Linked AU One-Shots

18. Disabled Hero

Prompt: Disability Pride Month (Happy pride!)

Note: While it's not said directly, Sky in this fic has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

(I write with experience of a similar disability myself, and after doing a large project on cerebral palsy's effects on the muscular system in my college anatomy class)

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Link hardly remembered his father. He had died when he was little, tending to his knightly duties. He had no mother; she had died in labor and he almost went with her. He was told that he was lucky to survive, even injured as he was. With no parents, the entirety of Skyloft took pity on him. Some of his dad's old friends brought him into the knighting academy and before he knew it, the instructors and staff had become his new family. More than that, all of Skyloft was looking out for him. The woodcarver Shiz and the Tinkerer Gondo worked together to create a device that would fortify his legs. Such a brace often left him with blisters and splinters, but they prevented his ankles from collapsing on themselves, as well as fix some of his posture and gait. After initial concept designs, Jinx the clothes designer of all people had the idea of lining the inside with fabric to help reduce friction with the tough brace. It was extremely effective, although Link still got some blisters if he overdid it.

His development was the entire talk of the town. For the most part, he was fine. His legs would ache if he walked too far, but he much preferred spending time in the air with Crimson. He could fly and fly for hours without growing weary. Maybe that was why he loved it so much. He reveled in the wind running through his hair, Crimson's feathers tickling the parts of his skin that were bare. There was not a soul in all of Skyloft that flew as much as he did, and as a result, he was also that much closer to his loftwing.

But as he grew, the townsfolk had begun to wonder what the future held for him. And, for the record, he did as well. Somewhere around the age of thirteen, children would choose to work under someone to learn a trade. Somewhere around the ages of sixteen and eighteen, they should be skilled enough to do it on their own. Many spoke of him becoming a merchant, partnered with someone who could get materials. Or perhaps Shiz or Gondo could teach him their trades. But in any case, he'd be able to sit at a booth all day, so his legs wouldn't be a problem. But what they didn't know was that Link had plans of his own.

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"You want to become a knight?" Horwell asked with wide eyes. "Link, I don't think you'd be able to keep up with all the training and regime. I know your father was a knight, but..."

"I know." Link breathed, trying not to flinch at him and Owlan's shocked and disapproving gazes. "It's something I've been thinking about since well... ever, really. I really want to make a difference, just like Father did."

"And you can do that at the market, too. You should know by now that the knights get most of their supplies by vendors, and the rest by their own craftsmen." Owlan protested. He and Horwell crossed their arms, and the sight made Link deflate. He knew they would say something like this, but to actually sit through it just felt different from the thousands of imaginary conversations he had in his head. He found his gaze lowering to his legs. He noted how even after using the braces all day every day for years on end, his feet still pointed at an angle rather than facing forward. Oh, and he was doing the thing again where he was only touching the ground with the tips of toes. He silently corrected that, placing his heels back on the ground for probably the hundredth time that day.

"I.. right..." He said a bit louder than a whisper, feeling his heart sink. He had such a plan, but now voicing it all out loud, it really did sound silly. But just then, there was a tap at the window and a shriek. Link knew it was his Crimson before he even looked up at the window. A new hope swirled in his chest, and he couldn't hide a shy smile. Even his loftwing had come to this meeting, apparently, to cheer him on. "It's just – I was thinking, I could stick to mostly patrols in the sky." Saying those words, he found his confidence back as he sat back up. Yes, he had indeed thought about this a lot. "You know better than anyone how good I am with Crimson. When we're together, we're more than just a rider and a loftwing. We share a soul; everything we do is in sync, and aside from trained knights themselves, no one knows how to ride like I do. Crimson has incredible endurance too."