He'd been expecting a response of some kind, but Zelda was looking away from him, seemingly distracted by something. Confused, Lloyd followed her gaze, but all that was down there was the cloud barrier. Nothing of interest, certainly nothing to make her lips press together like that. That was her perturbed lip press.
"Zel? You okay?" Was she still mad at him? He thought they'd gotten over that after the whole nearly falling to his death thing.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine," Zelda assured, but her eyes didn't leave the barrier.
"Hey, look, I try to avoid bragging," Lloyd attempted to convince. "but I'm seriously not worried about the race. I'm more worried about the fallout from Morro not winning. He's really good, but I've been racing him since we were kids, I know I'll win." Morro was not going to keep his cool during the race and he'd make a mistake.
Zelda half rolled her eyes. "No, no, it's not that. And don't be so cocky, you have to give it your best out there." The words lacked their usual sharpness. "It's…" she turned, her pretty, deep blue eyes searching his, and Lloyd's heart fluttered, both with admiration and concern. "I… I heard this voice a few moments ago. Did you hear it too?"
Lloyd frowned. "A voice? No." Not even a distant shout. "Maybe the wind just sounded weird?"
Zelda shook her head slowly. "It's been happening a lot lately," she confessed. "Almost like someone is calling out to me." Lloyd frowned harder. She was hearing strange voices calling out of her regularly? That had to be someone pranking her then. Or now that she was listening for it she was mishearing other things. Zelda fiddled with her fingers anxiously. "Do you think a lot about what's beneath the clouds?"
"Beneath the barrier?" he checked. She nodded. He let out a sigh. "You know my dad hates me, or anyone, talking about that Surface stuff. Says it doesn't exist and no good comes from pretending it does." Lloyd understood why his dad was so vehemently opposed to talks of the Surface, but Lloyd did think he tended to overreact.
"I know you don't really talk about it," Zelda acknowledged. "I asked if you think about it."
Lloyd hesitated. His dad would be so mad if he ever heard Lloyd say it. But this was Zelda asking. "All the time," he admitted quietly, like his dad might somehow overhear.
"Most people believe there's nothing down there," Zelda mused. "Some believe there is land but it's completely barren. But Father's old texts talk about the Surface, a whole world down there, far more vast than Skyloft. The Surface theory has a bad reputation these days, with Chen and the Yiga claiming it as their reason behind all their wrong doings. But Father's texts date back to long before Chen's time. Do you think the Surface is real, Lloyd?"
What a crazy conversation to randomly be having. She was genuinely asking though so- "I'd like to think that it is, even if I never see it myself. I… I can't explain it really. But I feel like it must exist."
Zelda nodded pensively. "Do you think it's awful down there? It must be, right? If the goddess sealed it away."
This was starting to sound like borderline cult speaking points, but Lloyd knew Zelda would never even consider joining Chen's trash.
"Dangerous, maybe," Lloyd answered. "No, definitely dangerous, actually. Even if it isn't still crawling with monsters, there are plenty of natural things that can kill you in an unfamiliar place. But our ancestors used to live down there so it must have been nice then. And if it is as big as they say, it must have all sorts of wonderful and weird things. New plants, new food, new animals, things we can't even imagine existing here in Skyloft. Even if there is nothing new and it just has stuff we already have in Skyloft, the extra space and resources alone would be worth it." Skyloft could feel so suffocatingly small sometimes. Most of the time.
"So would you go?" Zelda asked. "If you could? Not in the stupid Yiga, human sacrifice throw people off the island way. Like if one day the goddess opened the barrier."
"If the goddess opened the barrier? Absolutely! Wouldn't everyone?" It was never going to happen, but if they were talking theoretically.
"I'm not sure," Zelda considered. "It could be quite scary. And dangerous, like you said. The monsters are probably far worse there."
"Would you want to go?" Lloyd asked curiously. They'd never talked too much about the Surface before, the topic being so taboo.
Zelda was quiet for a few long seconds. "Just thinking about it fills me with a terrible anxiety I don't fully understand. But I still want to see the rest of the world the goddess created. I would go."
"Well, if by some miracle the barrier does open in our lifetime," Lloyd grinned, "we can go together. And you wouldn't have to worry about the monsters, I'd protect you.
Zelda smiled. "I know you would." When had they gotten so close? Their faces were nearly touching. Lloyd's blood went hot.
Zelda startled suddenly and pulled back and Lloyd silently cursed. "Oh my," she gasped. "Sorry, Lloyd. We don't have time to talk. Let's get going." What? Oh wait- the ceremony! Crap! Everyone was waiting for them. They didn't have time for daydreaming. "Look," Zelda pointed, "your bird's waiting for you."
And sure enough, his bird was hovering nearby watching him expectantly. "Yeah, we need to hurry," Lloyd agreed, speaking quickly. "They need both of us to start." He jumped off the island and whistled for his bird.