#Headmaster Gaepora

[link-is-a-dork]

[flutefemme]

"Just Desserts"

A Skyward Sword Story

Written for Homemade in Hyrule Vol. 2 Cookbook Zine

Linktober Day 21: Favorite Characters A creative collaboration with amazing artist, @truffeart !

“You’re going down, short-stack,” Groose leaned down and hissed into Link's ear. Turning to the other two he growled, “Now shut up and let me do the talking!” They all walked into the headmaster’s office. Gaepora towered over them solemnly with his arms crossed and motioned for the boys to sit. To his left stood the Knight Academy cook, Henya, with a furious and slightly unhinged look in her eyes. Her hair was completely askew, decorated throughout with bits of crust and some drippy apple filling smeared over her left ear. 

Thrilled to be able to share this story! Read more here!

[zelbits]

Skyward Sword: A Study

Imagine, just for a second, that you wake up in Skyloft. A village set on a massive isle suspended in the air, where everyone knows everyone and its an incredibly peaceful life.

My younger self severely underestimated this game.

I got it for my birthday in 2011. I went to Best Buy with my dad, and up until that point I had only ever played A Link to the Past. All I saw was the Zelda title to our newest console, a Wii that we'd gotten for Christmas last year. As soon as I got home I popped in Skyward Sword, and I was hooked.

Of course, the title of my favorite game was stolen by Twilight Princess (and it'll probably always be like that, although Tears of the Kingdom is a really hard pass solely because of the storyline with Zelda). But Skyward Sword was my introduction to the lore side of everything.

Shortly after getting Skyward Sword, I was given Hyrule Historia. My days were spent tracing Loftwings through the pages on my light board when I wasn't playing the game.

Slowly, despite my love for the giant birds, Skyward Sword was pushed to the back burner because of Twilight Princess. I actually got stuck in Faron Woods trying to find the Elder Kikwi (I could not find the path up to him for some reason) and became discouraged, quickly forgetting it. When I finally did go back to play it, I ashamedly used the entire ZeldaDungeon walkthrough for it and didn't even try. Today when playing a game, I refuse to look up a walkthrough for anything unless me and my husband both can't figure out how to keep going.

By the end of playing Skyward Sword that way, it had taken me a long four or five years to beat the game, and it always felt inferior to Twilight Princess. Heck, I even gave Link a different name. When I beat Demise, I was 17 and realizing the depth of the story that I'd missed. I erased my save file, and started again. Shortly after, unfortunately, my Wii ended up getting locked in a storage unit.

I'm 23 and I finally have it back. I'm stunned that (so far) everything seems to be working correctly. Picking up on my old profile, I hadn't even gotten past the Flight Ceremony. I've been replaying it when I have free time, which is why I haven't been posting on here. Every puzzle I thought was so hard back then is easy, too easy-- so far.

I'm just taken aback. The setting. The characters. The soundtrack. Everything is beautiful. The colors. The interactions with early Gorons and Kikwis and Parella before they evolved into what they are now. Knowing that Link and Zelda form a new Hyrule, that Groose may be the ancestor of the Gerudo, and that the giant tree in Faron Woods may be the ancestor of the Deku Tree.

Let's start with the day-to-day life of a Skyloftian. Here, everyone knows everyone. Your whole life is in the clouds; the weather isn't really severe at this altitude, but I'm assuming Skyloft still gets rain and snow sometimes. It's probably chilly a lot of days, but judging from the vegetation I would say a mild, spring-like climate is logical. Depending on your preference, you may grow up to work in the bazaar, farm, or, if you're lucky, join the Knight Academy from a young age.

There must be more that the game is implying, surely. Obviously, you may or may not bond with a Loftwing when you come of age, although not doing so is probably immensely rare. I'm sure there are explorers, travelers, other small sky villages; lore-accurate Skyloft must be fairly large. It's small and simple, but it's all everyone knows.

Link had (if you consider the manga by Akira Himekawa canon) clearly joined the Knight Academy young, but was late bonding with a Loftwing. Until of course he bonded with a Crimson Loftwing, previously believed extinct. This is probably the last of its kind, and again, drawing from manga, is unbeknownst to them a holy bird.

Zelda is the daughter of the Headmaster, however, and unfortunately without a mother. Gaepora probably thought it best to enroll her in the academy so that he could keep an eye on her, or perhaps just had her stay around the area. Either way, she showed immense promise, becoming a proficient rider, scholar, and swords woman herself (I'm assuming, if she can defend herself on the Surface when she has none of her goddess powers).

Link and Zelda's relationships vary from game to game. However, this one in particular is one where they're more than just friends. They clearly love one another, which is bittersweet considering that they are the first of many incarnations that rarely get together.

Throughout the game, we witness the story of two fated heroes: a goddess reincarnated in human form and her chosen hero, both entirely unaware of the fate that awaits them. They go from happily living life to being thrown into a wild adventure about the fate of the world in an instant-- and they're still just kids. They're only 17 and a half (source: Hyrule Historia). We witness incredible character arcs: Link making the transition from a sleepyheaded goofball to a hardened warrior (although I like to think he retained his silly traits); Zelda from a level-headed student to a woman whose regaining the memories of her Goddess form, struggling to cope with the transformation; Groose, an awful bully whose only goal in the end is to help Link and Zelda; and even Fi, who learns that she needed to understand the human spirit better in order to retain her holy form.

This is a world only a thousand years or so after the war in which Hylia, the Demon King, and the Ancient Hero fought, the very first incarnations in an endless cycle. This was supposed to be the only time this happened. Demise was imprisoned, but only temporarily even his weakened state. Link was reborn with the courageous spirit of his ancestor. Hylia shed her holy form and was reborn as a mortal girl. This was supposed to be the only cycle of reincarnation-- until Demise cursed Link and Zelda to forever fight against his evil spirit whenever they are reborn.

After Demise's defeat, Link and Zelda create the new realm of Hyrule, established on the surface. In a perfect world, they'd live out the rest of their days peacefully. But I'm sure their new kingdom had a lot of issues, and I'm sure that the peoples of the Surface weren't all welcoming to the Hylians. Not to mention, Link probably had a lot of trauma from his search for Zelda, and she is living not only with the memories of herself as a Skyloftian, but her memories from being the Goddess Hylia during the Imprisoning War. While their kingdom was at peace and they knew they were safe, they worried for when Demise would ultimately return and wreak havoc once again.

They built the Temple of Time around the Master Sword's pedestal, sealing it away with the powers of the Sacred Stones from the Gorons, Kikwis, and Parella (which would in turn become Koroks and Zora, respectively). Skyloft was forgotten. There were rumors of a city in the sky, or places such as the Temple of Winds, but Skyloft as it was known was largely forgotten. Most Hylians had followed Link and Zelda to the new kingdom on the Surface, although for many years they lived in both places. Newer generations likely would not have bonded with Loftwings. Perhaps some of the civilians who had remained behind eventually evolved into the Zonai in Tears of the Kingdom.

While Hyrule would see villains later on-- Vaati, for instance, as The Minish Cap and Four Swords both take place after Skyward Sword-- the Master Sword would not be picked up again until Ocarina of Time, several thousand years after Skyward Sword.

In conclusion, I think the most pivotal part of Skyward Sword is the relationship between Link and Zelda. And maybe their descendants-- OoT Link and Zelda, Twilight Princess Link and Zelda-- that never had a relationship felt that some remnant of that longing between the original two. The Spirit Maiden and her Chosen Hero, doomed to an endless cycle. In some instances, they were able to be together, but very rarely. Most of the time, there is little if any record of Zelda's husbands in any iteration, if she ever had any, although there are theories of Link falling in love with Malon, or Midna, or someone else.

Certainly, if you consider Tears of the Kingdom to be in the same timeline as Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, to me, it feels like the legend has come full circle. Eight year old me loved Twilight Princess more because of the fact that I could transform into a world-- now that I'm older, I can really appreciate this tragic and beautiful story.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Okay, well replaying Skyward Sword reminded me that I wrote this like a year ago buried in a reblog so I'm just gonna air it out and plop it here.

The first time Link had disappeared, it had caused alarm. Zelda had just gone missing, ripped from her loftwing by a treacherous tornado, and suddenly Link was a haggard mess, dressed in a knight’s uniform, and then gone. People feared that he had been hurt too, a search shouldn’t last after sunset; he wasn’t a full knight, after all. However, Headmaster Gaepora had managed to calm the academy students, and the news spread throughout Skyloft.

It took almost a week for Link to return to Skyloft. When people saw his crimson loftwing circling around the town, a collective sigh of relief fell over the sky island. If he’d been gone consistently for so long, then he’d only return when he’d found Zelda, after all. Not to mention it meant they were both safe.

However, that had not been the case. Link had been alone, tired, and filthy. His clothes had tears in them in certain places, he had strange silky threads wrapped around parts of his legs, dry blood stains were disturbingly evident on his tunic, and he practically had bags under the already constantly present bags under his eyes. He had landed just by the goddess statue and had not been seen since. However, another bright light had appeared in the cloud barrier, unnerving the Skyloftians, who chattered about it amongst each other.

The bazaar had been exceptionally busy that day, and the new red light in the sky caused people to gather there to discuss the matter. It meant there were long lines just to get inside, and Link had not seemed keen to stand among the crowds to get the supplies he so desperately needed. Instead, he’d sat on the bench outside, waiting for the townspeople to eventually spread throughout the island once more and give him the space he needed to prepare for his next trip.

The crowds did indeed start to thin, but as people trickled out of the bazaar with hot drinks and hot gossip on their tongues, they paused, finding the boy passed out on the bench. At first it was amusing; Link often fell asleep all over town. But then it was worrisome. He looked haggard. Everyone in town was invested in this boy’s well-being; they’d all welcomed him into their homes at one point or another, the adults all remembered the little orphan wandering the island aimlessly in the days after his father’s unfortunate death, they all remembered bringing him into their homes with promises of warm food and a pillow to lay his head on.

So it had been collectively decided that someone would fetch a pillow from their home and get Link a bit more settled. Wryna brought a blanket as well, but Greba had pointed out worriedly that Link was still a mess (with an emphatic “He stinks!” from Kukiel). Mallara had gotten Commander Eagus, who had promptly swaddled Link in the blanket and carried him to the academy to tend to him.

After that encounter, everyone on Skyloft had decided that they’d keep an extra careful eye out for the boy.

This new pact ended up saving the young knight-in-training’s life. The next time he came back, he had fallen off his loftwing entirely, caught only by Pipit, who had been notified that something was wrong when Orielle noticed the loftwing’s panicked screeches. He’d been unconscious before he fell into his classmate’s strong arms, and even Groose and his stooges had watched in concern as Pipit had rushed Link to the infirmary.

But today was not quite so dire. Link had been missing from Skyloft for two weeks after he’d recovered (his periods of absence continued to grow, much to everyone’s concern), but this morning Jakamar, his wife Wryna, and their daughter Kukiel woke up to a surprise green bundle curled up in their bed. He was on the edge, barely taking any space, but he hogged a majority of that side of the bed’s blanket. At first Jakamar nearly jumped out of his skin until he realized who it had to be, and he pulled the blanket back just enough to see the curved little ears and fluffy dirty blonde hair that everyone on Skyloft knew so well.

Blowing out a sigh, he turned away and held his wife as she peered over his shoulder. “Well, at least we know where he is.”

“He’ll be hungry,” Wryna commented. “I’ll get started on breakfast.”

Jakamar grunted in acknowledgement as his wife crawled to the bottom of the bed to climb over the wooden frame so as to avoid waking Link. Kukiel shot up and started to bounce on the bed in excitement, and Jakamar scooped her into his arms and also climbed out of bed in a similar manner. The house was silent as the family cleaned their faces and prepped for the day (though only because the parents constantly had to remind Kukiel to keep quiet with gentle shushes and fingers over their lips), and then Jakamar took his daughter out for a morning stroll while Wryna busied herself in the kitchen area.

When he got back to the smell of a delicious breakfast, he stretched and smiled, glancing at the bed to find it empty. He looked back to see Wryna’s disappointed face.

“He’s gone!” Kukiel exclaimed in her high voice.

“I didn’t see him step out,” Wryna said guiltily.

Jakamar put a hand on his wife and smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it, hon. At least he got some sleep. Pack it up in a bottle, if we see him we’ll give it to him.”

Jakamar had the luck to find Link later that day as the boy was meandering around the windmills. Although Jakamar was getting ready to offer the now lukewarm food, Link instead started asking him about the windmill’s missing propeller. Jakamar helped him as best he could, and just as Link rushed off to find Gondo at Jakamar’s suggestion (he figured the robot, though broken, might be able to help), the man called out to him, waving the large bottle with food carefully packed inside.

Link stared at him, confused. Jakamar held out the bottle. “Take it, kid. You look like you’re starving.”

It was a bit of a slip up to admit it to his face. Link often would recoil at such remarks, would cover it up with an embarrassed laugh and then actively avoid whoever said it for a while, which then made it even harder to help him. But it was the truth - he did look gaunt and worn thin. Jakamar was usually a pretty easygoing guy, but this seemed like it was starting to get serious. He wished the headmaster would reel the kid in.

Link’s expression shifted, so easily readable on his face, and his confusion clearly became shame. He looked down at the ground, biting his lip. When Jakamar pushed the bottle into his sight again, he took it wordlessly, but as he locked eyes with the man he gave a grateful smile. Before Jakamar could get a word in, Link turned on his heel and headed for the bazaar.

Jakamar blew out a sigh as he watched the boy run. Hylia look out for him.

[hanayori89]

A Hero’s Choice: A Skyward Sword Fanfic

🪶 Hello all! I just wrote this for fun and have no direction with this. I just like Skyward Sword and fluff as comfort writing material 🪶

***** Some Fluff *****

Lesson 1: A Repulsive Romance

 It was pretty nauseating. 

Your elbow was planted firmly on your desk, and your hand curled beneath your chin, causing your arm to resemble a doric column as it supported the heavy infrastructure of your head. Your eyes kept fluttering closed. 

"Y/N!"

Professor Owlan's voice boomed across the classroom. "Would you like to answer my question?"

"Uh-" Your frantic eyes searched the patient expressions of your fellow classmates. 

Your friend Karane elbowed you from your left side." He was asking how to soothe a distraught Loftwing midflight." She sighed beneath her breath.

"Oh, yes, to soothe a Loftwing midflight, it is imperative to make sure you speak in a mild tone, find the pressure point on top of its head, and rub it."

"Why?" Professor Owlan inquired. From the harsh cut of his voice, it was clear he caught you dozing off.

"Because this pressure point, when massaged, is connected to the Loftwing's central nervous system and will flood it with feel-good endorphins."

"Very well. Take your hand off your head, please." He reprimanded you before continuing to swat the whiteboard with his ruler.

"Y/N, you are training too hard." Karane chided from beside you. "It's important to keep your grades up too. Being a knight isn't all about brawn, you know?" 

"I know that, but I have to! I can't let-" Your eyes looked over to see your rival and friend, Link, gazing at you from over his shoulder. When he caught you staring at him, he looked away.

Karane continued, "Link will always have an advantage because of Zelda."

And there it was. The name that made your stomach churn.

Zelda.

She was Headmaster Gaepora's daughter and the most sought-after girl in all of Skyloft. With cascading strands of gold and features symmetrical like the grand goddess statue, Zelda had a face that could rob a man of his voice.  

And she was in love with Link.

You let your eyes wander in Zelda's direction. She sat behind Link, her eyes half-massed, as she stared at him as if he were a freshly baked cake. 

"Y/N..."

You turned to see Karane observing you.

"Are you sure you don't like Link?"

"Um. Ew. Actually, Ew." 

"You're the only girl that thinks Link is "ew." She chuckled as you made an exaggerated grimace. 

"Y/N, Karane," Professor Owlan hissed. "Would you care to share with the class what is so important you need to whisper during this lecture. 

You saw Link's blue eyes bubble with curiosity as he peered at you once more from over his shoulder. 

"Y/N here isn't taking care of herself, and I am imploring her; she needs to do better because the upcoming Loftwing ceremony is a mere week away." She stood up, causing a scene, which, as your best friend, you knew was her tactic to distract the class from Professor Owlan's question.

"Are you all making sure you're sleeping? Eating your protein and vegetables? Staying hydrated? This ceremony is a big deal, and we all need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves for this competition."

Fletch raised his hand; his eyebrows were knit upward in a way that made his face constantly appear clueless. "Actually, I haven't been sleeping well myself. I am quite nervous."

The sound of a slam made the entire class jump. Groose stood, his massive hands slapping his desk once again. "Psht. As if eight hours of sleep are going to give you all some magical benefit against me. We all know I will be Zelda's chosen hero." Groose stood, pumping his bicep muscles in a slow and deliberate manner, as if someone were inflating a balloon beneath his flesh.

"Ok, enough!" But as the chatter of uncertain voices began to carry throughout the class, the bell sounded, and Professor Owlan's admonishment went unacknowledged. 

As books began to slam shut and chairs slid across the polished wooden floors of the classroom, you began to gather your things. You were hoping to sneak in a quick nap before you went over to Eagus's dojo and did another round of grueling sword training.

"Y/N." 

You turned to see Link staring at you.

"You really are pushing yourself too hard." His voice was feathery, like his dark blond hair. "You have bags beneath your eyes."

You dropped your bookbag, your hands flying to your hips. "Not all of us have favoritism on our side, Link!" 

His expression shifted, and he looked down at his shoes, hurt plastered on his face.

"Well?" You kept goading him on. "Did I hit a nerve? Your Zelda's favorite; we all know who really is going to win, but at the very least, I want to lose knowing I tried my very best."

"You're amazing, Y/N. Your determination and persistence are unlike anyone here, including myself."

His unexpected compliment knocked you off your high horse. You allowed yourself a momentary glance at him, the sincerity in his eyes made your chest constrict. A feeling that would happen sometimes when your eyes would meet. 

Something else that you found nauseating.

"I just want to be better than you." Your response offered him no other opening to continue the conversation.

He opened his lips, but Zelda came running over. "Link!" She laced her fingers into his. Come on, let's go practice with our Loftwing. There's a perfect breeze that will be beneficial for our practice today." Zelda turned and looked at you. A surreptitious glint was reflected in the way she looked at you, and you could translate it simply as jealousy. It couldn't even be hidden beneath her saccharine smile. 

"Hello Y/N. You should get some practice, too. Perhaps you and Karane can take advantage of this phenomenal weather we are having."

There it was. You and Karane. Because Link was hers and would never be anyone else's.

Not that you cared. 

Link was nothing more than a pretty face who could somewhat wield a sword. 

She could have him.

But as she pulled him away, he gave you a lingering look, and your chest began to constrict in that familiar way you despised.

It was pretty nauseating. 

Edited: 5/8/24

[minty-mumbles]

I just saw this fancomic, and I was thinking, what if the chain ended up in Wild's Rito village, and Time or Sky hear a Rito use the expletive "What in Gaepora's tailfeathers?"

Because in Wild's era it would just be an expression, but Time would be getting flashback to that annoying owl and Sky would be so confused for a second, because Gaepora is literally the headmaster of the knight's academy, and definitely not a bird

[the-grey-hunt]

SKYWARD SWORD AU. DAY THREE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP THINKING ABOUT SKYWARD SWORD AU

Image ID: A comic of Lynne as Link and Jowd as Headmaster Gaepora. Lynne is wearing the knight's uniform and goddess sword. In the last panel, the shadow the sword casts is in the shape of a cat's head with watching eyes.

Jowd: I know this isn't what either of us imagined for your graduation. But seeing you in this year's knight's uniform...it looks like you were made to wear it.

Jowd: With that sword, you should be able to accomplish anything.

Lynne: Will you come with me? [Jowd is shocked] You've been a knight for longer, you can—

Jowd: [forcefully] No.

Jowd: [regretful] The goddess sword chose you, Lynne.

Jowd: I...I don't think it's possible for me. No one's descended below the clouds in living memory. I...

Lynne: [determined] I'm bringing her home, Headmaster Jowd. I'll find Kamila, and I'll save her. ___________________________________________________________

Obviously this AU features Lynne in the role of Link, Sissel as Fi, and Kamila as Zelda—which then means Jowd takes Gaepora's place, and probably Alma and Cabanela as the other two knights' academy instructors. I'd like to do more art/writing for this before I reveal who, exactly, is taking the place of Demise...

feat. me struggling SO hard to figure out an appropriate spelled-out sound effect for that noise Fi makes. If you can't tell: I gave up.

[sun-aries]

Roots and Wings

Happy Valentines, lovelies! This is my contribution to the @zelinkcommunity's Loftwing Letters 2024!

This Skyward Sword Zelink pure marshmallow fluff for Kels! @oatmilkdrnkr! I hope you enjoy this gift and I hope your Valentines is full of love :)

Link's happy to be home.

When he steps up to the porch, he wipes his boots off the doormat. He turns the key through the lock – though sometimes he ponders why they have a lock, being the only two humans on the surface – and throws the door open. And when he's through the frame, he drops his weapons by the door.

Link hasn't been gone for long: it's only about an hour trip to Faron Woods and back. But whenever he runs an errand without Zelda, he finds himself missing her madly and gets the task done with a fair amount of impatience before hurrying home.

This morning, he's cleared out an overwhelming infestation of Deku Baba's, which the Kikwi's complained began sprouting out of nowhere. Bucha was so pleased with Link that he repaid his efforts with seeds for their garden.

Link scans the small house and calls out "Zelda?" when he can't immediately find her.

"In the garden!"

And Link smiles, because her voice calling back to him from some unknown place in the house always makes him smile for some reason or another.

So he crosses the length of their small home, wincing at the mud that he still manages to track in, and through the backdoor. And true to her word, Zelda's in the garden.

This is how he knows her, with windswept hair and sunshine on her face. She glows – and most people might say that it's from the goddess within now that they know she's Hylia reborn – but he knows better. The laughing twinkle in her eyes and the flash of her smile is all Zelda.

His face brightens when she turns her gaze up to him. She's wearing a hat with a wide brim, a Skyloftian dress with an apron, and she's covered in nearly as much dirt as he is. "Welcome home," she says, and he feels it in his chest like one of Groose's sucker punches.

This is home. She's his home.

When they're little, when his feet were rarely on the ground and feathers were perpetually stuck in his unkempt hair, he thought it was Skyloft. After all, it's where he was born; it's where the Knight Academy is and where Zelda lived.

But when Zelda was thrown off her Loftwing and disappeared in a cyclone of darkness, Link was spun off balance. He couldn't eat; he couldn't sleep – and that's a feat for the goddesses, because anyone who knows him knows the man can sleep.

It was then that he started to realize that maybe it isn't normal - how much he missed her. Maybe friends don't feel sickeningly empty when the other isn't around. Maybe they don't feel like their entire world just dropped out of the sky.

Just when he started to understand that the sky is infinite, it became impossibly small without her.

When he woke up for the first time and Zelda wasn't there, Skyloft didn't feel like home. It wasn't until he found her that he started to understand. Every time he saw her - at the top of a staircase or across a gaping chasm - he felt a little safer, a little more at ease, if only for a moment in Zelda's company.

It would fill his heart and soul with warmth and light: for weeks he could thrive off that feeling alone. In time it would burn out without Zelda's presence to reignite it and he would grieve until he saw her again.

When all was said and done, Zelda decided to stay on the surface, and Link is staying with her. Though she asked, there's no question in his heart. Link learned by then, after chasing her to every corner of the earth, that he'll go wherever she goes.

Headmaster Gaepora, Zelda's father, insisted that the Sealed Grounds is not an appropriate place to live, even if it's only to rest their head between adventures. Neither Link nor Zelda see fit to argue with him. For the few months it took to build a house, the Skyloftian's were brave and kind enough to venture to the mysterious surface.

Though many of the homes in Skyloft were built generations before them, some people - mainly Gondo and Jakamar - still know the tricks of the trade. With their instruction, the villagers built a small traditional Skyloftian home.

Link felt it's kind of like woodcarving and Zelda isn't the best at it – though, goddess, did she try – but she's the one to make the house their home. She knitted the blankets and displayed his woodcarvings, and she always sets fresh flowers on the table.

By now, it's common knowledge. He knows it; Zelda knows it; he's sure all of Skyloft does too. There is no building on the sky islands or any province on the surface where Link belongs. Home isn't with the Loftwings or the Kikwi's; it's not even with his friends.

It's always been her. Zelda is his home.

Kneeling on the grass, she waves him over and his smile remains even as he maneuvers through the plots of flowers and vegetables.

"How'd it go?" she asks.

"Good enough. Bucha was happy." Link rummages through his pouch before holding out his hand. "He gave us some seeds. They're fruits, I think."

"Oh!" she exclaims. Zelda holds out her palms and he pours the small seeds into them before she tucks them into one of her apron's pockets. "Remind me to thank him later."

Link nods as he crouches down to examine the small mounds of dirt: her newest addition to the yard. "What're you planting?"

Her easygoing smile stretches to an enthused grin and it lights up her entire face. "Some sort of flower," she says. "I can't wait to see what it looks like."

Many of the flowers and plants look and taste much different on the surface. It's been incredibly fun to try new things, and since Zelda's always been inherently curious, she's thrilled to discover all that the surface has to offer them. Even the birds are incredibly tiny, and he smiles mischievously to himself as he thinks back to the first time Groose "descended" to the surface.

Zelda eyes him suspiciously. "What're you grinning about?"

He simply shakes his head, murmurs amusedly, "Nothing," and offers her a hand. "Ready to go inside?"

Zelda pauses, thinks, and flashes him a rather devious look before placing her hand in his. He should've expected getting tugged off balance, and he topples to the ground. He rolls to his back and she's astride him a second later.

Her golden hair falls around them and her smile is like the sun, and by some miracle he manages to move his hands to her waist. His cheeks are red and so are hers, but he thinks an afternoon in the sunshine is partially to blame. But only partially.

"Not yet," she says, but Link already forgot what he asked.

Zelda drops a kiss on his nose and he takes a breath because he always does.

"I'm covered in dirt," he warns her, though he's not sure why.

"So am I."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Are you?"

Link stops, thinks, before he decidedly shakes his head. Zelda's laugh is chiming, and he can't help but lean forward.

But before he can capture her lips, her damned hat knocks his forehead. Her laugh turns into a giggle fit and he grimaces abashedly as he rubs the sore spot.

Deciding on revenge, Link's hold on her waist transforms into tickles and she yelps, nearly jumping from her skin. "Hey!" Zelda says between giggles, and he's smiling again. She's adorable. "Not fair!"

She wriggles before collapsing atop him and he relents if only so he can flip them over. When Zelda's on the ground, her hat comes off and rolls out of sight, and her hair becomes a halo around her.

Her laughing quiets down and turns instead into a serene smile. Moments before he dips his head to kiss her, Link thinks how happy he is to be home.

[majorproblems77]

Um hi I was wondering if you could maybe explain Sky's background a little bit for me? I'm wondering if there's any information about his family situation and why he lives at the school. Do all the students live at the school, or only some of them? I also read your post about the beds and it said Pipit has his own house but it's dusty so does he just work all the time?

Sorry if this is a lot, I just wanted to ask what you think since not everything is in the fandom wikis and game guides.

Hi there!

So officially we dont know too much about these questions but I'll try my best to summarise what we know for you.

Links parents are not in the picture, assumed to be dead because they are never mentioned in the game or otherwise. We also know that Link is a childhood friend of Zelda and her family, (The headmaster Gaepora who is her father). He along with other students lives at the Knight Academy and from what I can find that is a choice for the other students. Link lives there because well he's got nowhere else to go.

It's possible he's lived there for most of his life like Zelda is assumed to have done, you can see he's a little more settled than the other students are which would indicate that he's more permanent than the others are.

When it comes to Pipit, he lives at home with his mother, pipit is the main breadwinner of the house which is why if you look around the knight academy at night time you can find him on patrol. (you find this out after helping his mother with cleaning the house after obtaining the gust bellows) it's understood that his mother is lazy and just doesn't like cleaning so will just live in a mess and then use's the money that Pipit earns for food and other household items to give to people to get them to do the cleaning. (The first time you do this for her she gives you a gratitude crystal)

I hope this helps!

I've got so many headcannons for Sky's backstory which I'll go into if people want me to. (As my fave I will ramble on all day)

[link-is-a-dork]

Headmaster Gaepora: "It's encouraging to see you up so early, given your capacity for sleep. No doubt today's ceremony had you too excited to close your eyes for once!"

[needfantasticstories]

Trigger Warnings: Torture, fear of genocide, captivity/prisoner of war

[Ghirahim unwinds from another day of war with some casual torture, as one does]

Venting 

“It’s been so many eons since my last real battle, I feel so… satisfied to have whet my blade in crimson once again. But…” Ghirahim spoke conversationally as he lay on his stomach, gripping Sky’s exposed underarm in one hand and a kunai in the other. 

Sky winced as a blade dug into his skin, carving small diamonds in the sensitive skin.

“...Cia insisted Volga be allowed to carry out his hairbrained plan on his own first. And until our Master returns we must pander to the witch’s whims. Isn’t that right, my skychild?”

Sky couldn't think about the demon’s words. Not amid the flood of pain and the effort of keeping his jaw clamped shut against the scream trapped in his chest that fought to be released.

“Hmm. At least I have you to entertain me.” He carved another diamond.  

Sky lay pinned to the floor, stretched out. His wrists bled where Ghirahim’s magic dug into his skin. Hot tears poured from the corners of his eyes, and small whimpers betrayed him at times, but he did not scream. He clung to that choice with pride, though his tongue was already bruised and bleeding and his jaw felt like it might never open again.   

Breathe breathe breathe breathe. It was one thing he was good at. Resting, meditating, calming down. Commander Eagus ensured all trainees knew the methods, and the habits had served him well on his quest. 

Ghirahim’s cold breath fluttered over his face, as close as intimate friends sharing mundane gossip. The demon relished testing Sky’s resolve. The demon laughed. “Two days, and already half of Skyloft is charred to ruins!” 

Sky shuddered as Ghirahim started a new diamond, but he swallowed his scream and breathed through the pain. No, he needed to hear this! Skyloft was charred! The fog of pain cleared as he focused on the room around him. Gold walls, gold floor, gold pillars. The demon’s temple, somewhere deep underground between Faron and Eldin. 

Memories stirred, interrupting the grip of pain and resistance in his mind. It started to come back to him, his life before this moment: The invasion began! My dream was right. Now half of Skyloft is burned! I can do nothing to stop it! His breathing grew short and fast. Nonono. If he’s telling the truth, then how many lives have been lost!? Divine Hylia! Keep them all safe! I’m such an idiot. 

“The rest of Skyloft will be ours by tomorrow night. This little war is turning into a wonderful success.” 

Sky’s mind felt numb as tried to understand what it all meant. They were all going to die…No! This could not be real. Demons lie. He must be lying! He has to be! 

Ghirahim watched him, and Sky tried to mask his horror, but something in his look made the demon grin. 

The demon snapped, and a moblin lumbered inside. It brought over a large plank of burnt wood. Ghirahim rose to a kneel and held a charred sign. Sky knew it at once. He’d cut the planks himself. Professor Owlan had painted it. Karane had placed it atop the gates and they had all cheered after Headmaster Gaepora’s speech that they would keep each other safe. 

It read “Academy Keep” in bold green paint. The keep they’d built to protect the Knight’s Academy—his home.

Sky gaped. He bucked and tried to pry his hands and legs free of Ghirahim’s power. What has Ghirahim done to them? 

Ghirahim watched him struggling with hunger. 

Sky schooled himself into holding still, and settled for a steady glare: if he dared to continue, Ghirahim would only get more physical. Still, he couldn’t stop angry tears from clouding his eyes, and he turned away. 

“The school itself will fall soon, cut off as they are, once Volga burns those doors open.” Ghirahim twirled the sign glibly and then tossed it closer to the door, waving the moblin to take it and go.

They are holding on! Sky barely kept himself from sighing in relief, and instead took a few more short breaths, slowly lengthening each. Thank you, Hylia. 

He watched Ghirahim bring the dagger he’d been using up to his lips, chewing the tip and he looked up, lost in a thought. Ghirahim’s eyes had a dreamy quality. “So much progress in only two days. They never could have done this without me. A wonder they ever tried.” The demon recovered from his reverie.

They have to stay safe. Sky glared at Ghirahim, at this monster. Sky worked his jaw and forced it to open last.

 “What a pity, it’s almost time for me to go back and play my part–” 

“If you dare to hurt…a single one of them…” Sky rasped. His voice was barely more than a whisper. 

“Oh? You’ll what, yell? You know how I enjoy that. Perhaps make sour faces, like that?” 

The skin at his jaw stung as Ghirahim sliced it, but Sky did not break off his glare. 

Ghirahim drew the knife back up to his mouth, licked it, and grinned. “They’ll all be dead soon, a condition you will envy soon enough.”

Ghirahim leaned closer again and whispered. “Now. Ready to finish?”

A bokoblin ran inside and whispered something to the demon. 

“Well, what news! The sorceress’s enemies have reached Skyloft. I’m afraid our vacation is nearly at an end.”

Thank Hylia! An army? Skyloft might not fall! Hylia had done it!

“One last task, Skychild. Tell me. Where did you hide Fi? 

A shock of pain made Sky gasp in surprise as Ghirahim plunged a dagger into his side. He arched his back in a desperate attempt to get away from the pain. He collapsed back down, finding no relief. A dagger. His vision flashed white, then slowly cleared. Sky tried to swallow away the nausea and dizziness when bile filled his throat. The wound was throbbing in sync with his heartbeat. 

Ghirahim yanked it out and plunged it  into Sky’s other side. “How do I get in?”

“Hmmm!” Sky bit his tongue as Ghirahim sliced a long line into his left arm when he did not answer. He panted hard through clenched teeth. Ghirahim frowned, and began the next cut, watching him wince.

Sky winced and moaned as Ghirahim made another long slice.

“How can I arrange for the ritual when these invaders are at least a day early! Volga can barely keep the battlefield covered as it is!” He fumed.

Ritual! So he had a plan, but without Zelda, how did he expect to revive Demise? 

Sky groaned as Ghirahim bit deeper with the blade, interrupting his thoughts.

“Tell me.” He pressed the blade to Sky’s throat. “Where. Is. Fi?” 

Sky shook his head slowly, and closed his eyes. 

“Your resolve is admirable. But it’s becoming rather dull. But…” He smiled wickedly, “I’ll break you yet. I just need to find the right fear.” 

He scraped a finger across Sky’s neck, leaving a thin cut, and then disappeared with a soft chime.

Sky shivered, looked around to ensure he was gone, then let out a deep sigh of relief.

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

Dear Zelda,

I'm writing this letter to give to you once I see you again. I thought it would be nice to keep a record.

I still can't believe it– I'm on the Surface! I wish you could be here with me, though. It's not nearly as great having to look for you as it would have been if I was with you.

I can't carry much paper with me, so I'll have to keep these letters short.

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

It's been a month since you've fallen. They held a funeral for you today; no one believes me when I tell them you're still alive. Headmaster Gaepora said that it would be better this way, that it would all be alright once I brought you back and that it would give everyone else closure in the meantime.

Fi says that we're getting closer. There's barely any unexplored areas on my map left, so I should see you again soon! I told you about Gorko in my last letter, right? Well, he said that there's a temple near here. I'm going to check that out first.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

Why weren't you there? You were supposed to be there. 

I should've been faster. This is my fault. 

---

Dear Zelda, 

Eldin is really hot. Fi says that the red stuff is melted rock, can you believe it? 

I met these strange creatures called the mogma– they were pretty nice! Not very helpful, though, but one of them said he saw a person in black– is that you? I don't know why you would be wearing black, though.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

…She was right. I was too late. I couldn't save you. I can't save you. I was so scared that Ghirahim had gotten you when I saw the chains, but she protected you while I– while I did what? What was I doing that I could've avoided to reach you faster?

I hope you're okay, wherever you are.

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

The desert is hot and dry during the day. It's cold during the night. There's sand in my boots and my bag and everywhere else. I don't like it here.

I thought about flying my beetle over the wall, just to see if you were alright, but– I realized that since you collapsed it, then you didn't want to see me.

It's okay. I understand. I'm not a very good hero after all, am I?

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

I don't talk much anymore. No one on Skyloft believes me, and I learned that it's better to just shut up. I don't think I've spoken to anyone but Fi in months. Maybe that's for the best. I never have anything that's worth saying, anyway.

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

Where are you? Fi said she can't sense you, and that you're in a different world now. 

You didn't have to flee, I could've protected you! I know I'm not the best, or the strongest, or the fastest, but I'm enough! I'd do anything to protect you because I love you

…It doesn't matter, I guess. You're gone already. I hope you're safe.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

…I don't know what to say anymore. Everything feels so different, like– like I'm changing, and you're changing, and when we meet again we won't recognize each other. 

I'm scared of that. You're really all I have left, you know? My only real friend anymore. You were the only one who reached out to me after my parents died, and… I just don't want to lose you.

…I don't know why I brought that up. It's not important.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

This is taking too long. I asked Fi why I couldn't just learn the song, but she said that I would need to learn more later, and it would be easier this way. I don't see how. I've already wasted a month learning how to play this stupid harp. It doesn't help that Groose is still stuck down here because the statues only work for me.

Din's fire, my fingers hurt. How were you not constantly complaining when you were learning?

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

What the hell was that? What the hell was that thing?

I… I can't do this. Am I supposed to kill that thing? Is that what the goddess wants me to do?

She's wrong. She messed up. I'm not– brave, or courageous, or whatever else the old woman calls me. I'm not a hero, I'm just a scared boy and I don't know what to do because they're all wrong and they're looking at me to help them but I can't! 

It was… terrifying. Every step it took made the ground shake, and it had so many teeth. Its scales were sharp, and every time I touched one it cut through my skin like it was paper. I could feel its power from the top of the pit, and… gods, I really thought it would kill me. 

The old woman– Grannie, that’s what Groose calls her– said that it would probably break out again. I don't know how I'm supposed to face it again.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

I’ve got the first flame. Groose is still stuck on the Surface.

He's been weirdly quiet ever since he saw me fight off the Imprisoned. Or maybe it's just because he saw me stitching myself up, and my scars are too ugly even for him. 

I'm surprised he hasn't started calling me crazy yet. Everyone else does, when they think I can't hear them. I always hear them I know I'm not. I can't be. I feel like I'm going mad sometimes but I'm not. 

Link (why am I even signing these?)

---

Dear Zelda,

I've always known that the robots were broken down, and would probably never be able to come back to life, but it never really sunk in until now.

I met one named Skipper. He's used to guard the flame, and he's helping me find his ship. We had to stop at his home to get a map, and I saw his family. They were broken, of course.

I'd never really thought of them as people until now, but there were pictures on the wall, and a letter from his kid– and I guess robots can have kids, and spouses. I wish there had been some way I could bring them down– but he knew there wasn't. He just looked at me, clearly sad even if his face didn't change. 

I don't know why it's bothering me so much. They've been dead for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. 

Maybe it's better that I couldn't bring them down. It would just make it worse, right? There's no way to fix them, and they would've just been stuck on the boat like Skipper is. It doesn't stop me from feeling useless, though, and like I could've done more. 

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

It's been one year since you've fallen. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. They pull their kids away when they see me.

I don't blame them. My hair's grown out and I haven't brushed it in months. I carry a bunch of strange weapons. I don't remember the last time I bathed that wasn't in a river, and it's been even longer since I used soap. I'm covered in bloody bandages most of the time, and my clothes are more patches than they are the original fabric. I don’t even talk anymore; it’s like I’m some sort of– wild thing.

I looked in a mirror yesterday. I don't think you'll recognize me. My eyes looked wild and I'm covered in scars. Fi says they'll fade, but I don't believe her. Sometimes I wonder if I'm still Hylian, or if I'm just a breaking sword.

Would you still love me? I don't think so

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

I’ve got the final flame. Ghirahim– he knows about the second Gate. I’m worried he’ll make it into the temple one day, and find you. If I’d been faster, maybe he never would’ve found it, and you’d be safe.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

It has arms now. The Imprisoned– it broke out again. The seal is getting weaker. 

It was just as terrifying as the last time– and even more powerful. And it was faster, too. I barely managed to defeat it before it reached the temple. 

Groose built this catapult, to throw bombs. He's smarter than we ever gave him credit for. I don't think I would've been able to stop it without his help. I was scared he was going to die, though; the bombs he was handling were huge, and the ground was shaking constantly– it wouldn't have been hard for something to happen.

I haven't let him out of my sight since then. I'm– I'm so scared that I'm going to lose one of the only people I have left. He doesn’t even care that I barely talk to him anymore.

Would you– would Hylia take him from me? Because you think he's a distraction from what I'm supposed to be doing? 

Goddesses, my hands are still shaking.

Link

---

Did I ever really know you? Was it all just a lie? Did you– did you kill my parents, so that I had to be close to you? Were you just laughing at me the entire time, at this stupid boy that actually thought he had a friend?

I don't know what to think. I loved you. I still do. I should be angrier but I'm not and it's all just not right and I wish we could go back to how it used to be, even if it was just a lie.

---

Dear Zelda, 

I hurt Crimson today. He got hit when we were fighting Levias's parasite. 

It's my fault. It was shooting these… things at me and I was hitting them back with my sword and I missed and I hit Crimson and it's my fault. 

We're stuck on this island until he heals. It's probably going to be a couple of days, since no one is going to come look for me. Everyone is more surprised when I'm there than when I'm gone.

It should've been me that got hit

He's not mad at me, but he should be. I always mess things up.

Goddesses, I hope he's okay. I… don't know what I would do without him. I know most people can survive the death of their loftwing, but… I don't think I would be able to. I already feel like I'm losing more of myself everyday, I can't lose half of my soul like that.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

Groose is a lot nicer than he used to be. He even helped patch me up without calling me a loser. His face was all red when I took my shirt off, though. I think he's getting sick. I'll have to tell Granny about it.

It's… nice to have someone that knows. Fi knows everything, of course, but it's just not the same. Even if we never really liked each other… goddess, I'm just glad that someone from Skyloft believes me. He's even becoming a friend, I think. 

We fought the Imprisoned again today. It was just as terrifying as before– even more so. It started flying, and Groose barely managed to shoot it down in time. One time, he even had to shoot me at it. It feels like it’s breaking out faster and faster every time– are you weakening because I’m taking too long?

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

I can't do this anymore 

I'm tired

Why me why did it have to be me

I talked to Faron today. She's split the song up into these things called tadtones. I need to collect them before she'll teach me her part.  

It's going to take a while. They're all over the forest. She flooded it too, so I'll have to do all of it underwater. 

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

I lost Fi. 

It was stupid. I came down right when the volcano erupted, and– I’m not sure what happened, exactly, but I got knocked out and captured by bokoblins. They took all of my stuff, including Fi– and I was terrified. There was smoke everywhere, and they had watchtowers set up, and I never realized how much I relied on her until she was gone.

Eldin was polite– or at least, he didn’t threaten to eat me like Faron does. All that’s left is one more part.

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

I think this is going to kill me

---

Dear Zelda,

The desert is still awful, but at least there’s nothing going wrong here. I don’t know how much you can hear, but I went through the Gate again. Lanayru was dying, and he needed me to get him a cure. Maybe that counts as something going wrong, but it doesn’t feel like it; Faron’s trial and losing Fi was much worse. 

He said that he could help me relive my memories, some of the battles I’ve gone through, and if I do enough of them, he’ll give me an “absurdly sturdy shield”. I don’t really know if I can do it because some of it still terrifies me, but I need to get stronger, and this is a good way to do it.

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

I got the final part of the song from Levias today. I'm opening the last Silent Realm tomorrow.

I'm scared. I'm tired of the guardians killing me. It hurts so much. Why did you make it hurt so much

You'll be home soon.

Link

---

Dear Zelda, 

It's been two years since you've fallen. It’s the first time I’ve stayed on Skyloft for more than a few days, and everyone is giving me strange looks. Maybe they think I've given up, that I've come to my senses, and I'll stop acting so crazy.

I'm not crazy. I'm not. If it was all in my head then I wouldn't have so many scars and I wouldn't hurt all the time and I wouldn't be so tired.

I was going to tell you I loved you, before you were taken. I was going to ask if you wanted to go on a date with me. 

I still do. But it's been too long. Both of us have changed too much. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been such a coward.

I've found two pieces of the Triforce. All that's left is a room full of enemies, and I'm just waiting to get more arrows. Rupin hasn’t asked what I’m doing with them all– I don’t know if he just doesn’t care, or if something about me scares him too much to ask.

Link

---

Dear Zelda,

I'm sitting next to you right now. You've barely changed, but I look so different. My hands are calloused and shake when I write. Yours are still soft. 

I'm just waiting for the potions to start working, and then I'm going to leave. I don't think I'll survive, but I hope I'll injure him enough that you can kill him. 

I love you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in person. There are more letters for you, in my room on Skyloft. There's blood on some of them; I hope it's not too hard to read. I would have rewritten them, but I've been spending all of my rupees on potions. I'm not really sure why I kept wasting money on paper, because I never really intended to give them to you after the first few, but you might as well have them now.

I hope you can forgive me for being a failure. Maybe it'll be better this way. I barely feel like a person anymore.

If you need a friend, talk to Groose. He's… a pretty okay guy, now. You can depend on him.

Link

---

Dear Zelda and Groose, 

I hope you're both doing well. Pipit's little messenger birds are getting faster– my letter should reach you just in time.

How are you doing? Zelda, I hope you're not overworking yourself again. Groose, try not to stay up all night working on your inventions. Both of you, take care of yourselves. My scars have been doing better, lately. I think it just storms too much in Faron (really, did we have to build the settlement there?). In an unrelated note, do any of your goddess powers involve controlling the weather?

Skipper is doing good! We just got the crystal set up, so now his family can move back home. I think if robots could cry, they all would be. I know I was a little teary. I'm glad they can finally go home. I think Fi would’ve really liked this– she always seemed a bit sad whenever we had to talk to one of the robots.

This is my last piece of paper, so I'll have to end it here. Send some more when you reply, okay? (Just don’t make your letters too long– that poor little bird looked like it was about to collapse when it found me.)

Love, 

Link

P.S. Which one of you keeps taking my hat out of my bag? I need that!

@zelinkcommunity

[artemistorm]

Radiant for three sentence prompt?

Sky stood on the stage in the plaza at his own wedding ceremony and gazed at his soon-to-be wife with adoration and stars in his eyes utterly amazed that he had the privilege of marrying his Zelda, the Goddess herself in human form.

She stood as radiant as the sun in her stunning white and gold silken wedding dress, the golden crest of the loftwing as a necklace, her hair half pinned-up in a bun and the other half cascaded down her back with rivulets of small braids and flowers and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

The droning words of the Headmaster Gaepora and the whispered chatter of the crowd faded from his senses and he could only see the shining face of his beloved, saying something to him that he could not hear, but even that too faded into darkness.

Sky swayed, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted because he had locked his knees.

[hanayori89]

🪶🪶🪶Lesson 13: Without a Word 🪶🪶🪶

Lush.

Abundant.

...Grassy?

The further away you meandered from the Sealed Temple, the more the greenery of the surface's expansive forestry captivated you. You were no writer, but there had to exist an appropriate word to describe the plentiful thickets of plants, trees, and shrubbery.

After all, the best warriors knew that the pen and the sword must always be in accord.

As a Skychild, your eyes were accustomed to the sky and all of its mighty shades swathed with clouds made of muslin. But down here, it was quite difficult for you to differentiate from where soil met stem. In the skies, the clouds often had breaks between them, while on the surface, the trees did not.

No wonder Groose didn't want me wandering too far. Still. If someone like Groose could navigate down here and not get lost, it can't be that difficult.

Ahead stood a wall of ferns with a convenient space between them, as if sawed away by a blade. You stopped and looked around at this new world and began to wonder where you would fit within it.

You knew one thing for certain, and that was that the headmaster had already negotiated a plea with you, thanks to Link and your small jaunt to the surface prior. After this stunt, there would be no mercy. At this point, you would be expelled from all of Skyloft, not just the Knight Academy.

None of this is my fault. I told Link I didn't want to be part of this silly legend and now look. If anything, wouldn't the imprisoned sucking me to the surface protect Gaepora's daughter? Maybe he'll show some lenience when I return.

If I return.

The grim reality of everything began to crash down on you, and being swallowed by a sea of trees did little to alleviate the claustrophobia you were beginning to feel from it all. You lifted your hand toward your cheek, unsurprised by the presence of tears trickling down it. Before you could pass the very evidently manmade entrance through the barrier of brushwood, you spotted a smooth, speckled rock calling to you.

You just needed a moment to be still. Your thoughts and fears included.

As you sat down, you began to move a rope of moss from your viewpoint until a voice drifted from the other side of the shrubbery.

In alarm, you slid off the rock, kneeling in the dirt as an attempt to remain hidden. The swinging moss and thick bushes served well to camouflage you and your beige Skyloftian ensemble. A tiny puncture between bushes granted you access to the source of the voice on the other side.

There stood Link, holding his boot and shaking it upside down. You watched as a pebble fell out and ricocheted to the ground and off the precipice he stood on. Behind Link was a flock of birds soaring against an open skyline. He sat down, his back facing you as he dangled his bare feet off the edge of the cliff.

His crimson Loftwing was not too far away, of course. Link reached his hand up, his fingers drawing lazy circles against his companion's lower mandible.

He released a long-drawn-out sigh as he stared out over the rocky terrain of the slope ahead of him. "I can't seem to get it right. No matter what I do or what I say...she just hates me."

His Loftwing nudged against his hand as Link continued to shower him with adoring strokes. "We used to have fun. When we were kids. But back then it was different. There was no pressure. Back then... she used to smile at me." The wind whipped against Link, his hat flying behind him. "I wonder if I'll ever see her throw a smile my way again."

He can't be talking about Zelda.

Your thoughts were about to be tossed around like Link's hat.

Link stood, reaching his arms upward as if he wanted to reach a cloud with his bare hands. A soft groan escaped his lips as he stretched, bringing you back to the days when you were kids, stretching in Eagus's dojo after bamboo cutting class.

The audible reminiscence of his words drifting away from him, distant like the memories of you both being friends and unencumbered with responsibility, gripped you with a bittersweet nostalgia you hadn't expected.

Had your desire to be better really cause you to treat him so ghastly?

He turned toward his Loftwing, gripping its face in between his palms.

"But sometimes... sometimes when I look at her... she looks at me as if she might... as if she might... ki-"

"Master!" Fi popped out from Link's blade.

Link winced in surprise; some pebbles from the cliff's edge chipped off and fell below. He picked his boots up and gave them another shake before moving away from the ledge and plopping on the soil. He paid Fi no mind, lifting his leg and sliding his foot into one of the boots.

"I know Fi. We are going." He grumbled.

"Master, you must remain diligent. You mustn't let yourself be distracted."

"I'm not distracted."

"Master-"

"Fi, I promise. I understand my duty and my duty is to protect Zelda."

You didn't have to see Fi's expression to know that Link's ghost girlfriend was glowering at him. Link stomped away from her, retrieving his hat. He turned back and stared at his phantasmic sidekick.

"And only Zelda." He shoved his hat back onto his head, yanking at it to straighten it and signal the end of the discussion.

This appeased Fi, who vanished back into his sword. But not without one last tip.  "Very well, master, I advise that you have a 98% chance of keeping the goddess safe if you limit your time traversed between the skies and the surface."

The tips of your nails dug imprints into your palms; your fists were balled so tight. The outrage bubbling inside of you, ready to combust. But you couldn't feel the indents of your nails cutting into your skin nor the stabbing in your chest, because you were too busy blinking back a sob.

Whoever he may have been talking about, whether it was you or not, no longer mattered.

"My duty is to protect Zelda. And only Zelda."

You knew that to be a fact given his lineage. But to hear him declare it out loud left you feeling much like the surface.

Without words.

It's ok. I told him before I could protect myself. I don't need him.

It wasn't until a gloved hand gripped your jaw and covered your mouth that you rescinded that thought. Your arms flailed against the toned and slender one now locked around your neck.

You could protect yourself.

But in that moment, with Link atop his Loftwing, flying toward the married horizon of the skyline and treetops, you realized you couldn't protect yourself.

Or your heart.

Edited: 12/15/24

[tenebriism]

Link is just going to casually slip a couple of silver rupees in Pipit's pouch when he next passes by him. He has to be pay him back somehow for the help he's given him.

Unfortunately for this ' MYSTERIOUS ' benefactor, he has chosen the WRONG person to slip money to. When Pipit returns home and finds that his WALLET is a bit . . . heavier than last he remembered, his legs then proceed to carry him swiftly to Headmaster Gaepora's office, where the extra funds are turned into the Lost & Found for eventual retrieval. Perhaps he'd simply found it whilst on patrol, and had forgotten to turn it in, hence how it had ended up in his wallet in the first place.

Such is the life of an around-the-clock overachiever.

If nothing else, though, Link has, unknowingly, given Pipit his feel goodsy ' do-gooder ' boost of the day, so it's . . . something, at least.

" Link. Hey. I turned in some rupees to Headmaster Gaepora's office, just as a heads up. I can't remember when, or WHERE I may have found them, but I must have picked them up while patrolling. " He gestures towards the academy, as if expecting a look of RECOGNITION to cross Link's features. They HAD to have belonged to the Hero, right ? Nobody else would be carrying that much on them, unless they were headed to the Bazaar. " Even if it's not yours, you can take it, on my behalf, once the retrieval time period has run out. I'm sure you'll find something beneficial to use it for. "

--- and off he goes, crossing yet another ' helpful ' task off his never-ending list.

@luzofstars ;; ღ