Chapter Text
It wasn’t that he had grown tired of exploring the surface. He was plenty interested in the things he’d missed while chasing down Zelda and facing Demise. The constant on-the-run feeling had kept him from noticing the small details, an oversight he’d be correcting in the future.
No. He wasn’t tired of adventure, instead just recuperating so he could move on.
Link stood up from his desk and stretched out the kinks in his spine. Each crack was as satisfying as a sip of pumpkin soup. He tossed down the pencil he’d been using and walked over to the front door of his house.
He’d built his home on one of the floating islands; away from the bustle of Skyloft proper, away from the questions. It was hard, picking which island to use, but he’d decided the easiest one to fix up to his liking was the one where he’d used a bomb flower to clear out the stone wall. He’d used his digging mitts and bomb flowers to blast out extra space all the way down into the bottom of the island.
The house itself was simple, extending out with a porch suitable for watching the clouds below. Link sat on the front steps, hearing the tinkling of the wind chimes he’d hung from the roof of the porch. It was nearing late afternoon and he was expecting a visit from Zelda.
He frowned a little at the thought of the former Goddess.
He and Zelda had sort of…fallen by the wayside. It wasn’t that they didn’t love each other. Of course they did and would always, you don’t just stop. It’s just…she’d used him and a stinging betrayal like that lingers in the conscience.
“Sqwuahhh!” It was the loud screech he’d some to know from Zelda’s Loftwing. The beautiful blue and purple bird circled overhead lazily, it’s rider laughing and glancing up to the sun. The frown dropped from Link’s face and he felt genuine warmth in his chest. There was something purely good about seeing Zelda happy and in the sky. He watched her drop down from the bird and make a soft landing on the grass. Her short bobbed hair, now a pearlescent white thanks to the somewhat mysterious ways of Impa, ruffled in the breeze. She waved at him, approaching with what looked like a book that had, by some amazing feat, survived a dump in Lake Floria or worse, the Lanayru Sand Sea.
“Hey there, Link! I brought you something interesting,” Zelda said, walking up and plopping down on the steps next to him. She handed the book over without preamble and watched him with what seemed to be anticipation. Link ran his fingers over the book and squinted at the writing on the cover. Making out the fuzzy letters, his eyebrows rose and he looked over at his friend.
“You got a book from Golo? The same one from the caves?” Zelda smiled at his questions. It was rare that any heard him talk these days, more rare than it had been before the Demise venture, and his voice had changed so much. It was lower, rougher, and the rusty quality had eased as he spoke more often. He ran his fingers over the spine of the book, noting the material was native to the Eldin area. “Thank you, Zelda.” The former goddess vessel leaned her face on her hand and smiled. There was a comfortable silence as Link skimmed a few pages, pausing at interesting notes. Finally he looked up at his friend. “How is colonizing the surface going?”
“Pretty well, actually. Groose has been such a help. I think he’ll stay on the surface the rest of his life,” Zelda said, giggling and picking at the grass sticking up by the edge of the steps. “We’ve been working on building a village in Faron woods. The sealed grounds are the safest place to land from the sky so Groose and I figured we ought to have a safe space to stay when visiting. Not to mention it makes for a good transition between the outside world and the safety provided by the ruined Temple.”
There was a silence and Link watched her smile fade into a more serious expression. “Link, father and I have been talking and we…we think it’s time you visit the surface again,” she said, speaking fast as if he would stop listening if she took a breath. The former warrior scowled at the ground, watching the grass sway in the breeze with not a care in the world. How nice it must be to simply exist, nobody choosing your actions for you.
“Zelda, I’ve told you. I’ll go when I’m ready. I don’t…” he began but he bit back the last part. He couldn’t admit that he was tired of it all. Tired of being used by Hylia, by friends, by everyone. Hadn’t he done enough? Had he not saved the world? Saved the Goddess? Ended the division of sky and surface?
“It’s been 8 months!” Zelda snapped, throwing her hands up in exasperation. She stood up and faced him, clasping her hands and looking at him imploringly. "You’ve been hiding here in your house and behind your books. Link, please, we… I just want you to be okay.” Link sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face in frustration, picking his words carefully.
“It’s not that I don’t want to go back. I do it’s just... I don’t even have a sword anymore.” It might be an excuse but it was a fair point. He couldn’t just slice through the wild with his hands and academy swords are just about useless considering the worst creatures to plague Skyloft were Keese, Chu-chus, and particularly feisty Remlits. It would be the equivalent of using a butter knife.
“Is this because Fi had to go?” Zelda asked, frowning. “I-if it’s loneliness than I could go with you! Or you could take Groose! I bet he’d love to be an adventurer,” she said, trying for an encouraging smile. Link didn’t answer. When the silence grew uncomfortable, she stood up and dusted off her dress. “Well, you’re invited for dinner with father and I as usual. I hope to see you there,” she said, pausing and looking at him for confirmation. When no acknowledgement was forthcoming, she huffed and made a running leap off the island and took off towards Skyloft. Link watched her go before standing and walking up the porch stairs, weariness weighing on his mind.
The wind chimes hanging from porch ceiling tinkled and chimed giving the warrior pause. They were moving rather violently compared to the amount of wind sweeping across the island, the little metal rods swinging around as though tugged on. Link stared and the chimes came to a rest. Quirking an eyebrow, he continued into his house, cautiously keeping the chimes in the peripheral of his vision. At one point in his life he’d have thought himself silly but he’d witnessed many a circumstance that started silly and ended deadly. When nothing happened, he pushed the suspicion to the back of his mind.
___________
Dinner had been exceptionally uncomfortable with Gaepora remaining jovial in the face of his irritated daughter glaring daggers at the former warrior. Link had wondered whether his vegetables would shrivel up on his plate from the intensity of her scowl. The topic of him remaining skybound was never brought up and neither man at the table was willing to address the seething girl. Though he said nothing Gaepora let his gaze linger on Link as the boy took off on his Loftwing after dinner, concern trumping his tiredness from the day.
In all the time he’d lived and grown in Skyloft, Link had never appreciated anything like he did the night vision goggles for his Loftwing. His crimson Loftwing flew through the evening air and the fur on it back that made it so unique ruffled up in the headwind. He smoothed some of it down with a gloved hand and looked out over the clouds bathed in moonlight, watching as the knights circled around the outer islands. They paid him no attention and swooped past to patrol a different area, working together like they shared one mind.
He touched down gently on his island, pulling the night goggles off his Loftwing and allowing the bird to settle for the evening. Ever since his extended bouts of flying began the bird had chosen to stay close to it’s master, even on dark nights when no other Loftwing was near the islands. The bird nuzzled Link, gently nudging him towards his house with a firm headbutt to the lower back. The warrior chuckled and gave a solitary wave before going inside.
The wooden floorboards creaked as he glided down the hall to his room, shedding the knight’s armor in a corner of the living room. He preferred the soft comfort of night clothes as he slid into his bed, sighing at the comfort of having a safe place to retreat at the end of the day. He had learned much from lingering on the surface at night, never quite sleeping heavily in case he needed to be on his feet in an instant. Here, in his own home, he simply melted back onto his bed. He didn’t bother to continue any of his writing or open the book Zelda had brought him. He was exhausted from a day of research and cleaning garden out front, no need to keep himself awake when he could rest to his heart’s content.
__________
It didn’t last long, peace never does. Link returned to consciousness suddenly, his internal clock telling him it was yet to be morning. Something was very, very wrong and it made his skin crawl. He kept his eyes closed, breathing even, listening for anything out of the ordinary. There was only silence. It was the kind of silence that was ominous, enveloping the room in stale air. Opening his eyes slowly to the darkness, he blindly reached for a match on his nightstand to light his bedside candle. His fingers knocked against a box of matches and he cursed at his clumsiness as he heard the box clatter to the ground. He was still debating what to do when he heard a sound that sent a frisson of fear down his spine.
A chuckle echoed around the small room, bouncing off the walls like it was coming from all directions. Link whipped his head around searching for the source, dread filling his bones like molten Eldin ore. He reached down and frantically felt around for the fallen matches, his fingers scraping against the wooden floor without finding purchase.
A crackling noise filled his ears as he finally gripped onto a tiny match and twisted around to light the candle by his bedside. The room, now filled with a golden glow, seemed innocuous. He looked around for the source of his unease but saw nothing in the dim lighting. Confused, he sat up and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. He froze as something brushed against his leg. Uncovering his eyes, he came nose to nose with a ghost. Or more accurately, a demon.
“Hello, Skychild.”
The candle went out with a snap and Link was showered in a sea of diamonds. He scrambled to light another match, growling in frustration. His mind was whirling with questions and he deeply resented not having his sword anymore. Outside, the wind chimes jingled loudly as the wind picked up, howling as it parted around the corners of the house. Link cursed out loud and stood up, running out of his room with urgency. He ripped the front door open and felt his chest seize.
Across the sky, great roaring flames licked at the base of the goddess statue like hell’s mouth had opened at her feet and it was spreading.