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It was another beautiful sunny day on the sky island of Skyloft. The villagers had begun busying themselves with the festival preparations. Colorful bunting had been strung up across the island, with paper lanterns, with the academy insignia painted on the side, were lined up by the wooden platforms ready for the students. Today marked the day the students of Skyloft Knight Academy would participate in the Wing ceremony. A race between each loftwing and rider approaching their final year of study.
Gaepora, headmaster of the Skyloft Academy was standing amongst the crowd conversing with many of his student's parents. Almost all of them were excited to watch their children's performance later on today. He heard footsteps behind him, running towards his conversation huddle. The headmaster turned round to see his beautiful daughter Zelda standing there, stopping to catch her breath. She was wearing her favorite cerise shift dress with a studded belt wrapped around her waist. She had a golden harp in her hands, a present he had gifted her with a couple of days ago in preparation for the ceremony.
"Zelda, my girl what's wrong?" Gaepora asked her concerned, resting a hand on her shoulder. The blonde-haired girl straightened out her posture. Her father retracted his hand.
"Father, have you seen Link anywhere?" She queried, her usually joyful eyes looked pained. The headmaster shook his head.
"Why do you ask?"
"He isn't preparing for the Wing ceremony with the other riders. Each of them are practicing their jumps, however Link it's amongst them," Zelda replied, placing a closed fist against her chest. This situation was clearly troubling her, and her father could read the pain across her face.
"Maybe he overslept?" Gaepora suggested, both of them knowing full well the young hero enjoyed his bed a little too much, particularly in the mornings. It was always a struggle getting him out of bed early, but still, that wasn't the hardest part, it was keeping him awake.
"I do hope not," she shouted, her voice laced with annoyance, "He knows how important the annual Wing Ceremony is for the academy." Her father tried to calm her down but instead, she turned around irritated, storming off towards the goddess status at the head of the island.
Zelda marched up the stone steps towards the towering marble status decorated with touches of lush green mosh. She looked up towards the perfect blue sky, untouched by a minimum amount of fluffy clouds. She watched as her lilac loftwing, Plum cascaded through the sky towards her side. The blonde placed a pale hand onto her companion's soft feathers. Plum chirped with glee, stretching out her beautiful lilac and white wings before tucking them into her sides. Plum nudged the blonde with her bright yellow beak, gesturing towards the harp.
"Oh, alright then," Zelda said, smiling back at her feathered friend. She held up the golden harp, resting it securely on her shoulder, supporting it with her right hand. With her left, she tested the strings, first plucking at each one then strumming a few notes together before beginning.
"Oh, youth," Zelda began to sing, strumming on her harp delicately. Her loftwing chirped along happily to the tune. But her rider wasn't happy, the blonde frowned, something was missing. She put down her harp and took a seat on one of the steps. Zelda removed a cream envelope from her brown leather satchel, the close was sealed with the academy wax seal. This was something her father allowed her to do with all of her correspondents. She turned over the letter, smoothing over the inked name written on the front.
Zelda turned to her faithful loftwing, "You know what to do, Plum." The lilac bird took the cream envelope from her rider, before stretching out her wings and taking to the perfect blue sky once more. As she disappeared from sight, the blonde-haired student repositioned her harp and begun strumming on the delicate strings once more.
Inside the Skyloft Knight Academy, the hero Link was still in his bedchambers, comatose. He was already dressed in his uniform but had clearly fallen back asleep. He was hanging out of the bed with only an arm and leg rested on the blue duvet. Suddenly his small window shot open, waking the sleeping hero. Link looked up with tired sapphires to a fuzzy shape standing there. He turned his head to the side to try and decipher the colors. Plum pushed her feathered face through the flap, her beak still holding tight of her rider's letter. Without warning, the loftwing spat the envelope at Link, smacking him square in the face. He woke up immediately, realizing who had awakened him. He saw Plum's face shoved into the window hole and screamed. The loftwing, in turn, squawked, pulling her face from the window and disappearing out of sight.
Link got to his feet, rubbing his still-tired eyes as he picked up the cream envelope from his wooden floor. He scratched at the back of his dirty-blonde hair, cowlicks sticking up in places. He broke the seal and quickly skimmed the letter, realizing he was late for their meeting Link quickly woke up. He ran out of his bedchambers and out of the academy, sprinting towards the Goddess statue at the north of the island.
He walked up the mossy stone steps and noticed his blonde-haired companion standing in front of the pedestal. Zelda was spinning slowly as she played on her golden harp, strumming the strings delicately as she sang.
"Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess, unite Earth and sky, bring light to the land," she sang, her voice as beautiful as an angel making Link's heart flutter, his stomach full of butterflies. In skies behind her, her lilac loftwing circled above, joined by a few of her feathered friends. Zelda turned after she had finished her verse, noticing her best friend staring at her, "Oh, hello Link." She smiled at him, removing the harp from her shoulder. Link gave his companion a little wave, she instantly took him by the hand and guided him towards the Goddess statue.
Zelda spun around to show off her beautiful cerise dressed, "What do you think, Link?" she asked. Her companion stood with a goofy smile plastered across his face. His heart kept skipping beats, but he dared not to tell her. He simply nodded in reply and watched her pale face light up with glee. Zelda giggled and proceeded to inform the silent hero of her duty during the Wing Ceremony. She explained her role as the Goddess Hylia today, and the winner of today's race would be presented with a sailcloth of she had handmade.
Gaepora, the academy headmaster came marching up the mossy steps towards the couple. "Link, my boy, finally decided to join us?" he asked the silent hero, "Overslept, again?" the headmaster raised a white as snow eyebrow. Link nodded, scratching the back of his head nervously. But the older man shook his head, "You need to get training, there is only another two hours before the Wing Ceremony begins."
The silent hero nodded, stood to attention and bowed to his master. Zelda quickly rushed to his side, taking his hand in hers and yanking him towards the wooden platform. Link realized what she was planning, and pushed against her lightly, shaking his head as he was shoved closer to the edge.
"Come on now, jump Link!" His female companion exclaimed, getting ready to push him off. But the hero wasn't having any of it. He put up a little fight, playfully as not to hurt his friend. Link tried to dig his heels into the small cracks separating the planks, but he couldn't get a good enough grip. He turned round to come face to face to Zelda and felt his cheeks ablaze. His blonde companion gave him her sweetness smile before giving him a final gentle push off the ledge, "Off you go, hero." He heard her giggle.
Link fell backward hurtling towards the soft fluffy clouds. He knew the drill of sky-riding and began to whistle with his fingers. But not crimson loftwing came. He tried again, still nothing. Back on the island, Gaepora had joined Zelda's side, noticing the hero tumbling to his death.
"Why isn't he calling for his loftwing?" he asked his daughter, concerned for the boy's wellbeing. Zelda shrugged shaking her head.
"He's been calling. It isn't responding," she replied, a hint of anxiety lacing her words. Something must have happened to the bird. No loftwing could resist the call from their rider. Zelda made a quick decision and took a swan dive off the wooden platform, whistling as she fell backward. Plum immediately appeared at her rider's side, "Save him." She begged her feathery friend. The loftwing gave a gentle squawk and darted after the hero. Plum was much quicker with her dives than he was falling freestyle and quickly caught him with her sharp talons.
Link gave Zelda a weary smile and a quick thumbs up to inform her, he was okay. His companion gave him a flash of a smile back, then continued to steer Plum back up to be reunited with Gaepora. The lilac loftwing put the silent hero down on the lush grass gently. She tucked her beautiful wings back into her sides and bowed to allow her rider to demount. The silent hero quickly scrambled to his feet and joined his companion.
"What happened?" Zelda asked him. Link shrugged, even he didn't quite understand what had happened. He whistled as any rider would after jumping, then shook his head. His female companion nodded, understanding what he was trying to explain to her, "You whistled and he never came?" Link shook his head again, "How strange. No loftwing should ignore their rider's call." Zelda pondered this for a moment, resting her chin on a closed fist to think. Even she couldn't understand why the crimson loftwing hadn't come when called. But then an idea struck her.
"Let us ask around the village, surely someone must know something?" she turned back to Link to ask. He nodded, sounded like a good plan to him, "Let us make haste, else we'll be late for the ceremony." She cried, grabbing hold of her companion's arm and dragging down the path of the Goddess into the center of the village.
The couple looked around, checking for anything out of place and anyone acting a little suspicious. Zelda had asked her father's faithful assistant, Horwell, a tall elven man, but he hasn't seen nor heard anything of the missing crimson loftwing. Link had tried his best to mime his questions to the villagers, yielding little positive results. He was beginning to feel disheartened he wouldn't get to participate in the ceremony at all. His companion rejoined his side, unable to get any answers herself. A small child approached the couple and explained she had heard some strange noises coming from the cave near the waterfall. The infant was scared and asked the silent hero if he would vanquish the monster for her. Naturally they accepted the mission and went to investigate.
As they were making their way into the dimly lit cave, the couple overheard a small group chatting amongst themselves. Link frowned the moment he clocked the group, noticing Groose and his minions joking about something.
"He'll never find that loftwing," the redhead said, a dark grin plastered across his face, "For once I will beat him at something." His minions cackled along with him. Link was about to go over to the group, but his arm was grabbed by Zelda pulling him back.
She shook her head at him, "Let us find your loftwing first," she reassured him. Her companion nodded and led her into the dingy cave. They could hear a squawking echoing throughout the tunnel. Link instantly recognized his feathered friend's call and began to pick up his pace. Noticing him dash off, Zelda puffed out her cheeks, "Wait for me!" she called out after him, running steadily behind.
The silent hero ran back out into the beautiful sunlight, now standing in a lush field. The cries of his loftwing still echoing. He looked up and saw the winding slope towards the upper section of the cave. Link began to run again, darting up the incline. He noticed the crimson loftwing trapped in another portion of the cave and frowned. His feathered friend looked back at him with sad eyes, no doubt he had been lured here with an enormous amount of food. He was a glutton, just like his rider.
"What happened?" Zelda asked, panting at his side. She had just caught up to the pair when she noticed the crimson loftwing, "Oh! You found him. Well done, Link." She congratulated him, giving him a short clap. Her companion pointed to the wooden barricade that had imprisoned the bird. She nodded in reply as they both set about pulling on the poles. But they wouldn't budge. Link let out a groan then asked Zelda to stand back, giving him room. He pulled the practice training blade from its sheath, given to him by Eagus when he was questioning the villagers about the missing loftwing.
Link took a breath, focusing his energy into the sword, before striking hard across the barricade. The wooden chipped away. He continued hacking and slashing the poles until his friend was free. The crimson loftwing let out a happy chirp, taking his first step out of the cave. He nuzzled his beak into his rider's dirty blonde hair before stretching out his wings and taking to the skies.
"Now we've found him, there's something I must take care of before the ceremony," Zelda spoke calmly, however they both knew inside she was fighting with a storm. Groose needed to be spoken with. Link thought it best to leave her too it, knowing full well how scary the girl could be when she was angry. They agreed to make their way back down to the center of the village.
They had clocked Groose and his minions almost instantly and decided to go have a chat. The group was still conversing, laughing and joking about their little plan of imprisoning the crimson loftwing. The redhead hadn't noticed the couple appear behind him but his minions, Cawlin and Strich, noticed the angry blonde, their smiles dropped instantly.
"What is the matter with you both?" Groose asked, wondering why no one was laughing at his jokes. Zelda cleared her throat, making him freeze and turn around slowly. She raised an eyebrow at him and frowned.
"How dare you," she said her voice raising slightly, "Link could have been killed and for what? A joke? Really Groose." She began to wag her index finger in his face. The redhead began to whimper, looking a little nervous.
"I'm sorry. I truly am, both of you," he managed to croak. Zelda shrugged him off and returned to Link's side.
"Good luck, hero." His companion smiled at him, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Link felt his cheeks burn, turning slightly pink as he watched his best friend disappear and get ready for the ceremony with her father, Gaepora. He turned back to Groose and smiled smugly, he would win this race today.
♡ ♡ ♡
The riders had all been made to line up along the large wooden platform that sat next to the Skyloft windmill. They had been asked to line up in a row of six with only twelve students participating. Horwell and Gaepora were stood in front of the windmill, ready to count the riders into the race. The headmaster had hold of a white flag, while his assistant had a whistle ready in his hands.
"On our mark," the older man called holding up his flag.
"Three." The riders began to get into position. Shuffling a little against one another.
"Two."
"One." The students got ready to take their leap of faith and upon hearing the whistle launched themselves off of the platform and into their descent to the soft fluffy clouds. Like clockwork each student whistled, grabbing the attention of their respected loftwings. The aim of the race was to grab a golden replica of the Goddess status before the time ran out. Each of the riders had been given only thirty minutes to complete the task and the leading loftwing holding the idol wasn't giving it up easily.
Link had perfectly mounted his crimson loftwing, glad to be reunited with his feathered friend after the mishap with Groose. Together they glided through the beautiful blue sky without a care in the world, picking up the momentum before attempting to swipe at the idol. He watched as many other riders failed to succeed in the task. The lead loftwing, belonging to Eagus, was dodging each swipe, spinning to both sides gracefully.
The silent hero checked his surroundings to reassure himself Groose and his minions weren't going to try anything more that would cost him the race. He noticed them off in the distance grouped together, Link was informed of their behavior to know Cawlin and Strich would act as decoys to enable Groose to succeed in the race.
Suddenly the hero felt a pellet skim his cheek, he looked up to see Cawlin firing small stones at him. Link frowned, his rival really would try anything to beat him. He gave the order for his loftwing to ascend further into the atmosphere, concealing them both within the clouds. He scanned the area below, trying his best to locate Eagus and his bird. Link spotted them circling a small cluster of sky rocks, he smiled, determined to grab the idol himself.
Link gave his feathered friend another order and the crimson loftwing let out a chirp before descending like a dart through the clouds and back to the race restricted area. He decided on a surprise assault to snag the idol from Eagus. The pair was swift, their descend had provided them with a new-found speed, gliding through the clouds and past his fellow riders. Link outstretched his hand, now only inches from the leading loftwing.
Eagus had not noticed the boy until he turned around too late, the silent hero had won the race, marking his win by doing a lap of victory around his classmates. He let out a cheer for his student before blowing his own whistle to end the race. Link didn't return to the starting platform like he was told to do, instead, he made his way to the top of the Goddess status at the north of Skyloft where he was reunited with Zelda.
He jumped on his friend's back, landing with a little stumble at the pedestal. His loftwing stayed circling the warm summer breeze with his companion's loftwing, Plum. Zelda was stood on the mossy stone, strumming on her golden harp once before. Her angel-like singing melted the hero's heart.
"Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess, unite Earth and sky, bring light to the land," she sung once more before noticing her best friend standing in front of her. She smiled at him sweetly, "There you are. I knew you could do it, Link." Her silent hero was overwhelmed with joy, he was proud of himself for winning the race but more so it was worth seeing her beautiful face smile.
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