10 - Rich

It was a beautiful Autumn day on the floating island of Skyloft. Today marked the beginning of Autumn Equinox and the harvest festival. Many of the villagers had set up their own market stalls to sell their delicious seasonal treats, each scattered across the land. Around the tree trunks were littered with crisp leaves and bright orange pumpkins with an array of carvings etched into the skin. No two designs were the same.

Over at the Skyloft Knight Academy, the students were gathered in the grand hall, each of them smartly dressed in their uniforms. Pipit and Karane stood on a small raised platform in front of their classmates, both of them holding tightly to a clipboard. Link stood off to the left side of the hall, leaning back against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and his dirty-blonde head tilted to one side. He had just begun dozing off when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. The silent hero grizzled, wiping the small dribble of drool from his lips before turning to look beside him.

Zelda stood in her cerise knight uniform, with her hands tucked behind her back, "Good morning, sleepyhead" she greeted him with a smile. Link quickly regained his posture, standing tall with a goofy smile plastered across his face, his cheek ablaze. He gestured to her back, causing her smile to grow.

She took a quick peep behind her and winked at him, "Just a little something for the harvest festival. Did you bring anything?" she asked him. The silent hero nodded, pointing over to a large vibrant pumpkin sitting proudly in the center of the table. Zelda's jaw dropped to the floor, "Wow, Mister Hero, you've certainly outdone yourself this time." She teased. Link scratched the back of his head and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Attention students," Pipit called, trying his best to hush the other academy students. They all turned around to greet him with unimpressed faces. He grinned weakly, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He swallowed, gesturing for his companion to take over the speech. Karane rolled her eyes and giggled before taking center stage.

"If you have any more donations, now is the time to do it," she called pointing towards the long wooden table pushed against the right side of the room, "You can either hand them directly to one of us or place it over there yourselves."

Zelda let out a gasp, "Almost forgot," she said, producing a wicker picnic basket from her back. Link looked down the see it full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, "Let me just hand this over. I won't be a moment," she reassured her companion before she dashed off to hand the basket to her upper classmates. The silent hero decided to trail slowly behind her.

Karane smiled, giving the blonde her thanks as she accepted the bundle, "Thank you," she said.

"Sorry it's not much," Zelda cried, "I really wish I had more time. I wanted to make a handful of pumpkin pies for the festival. Sorry, Karane." She replied slumping her head down. She felt a warm leather-coated hand on her shoulder and immediately lifted herself back up, jumping a little. Link grinned at her, giving her shoulder a little pat.

"Zelda, this is more than plenty. Thank you for your donation," Pipit said joining his classmate's side.

"Oh well, if you're sure," she said with a bow, "I'm glad I could help." The couple said their goodbyes to their classmates before walking out of the grand hall. She placed a hand on her companion's arm as they continued to walk out into the chilly autumn day.

♡

The floating island of Skyloft had been transformed into a beautifully decorated market town. The efforts of the townspeople had completely altered the way the village other was. In the river, that flowed through the center of Skyloft, was filled with small paper lanterns with an array of colorful leaves scattered around the place. The large pumpkin decorations that had been placed at the base of each tree were now adorned with cream candles and seasonal berries.

The couple walked out of the Knight Academy and took a look at their surroundings. Both of them couldn't believe how easily the island had been transformed. It was barely recognizable, like stepping out into an entirely new world. Zelda released her partner's arm to take his hand instead and whisked him off towards the festival. She was ecstatic and couldn't wait to look at the market stalls.

Link was pulled along with her, unable to stop himself from letting out a soft chuckle. He knew how excited she was, she could never resist a market. She loved all things arts, craft and baking related, and could never resist sampling the wares and supporting her local village. He noticed his companion had brought along a slightly larger leather satchel that she usually brought out with her. Link raised an eyebrow, he knew for sure the bag wouldn't last five minutes with her spending habits.

The couple approached the first stall, that sat beside the opening of the village bazaar. An elderly lady, in her sixties, sat on a cushioned stool behind her table, engrossed with her knitting. The wood was covered in a warm crimson blanket embroidered with tiny leaves. Her wares consisted of lovely hand-knitted accessories and home-wares. The lady looked up from her work to notice the couple standing by her stall.

"Ho-oh. Hello dears," she greeted them with a kind smile, "Happy harvest festival." She said giving the pair a small bow with her head.

Zelda returned the favor and bowed, "Happy harvest festival," she replied smiling back at the lady, "Your knitting is beautiful. Don't you think so, Link?" she said, tugging on the sleeve of her companion.

The silent hero, who had been looking around curious at the other stalls, looked at her confused. His partner pointed to the knitted wares and he smiled. Link took a step towards the elder and bowed before tapping the table at a particular set. Zelda looked at where he was gesturing too, besides his finger sat a beautiful cream and cerise striped accessory set.

"That's a gorgeous set," she cried, turning to the elder, "May I?" The lady nodded, Link took the knitted scarf in his hands and carefully wrapped the knitwear around his companion's neck.

"It suits you, dear" the elder complimented. Zelda felt her cheeks ablaze, she gave the pair a smile. Link pointed at the set and then to himself, initiating he was paying. He handed the woman fifty rupees, as informed by the small sign that sat next to the accessories, "Thank you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival." She said, bowing her head once more. The silent hero collected up the rest of the knitted accessories and helped his companion put them on.

"Thank you," Zelda replied to the elder before saying farewell. Her partner had handed her a knitted beret. She removed her knight uniform cap and replaced it with the knitted hat instead, it matched her scarf perfectly. The last piece of the set was a pair of striped mittens. She removed her uniform gloves and put on the mittens, "What do you think?" she asked her partner. Link felt his cheeks warm, turning a pinkish hue. He felt his heart race like it was about to beat out his chest. He nodded slowly at her, she looks so cute, he thought to himself. Zelda let out a giggle as she grabbed hold of her companion's hand, pulling him further along in the festival. The kind elder waved them off as they went.

♡

The couple walked around the market, taking a peek at each stall to sample the wares. A lot of them were similar to the elder's pieces, except less knitted and more animal furs, suedes and leather-made accessories. There was a stall, run by Horwell the towering elven assistant to the headmaster, selling riding equipment for loftwings. The leather saddles embossed with a range of patterns; some floral, some with historical symbols and some depicted scenes from nature. They had chosen to only browse at this stall, not in need of any equipment, that was until Zelda noticed a stack of wooden crates beside the tables. She crouched down to take a closer look at the signage, reading Loftwing Treats from the sign. She picked up half a dozen bags and paid Horwell for the feed. She thanked him politely before placing the bags inside her satchel, which to Link's surprise was not yet full.

The pair set off once more, taking a slow walk around the market town, arm in arm. Link noticed a particular stall in the distance and pointed it out to his companion. She nodded.

"Let's go," Zelda said softly as they began to walk over to the next stall. It was a medium-sized table sitting underneath a warm mustard tent, draped in a warm crimson cloth. On top sat a glass dispenser full of a dark amber liquid. Beside it sat a plate of miniature pumpkin pies. Link's mouth had already begun salivating at the sight.

"Good morning," the blonde greeted Pumm, owner of The Lumpy Pumpkin.

"Ho-oh, happy harvest festival young lady," the plump man said with a chuckle, "What can I get for you both?" he asked pointing at his wares. Zelda thought for a moment before making her decision, humming to herself while she browsed. When she had made her decision she stopped her tune.

"May I have a few of the pumpkin pies please?" she asked, then pointed to the glass, "What is this?" she queried.

"Ho-oh, that would be my special spiced apple tea," Pumm replied beginning to box up half a dozen of the miniature pieces, "Would you like some?" he asked.

Zelda nodded, "Two glasses please," she replied. Beside her Link nodded along, he was looking forward to sampling the pumpkin pie more than anything. Pumm handed the pair their own glasses to help themselves to the drink dispenser, along with their box of pastries. The blonde handed over the payment in rupees before thanking the shopkeeper. The couple filled up their glasses and decided to headed over to the river bank to sample their treats.

Link took a seat on the grass, holding onto the glasses as his companion positioned herself next to him. Her legs tucked up by her side before opening up the small box of pies. Zelda took her glass from her partner's hand and replaced it with one of the miniature pastries. He licked his lips, desperate to take a bite. The hero was not delicate with how he approached the treat, instead, he shoved the entire thing into his mouth and began chewing loudly. His companion let out a giggle, knowing his stomach always made the decisions.

Zelda took a sip of the warm amber liquid, it was rich in flavor and packed with cinnamon to add a little heat. It was aromatic and sweet, the heat rushing to soothe the chill inside her body.

"This is lovely," she said turning to her partner. Her face dropped, noticing his cheeks stuffed like a hamster, he had obviously tried cramming the pies into his mouth too quickly. She shook her head, "You look silly, Link." The dirty-blonde felt his chilly cheek ablaze and chewed his treats a little slower before swallowing. He gave his companion and awkward yet goofy smile, to which she replied with another shake of her head.

"Try the spiced apple tea, it's wonderful," Zelda said nodding towards his glass, her own drink cupped in her knitted gloves. She took another tea and lipped her soft pink lips, "I really must ask Pumm for this recipe." Link picked up his own glass of amber liquid and sampled it himself. He let out a hum, she's right, this is good, he thought to himself. He removed the glass from his lips and nodded to his companion.

Zelda had taken another sip of her tea before she turned back to him, "You like it too?" she asked him. He nodded before taking another mouthful, "How do you like the pies?" she queried with a smile, she already knew the answer to this question. Link nodded quickly, looking down at the half-empty box of treats. He gave his companion another flash of his goofy smile and pushed the cardboard towards her, "Oh, thank you for saving me a few, Link." She replied with a giggle and helped herself to one of the pumpkin pies. Zelda took a bite, the pastry was sweet, buttery and complemented the lightly spiced filling. She savored her mouthfuls noticing her companion watch her out the corner of her sapphire eyes.

"Help yourself to the rest," she gestured, pushing the treat box back towards him, "One was more than enough for me," the blonde said as she finished her mouthful and begun wiping the crumbs away from her lips.

Link smiled at her, his cheeks colored with a warm glow. He gave his companion a nod as a thank you before taking another one of the miniature treats to eat. Zelda couldn't help but smile at him, today had been a lovely day. A perfect harvest festival that would remain embedded in her mind for a long time.

She drained her glass of the spiced amber tea before getting to her feet. She took hold of both their empty glasses, "I won't be a moment," she informed her partner before she disappeared back to Pumm's stall. Link overheard her thanking the plump man and complimenting him on his treats. She quickly returned on his side, with a card in her gloves. Link tilted his head to one side and nodded towards her, curious to know what she had there.

"Oh, Pumm kindly gave me the recipe for the tea. I can't wait to sample it," Zelda said beaming at her partner as she placed the card in her satchel. Link had just finished the remainder of the pumpkin treats, he got to his feet to join her side. He took his companion's hand and waited for further instruction. The blonde took a look around at the rest of the festival stalls, her sapphires fixed on one in particular.

"Oh look, Link, they have a craft stall here," Zelda pointed to a violet tent across the river, "Can we go take a look?" She asked him softly. Link nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way. She smiled back at him.

The couple walked hand in hand towards their next destination, absorbing the atmosphere of Skyloft. The harvest festival was rich in color, local produce and a sense of a loving community. It was a beautiful start to the autumn season.