This is the story that precedes The Other End of the Sword: Book One. It's a fun little tale that provides the background info that's always referenced in Book One. Hope you enjoy this story which follows Link's life prior to being knighted.

Please review!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Zelda.

Prologue

"Finals are only six weeks away, Zel. Aren't you gonna dash home right now and bury your face in a stack of books?"

With a giggle and a scoff, Zelda peered into the sky before giving a playful glare to her best friend. The grandiose Main Island of Skyloft hovered in the distance, imposing its protective aura upon the many surrounding islets, much like a celestial body watches over its satellites.

The springtime sun was beating down, foretelling of the wonderfully warm summer days that were just around the corner for everyone at the Skyloft Knight Academy. As the cool breeze swept her light blond hair aside, she wrapped her arms around herself, gripping the thick sleeves of her pink, woolen jacket.

"Are you saying that I study too much, Link?" she asked with a smile. From above, she studied her sandy haired friend as he lay in the grass, with hands behind his head and eyes closed. He had an extremely content look on his face. The only movement from him was a small grin that curled the corner of his mouth.

"Yes, I am," he replied, still resting his eyes. Folding her legs beneath her, Zelda's smile widened. Link was in his element: in repose, soaking up every available drop of sun, and doing his favorite thing in the entire world – nothing.

"Well, you know," she began as she leaned into his face, "we can't all effortlessly earn straight A's, like you." With a grin he cracked a blue eye, peeking at the one young lady who he endeared above all others.

"It's not effortless, Zel," he breathed, adjusting his back on the soft grass. "I study like everybody else."

"Well, sure, you work hard on your sparring and flight training, but I never see you reading!" Zelda exclaimed. "Even before a test!"

"That's 'cause it's all up here," he said as he pointed lazily to his head. "Maybe I don't get much use out of my textbooks, but I do use them before finals. You're being pretty presumptuous there, missy."

"Well, the only reason you brush the dust off and finally use them is because the instructors like to trick us, and test us on obscure facts from the books."

"You got me there," Link admitted, closing his eyes again.

"No, I got you here!" she cried as she whipped the brown leather boot off of his foot. Pushing up onto his elbows, he gaped at her as she ran off, her long, cream colored skirt trailing behind her.

"Hey! That shoe is new! What're you doing with it?" Sitting upright, he observed as her tiny feet carried his boot to the eastern edge of the islet. "Women…aaaaugh," he groaned as he shot to his feet and started sprinting.

Glancing over her shoulder, Zelda squealed, realizing that Link was in hot pursuit. She turned her head and laughed as she picked up her pace, determined to pull off her little prank.

After all, he'd done the same thing to her recently.

"I don't think so," Link mumbled to himself as his impassioned gait closed the gap between them. Nearly out of breath, Zelda made one last attempt to dash to the nearby edge, but it wasn't long before she felt a familiar hand wrap securely around her arm.

"Ah!" she screeched as she was tugged to an abrupt stop. Link's free hand circled to reclaim his lost footwear.

"Thank you," he said with an exasperated head shake. Letting go of the young lady, he bent down to redress his foot. "I can't believe that! You're worse than I am!"

"Ha! I am not!" Zelda laughed. "If I remember correctly, my pristine white sandal, that I purchased from one of those expensive little shops in the village…" She gave Link an accusatory look. "…And don't act like you don't remember, because you were with me that day…" He looked away and shrugged. "…Met a similar fate when you 'accidentally' dropped it over the edge last week!"

"Hey, Crimson and I caught it, didn't we?" Link pointed out. Zelda's mouth fell open.

"Sure, after you let it fall for how many seconds? You're lucky you've got an exceptionally fast bird, or my shoe would've been lost below the cloud cover, gone forever."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he told her sweetly.

"Yeah," she muttered incredulously. "I'm sorry too." Link chuckled and held his arms out.

"Makeup hug?" he suggested, flashing a handsomely white smile. Zelda's eyebrows came up.

"Does it involve a noogie?" she asked, making a wry face. He shook his head.

"Knight's honor," he promised, presenting her with a small bow. Zelda pursed her lips. She didn't believe him, but she stepped up to him, nonetheless.

Interlacing her fingers with his, she raised her chin, offering him her most charismatic grin. He returned her expression in kind as their blue eyes met. Looking down at her, he smirked.

"That doesn't mean I can't tickle you, though," he jeered. As he proceeded to brush his hand along her neck, she practically jumped out of her skin. "I'm just kidding," he assured her. With a heavy breath, she dropped her head, resting it on his chest. For a moment, she took in the fragrance of his russet-hued tunic. It smelled like the sparring hall; this equated to the scent of wood, metal, leather, bandages, ointment, and a hint of sweat.

"When's the last time you washed this, Link?" Zelda asked, examining the white bird emblem on his chest.

"Three weeks ago," he replied.

"What!" she cried, throwing her head back.

"I'm kidding," he said, admiring her alarmed look. "Actually, I just had it cleaned yesterday. You don't need to tell me. It's impossible to eradicate the 'aroma' of blood, sweat and tears."

"Ew," Zelda groaned.

"Non-knight students, they just don't understand," Link sighed.

"I don't think I want to," Zelda insisted. "I'm perfectly fine with my loftwing and environmental studies, thanks."

"Psssh, boring," Link teased.

"Oh, stop it, you," Zelda scolded. "Stop being such a pain. You're cuter when you're nice."

"Since when am I cute?" Link asked.

"I'm always telling you you're cute," Zelda giggled.

"If you say so." They both stood and stared at each other. Zelda looked down, not realizing that Link had been gripping her upper arms. He, in turn, just noticed that her hands were wrapped around his waist.

"Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do we have a death grip on each other?" They both laughed for a moment. "Not that I'm complaining. I sort of like this position."

"Oh yeah?" Link asked.

"Mmmhmm."

"Well, that can mean only one thing," Link stated, quite seriously.

"What's that?" Zelda asked.

"That we're supposed to kiss," Link concluded with an approving nod.

"Oh, really?" Zelda asked.

"Yep, really."

"Like a big, sloppy, wet kiss?" Zelda sniggered.

"Exactly," Link confirmed.

"Like a big, open-mouthed nasty thing?" she asked, parting her lips and wagging her tongue in his face. He grimaced a bit before he joined in on the silliness. Soon they were both shaking their heads and playing a game of tongue tag.

"I hope you don't really kiss like that," Link said with a twisted face. "Whoever the lucky guy is who gets to share in your first kiss is in for a rude shock - pretty girl, dreadful kisser."

"I'm sorry I'm not an expert like you," Zelda said as she cocked her head.

"Zel, a peck on the lips at the age of eleven does not an expert make."

"Well, it's more experience than I have," Zelda said with a head bob.

"And Malon kissed me, remember?" Link reminded her.

"Sure, Romeo," Zelda taunted. Rising to the tips of her toes, she smiled in his face again. Her hand came up and swept across his cheek. He turned, feeling her fingers claim his left earlobe.

"Mmm. What're you doing?" Link asked. "That's sensitive, watch it."

"Your birthday's coming up," Zelda said, toying with the silver loop between her fingers.

"Yes, it is," Link said in a slightly strained voice. "In a couple of months…"

"Are we really almost twenty-one?" she asked, examining the gleam in the metal as she twisted it.

"Yup, really," Link verified.

"Where did the years go?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Don't know," Link said, flinching. "Can I have my ear back?"

"Oh, heh, sorry," she said, nearing his face and wrinkling her nose. He looked back, slightly mesmerized by the sparkle in her icy blue irises. Her smile faded as she watched a subtle change wash over him. She curled her fingers into the fabric on his back.

"You okay?" she asked him. His face remained blank.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," he said. They stood quietly for a few seconds.

"Uuuuh," she said, freeing her hands and running them through her hair. "We should probably head back, right? They're probably about to serve dinner." Link glanced at the sun.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said.

"I wish every Friday afternoon could be like this," she said solemnly.

"Every Friday afternoon is like this, Zel," he said, lifting his hands.

"No, I mean, from now on," she said, rocking her head to the side and digging her toe into the dirt.

"Why, what's changing?"

"Well, we've got some pretty tough exams to study for. And I've got dance club responsibilities to worry about, and you've got your music-"

"That's never stopped us before," Link said, giving her a strange look.

"Well, that's not all. I actually just agreed to play the role of the Goddess in the Wing Ceremony. Well, ceremonies, I should say." Link nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah? That's a pretty big deal. I think our building might've been selected for the first contest, but I'm not sure... "

"Yeah. I've got a lot to do to prepare for it. It's gonna take up a good bit of my time…I dunno how much free time I'm gonna have in the next several weeks."

"Oh, well…" Link said, shifting his eyes, "we'll always have time for each other, right?" He smiled again, drawing a somber gaze from his friend. "What?"

"I hope so," she said, looking down.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked. She took a moment to respond.

"Oh, I mean, it's nothing," she said bleakly. "I'm just…a little worried about all this important stuff coming up. Don't worry about me." Her weak smile did little to ease his worries.

"Um, okay," he said. "Did you wanna go into the village tomorrow? Maybe we can eat at The Chateau, or something? My treat."

"It's always your treat," Zelda said softly.

"I can give you a foot massage under the table," he said.

"You're too good to me," Zelda said, a shyness beginning to show itself. Link frowned for a moment before reaching his arm around her small shoulders.

"I know," he said, giving her a squeeze. "If you bring your flute along, maybe we can sit in our spot by the overlook and play together."

"Sure," she replied as she felt herself gently pulled along.

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming, Zel."

"Sorry, I'm just sort of distracted," she sighed.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Zelda said as she scrunched her shoulders. "Just keep being you." Link smiled and rested his face on the top of her head as they walked.

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask you…" Zelda started to say.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come to my dorm tonight? Like, maybe around ten, or so?"

"Sure, why? Something wrong?"

"I just wanna talk some more," she said, looking at the ground. "I've had some…stuff on my mind lately. And you're my most trusted friend…"

"You don't need to explain yourself," Link said with surety. "I'll be there. Not a problem."

"Thanks."

"I'll race you back to the Main Island," Link challenged. A meager smile crept back onto Zelda's face.

"You're on," she called as she shot out of his arms without warning.