The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Chapter 58 - Hard Work

His enraged cry permeated through the air; sweat was glistening off his naked chest from the toil. Link flapped his wings vainly in an endeavor to maintain his position in the air. He had jumped off a broken wall of rubble to gain momentum for the attempt. He screamed his fury as he felt the strength of his appendages give. Tumbling to the ground in a mass of feathers and limbs, he smacked the ground with his fists in futile anger.

"Why can't I do it Saria?!" Link breathed heavily, kicking up dust that wafted up into his nose which forced him to sneeze. "Damn it!" He shouted.

Rising up to a sitting position violently, he thrust his wings back behind him with an infuriated holler. Why were his wings so utterly useless? Saria alighted next to him from her vantage point above. She walked over to him before kneeling to face him on his level. Impa gazed on the proceedings impassively, preferring to lean in the shadows against the scattered remnants of the structure that had once stood by the edge of the lake.

Fluttering her ethereal wings calmly behind her, she placed a hand on his quivering shoulder. He was clearly angry at being unable to fly. "I'm not entirely sure Link. I honestly don't think your wings are strong enough to support you." She said, affirming her own suspicions.

"What?!" Link spat at her, far angrier than he should have been with Saria. He instantly regretted his ire the moment she backed away from him. "Saria...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I'm just so angry! What is the use of having wings if they don't work?" He exasperatedly exhaled.

"I beg to differ." Impa proposed, stepping out from the shade. "You have been training very well these past few weeks, you and Zelda both. In fact, I believe you are performing better because of your wings."

"I don't understand." Link fumed leaning back, resting his hands against the ground.

"You're faster, for one thing." Impa praised. "Whenever you jump or roll out of the way of my thrusts, you tend to travel further, or leap higher." Link turned away, taking in the majestic sight of the lake beside them. He knew she was right but didn't want to admit it. "Your wings may not be able to carry you along the winds, but try to think of them as a further extension of what you can do now."

"I'm sorry Link. I really wanted to share the sky with you." Saria said dejectedly.

"Tell you what." Impa offered with a smile. "See that tall wall over there? Try leaping up and over that utilizing your new ability." She pointed over to a collapsed building wall several meters away that was at least the height of two grown men, far too high to jump over normally.

Rolling his eyes not fully trusting in Impa's confidence in his skills, he grumbled pulling himself up to standing height. Cracking his neck before stretching out his wings, he breathed hard getting himself psyched up for the challenge. He bolted in a dead sprint at the wall. Within several feet of the brick, he bounded onto its unyielding surface. With a swift kick to push himself off of the wall and a flap of his wings, he vaulted himself over the great height.

A smile burst onto his face as he realized he had cleared the obstacle, it deflated the moment he saw the naked form of Zelda beyond the wall. She had just emerged from the lake from bathing after their training. She was just drying out her hair as her eyes widened at his sudden appearance. They both shouted in unison as he went flailing to the ground by her feet, a tangle of limbs and feathers.

"Damn it!" He roared, averting his eyes from the unclothed Zelda.

"Link!" Zelda yelped, hastily covering herself with her mound of clothes stacked nearby. "I thought you were training with Saria on flying?"