A Hero's Choice : A Skyward Sword Fanfic

Lesson 5: The Legend

You blamed it on the turbulence.

What else could it be?

It couldn't be the fact that you were soon to be expelled from the knight academy, thus never achieving your dream of knighthood.

Or the fact that Link is a freaking descendant of the first recorded hero assigned to protect the divine goddess.

And those bubbles fizzing from your stomach to your chest definitely did not have to do with Zelda being Hylia reincarnated in the same lifetime as Link, fueling the whole stereotypical scenario of a handsome and ravishing knight protecting a gorgeous goddess.

Yes, it was most definitely the turbulence and none of the aforementioned stressors.

Link's Loftwing, ever the sky surfer, breezed past each tumultuous air current without ruffling even a feather. If you were being honest with yourself, you couldn't fathom Sava making this trip. Discouragement and betrayal left you bitter, creating a drought of socialization between you and Link.

He already achieved the things you poured your sweat, blood, and tears into. And the worst part was that you never even knew. He created this whole spectacle over your friendship, and yet something so monumental was never shared with you.

The part of the sky you were currently adrift in is what you referred to as the "middle sky." An appropriate diminutive since you were currently sandwiched between the sunken land of the surface and your elevated home of Skyloft. The middle sky to you was quite a snore. The gravity was a dash denser than around Skyloft, and the clouds lacked character as they disintegrated around you.

You flew through another updraft, causing Link's Loftwing to swerve in a way that made it dive, until the winds were once again calm and its contorted red wings spread straight.

Your inveterate response was to clench around Link's waist, which was surprisingly embellished with muscle, a little bit tighter.

"It's ok, Y/N. I've got us."

You stared blankly at the back of Link's head, not bothering to respond. Your lack of acknowledgment only encouraged him to continue speaking. You couldn't believe Link, former friend and current nemesis, and, as much as you hated admitting it, your conflicting crush, was a descendant of the first hero.

The first hero.

A man so refined and seductive, you were shocked Hylia didn't shirk her divine duties just for a chance to taste the impression of his lips against her own.

The first time you learned of him was in school. You opened your history textbook to the next chapter to see the page painted with his face. You never paid much attention to love growing up. But the sight of the man with the pronounced nose, jawline as sharp as his blade, and eyes kindled with vengeance—well, it made you blush.

You remembered Karane's laugh as she caught your cheeks soaked by a tidal wave of red. "My, my Y/N, so you do have a type."

Of course, you refuted her jeering. But unbeknownst to her or anyone else, you had ripped out the picture of him from your textbook and stuck it beneath your pillow.

You slept with a photo of him for a few years after that.

And Link was his descendant.

Link, who couldn't even get up on time for class.

Link, whose pants were a bit too baggy and his ears were punctured with dangling silver hoops.

Link, who couldn't even cut a bamboo pole with his sword.

The first hero was the epitome of what it meant to be a man and a knight. Link was, well, he was Link. Overbearingly optimistic, annoyingly cheerful, and naive, Link.

But even the night sky wasn't enough to mask the way he looked at you on that mysterious island. Nor the deluge loud enough to drown out the way his voice had drifted from his lips, a gust of authority that had swirled around you.

In that moment, there was a vestige of the first hero.

"So, you're not going to talk to me at all?" He asked, his eyes trained on the obstacle course of clouds ahead.

"How could you not tell me?"

"The rift between us is already huge, Y/N. What would I have accomplished by telling you I had already become a knight?"

"Forget that! You're a freaking hero! Who fought against the diabolical force of legend below on the surface, and Zelda is a human vessel for the freaking goddess!"

You could hear Link grumble, the sound indicative of the interrogation he knew was coming.

"Who else knows? Clearly, Zelda and the Headmaster..."

You heard a name trickle from his lips as an inaudible whisper.

A name that made the whole situation much worse.

"I'm sorry, did you just say who I think you said?" You dug your nails into his stomach, causing him to flounder as his Loftwing began to jerk around.

"Y/N! Are you mad? You're going to kill us!"

"Apparently I'm already dead if GROOSE freaking knows and I don't!"

You found a small ripple of fat on the side of his abdomen; you pinched it beneath your fingers, causing him to screech. "I-I didn't want to tell Groose; he kind of found out on his own! " Link insisted with panic.

"And why did an ancient pinecone call Zelda "princess?"

After rubbing the spot on his stomach that you had just squeezed, he responded. "First of all, her name is Impa. Do not call her that in front of her; I promise you, her bark matches her bite. And to answer your question, it has to do with the great evil known as "Demise." He cast a curse on Zelda and I. His dying wish was for us to always return to fight against his wicked ways.
Zelda will always be the embodiment of Hylia, ruling many times and restoring peace among the people and land with the power vested within her. And I will always be the warrior who must bear arms in her name."

Link's words were bleak, sobering the mood between you both.

Bear arms in her name. What a fancy way to say 'protect.' He will always be with Zelda. No wonder she adores him the way she does. He is the only certainty she will ever know.

And she was his.

Your grip released slightly, and the knowledge of you and Link never being anything other than what you were made you want to skydive off his Loftwing.

Feeling your hands slacken on his waist, Link moved his head slightly over his shoulder. Wanting to say more but settling on saying less.

"At least, that's the legend. Skyloft should be just ahead."

Skyloft. The place where secrets were drifting you by just like the clouds, and you were in love with a man who was nothing more than a legend.

Edited: 5/31/24