#anyway it's always fun to remember that Sky Zelda can kick butt

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Sparring (Skyward Sword Zelink)

@zelinkweekofficial​

“Okay, we have to make this more interesting,” Zelda said as she swung her training sword a little, getting a feeling for the weight; it had been a while since she’d used one of these. “If you win, you get a special surprise tonight.”

 Link cocked his head to the side, confused for a moment, before dawning comprehension lit up in his eyes, and a deep blush colored his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Zelda giggled at the sight of it. Honestly. As if they hadn’t been married for two months, as if he wasn’t used to their loving nighttime activity by now, even if they’d been too busy as of late to do anything recently. He was adorable.

 “So what do I get if I win?” she prompted, swaying in place.

 Link raised an eyebrow. “I feel like that reward is pretty win-win for both of us, honestly.”

 Zelda laughed. “I can’t argue that, but you still need to come up with a prize if I win.”

 Link pouted, but Zelda was unmoved. She sheathed her sword and crossed her arms, waiting.

 “If you win…” Link said thoughtfully, putting his hands on his hips. “If you win, I’ll be in charge of organizing the building efforts in the settlement for the rest of the week.”

 Zelda raised her eyebrows. Since the settlement had been her idea, she’d been the one to approach concerning all the problems associated with it, and while she was more than willing to accept that responsibility, it was nice to get a break. It was a lot of work, after all… which was why it was a surprise Link was offering to shoulder it.

 She nodded approvingly, all the more eager to beat him just to see how the rest of the week would play out. They’d have a good time tonight whether she beat him or not, after all, not that she was telling him that.

 “Very well,” she said. “Hope you’re ready to be the leader, because I’m not holding back!”

 Link smiled eagerly, his brow furrowing in concentration and making it look almost like he was daring her to even try and land a blow on him. She felt all the more incensed by it, and she drew her blade.

 The couple circled each other briefly, sizing each other up. It had honestly been a little while since Zelda had fought on a regular basis, but she hadn’t abandoned her skills. She still sparred with other knights in what little free time she had, and she had helped to clear the area of monsters when they’d first started founding their settlement near the Sealed Grounds.

 Also, she had memories of fights long before the settlement, before Skyloft, and she had techniques that no one knew. Techniques that she had yet to share with Link, simply because she was still sorting through all the memories herself.

 She could win this. She would win this.

 Link continued to watch her, undaunted. He usually wasn’t the first one to attack in a sparring match, being patient and observant. Zelda was typically the more aggressive fighter between the two. But neither of them had actually sparred the other since everything that had happened a year ago, so she was curious how much his ability had changed.

 There was, after all, a huge difference between fighting off monsters and dueling a skilled sword fighter.

 Zelda eventually took the first move, tired of waiting. She lunged forward, her sword reaching for his right shoulder, and he quickly and easily deflected it, pushing her blade to the side. The move left her wide open, and she quickly retracted her arm as he tried for an upward slash, taking the hit bluntly on her blade and almost knocking her off balance. Link took advantage of her momentary pause and swung his sword down along her right side and then pulled it across in a strong motion. Though it hit her blade directly with little movement from her, it did succeed in throwing her off, and she skidded on her feet as her blade almost left her grip.

 Zelda dove into a roll rather than give Link a wide opening to her unprotected back. When she righted herself, she was a few paces away from him, gritting her teeth in determination. Fine, he got the advantage there, but the fight wasn’t over yet.

 Maintaining a good distance, she held her sword at the ready. This time, Link didn’t wait, striking along the side where he spotted an opportunity. A quick parry and riposte made him take a step back, but he wasn’t pressed back for long, moving his sword in different angles and forcing Zelda on the defensive. She decided to break the cycle by side stepping an attack, jutting her sword towards his outstretched arm from the strike that he had just done. Link twisted hard, gripping his blade with both hands to grant himself some more speed and strength in the sloppy parry, knocking Zelda’s sword and balance off to the left. Link’s desperation granted Zelda a moment to recover as well, and the couple took two steps from each other to create space.

 If there was one thing she remembered from her battles prior to Skyloft, it was that she had been much taller, which made this awkward. However, her opponent had also been enormous and insanely strong. Quick movements and flexibility in her strikes had been her advantage, and it had won the fight millennia ago.

 Blowing out a breath, Zelda commented, “You certainly are motivated to win.”

 Link raised an eyebrow and gave her a coy smirk. Then he lunged again, bringing his sword in an upward diagonal strike. She stepped back with the motion, letting his blade cut the air in front of her and leaving his arm open for an attack. Bringing her sword around his blade, she came down on his arm, but Link pulled back, shifting his momentum just in time for his blade to make contact with hers rather than his arm. He used the strike to give his sword some speed as he swirled it around to come at her from above after being shoved out of the way. Zelda flipped her blade momentarily, closing the distance and smacking him on the forehead with the pummel of her hilt. Dazed, Link stumbled back with a grunt.

 “Where’d you learn that?” he mumbled, rubbing his face.

 “Fight’s not over yet!” Zelda yelled excitedly as she closed the distance yet again, ready to knock him flat on his back with his guard down as it was.

 Link caught the movement right on time, but instead of deflecting her blade off to the side, he met it full force, pulling them into a temporary bind. Before Zelda could pull back, Link took a large step towards her, angling his blade downward, his wrist twisting so that the guard of his blade locked with the guard of hers. The tip of her sword slammed into the ground, pinned, and Link held his left fist up at eye level. Zelda flinched, realizing she was about to get punched in the face, but Link didn’t follow through with the move. Instead he dipped in and pecked a quick kiss on her lips and pushed her away, breaking the bind between their swords.

 Zelda huffed, flustered despite herself. “You think I’m going to go easy on you because of that?”

 Link smiled innocently.

 Agitated, Zelda gave an annoyed growl as she charged towards him. Link took several hasty steps back to maintain a safe distance as she sieged him with slashes and cuts. He parried, his face set in stone as he focused, and eventually he took a large step back and raised his sword high, bracing.

 Zelda knew that pose. She’d seen it firsthand when he’d fought Demise, and she’d seen the vestiges of it since then.

 Skyward strike.

 But he was not armed with the Master Sword, it would not grant him any favors in doing such a move and opening himself up in such a way. It was almost odd to see him doing it; he’d been breaking the habit over the past year so he wouldn’t get himself hurt.

 She wasn’t going to be upset about it today, but they’d definitely have to talk about it.

 Taking advantage of his now defenseless body, Zelda lunged straight at his abdomen.

 Link took a large step back, angling his abdomen from her with speed she wasn’t expecting, and then brought his blade down to bat hers away, and this time she couldn’t drop or roll fast enough to avoid leaving her back exposed to him as her body twisted with the parry.

 Zelda felt a heavy blow on her back, making her face plant into the dirt.

 She heard Link’s heavy breathing at her ear an instant later as he bent down over her. “You okay, Zel?”

 Of course she was, they were using dull training blades and wearing chainmail. Her pride, however…

 Grumbling, Zelda kept her face in the dirt. It was better than looking at him at the moment. She’d been duped and she knew it.

 “Zel…” Link whined, and judging by the noise he had decided to lay down prone beside her and stare at her with his pleading eyes.

 Zelda huffed. She couldn’t stay mad at that goofball. Turning her head to the left, she stared at his face, inches from hers, and jutted out her lip in irritation. “Fine, you win.”

 Link’s smile was practically radiant, and as Zelda rolled onto her side to face him fully, he pulled her to him and gave her a kiss. “Don’t worry, I’ll still run the settlement for the rest of the week.”

 Zelda blinked. “You will?”

 “Of course I will,” he said softly, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against hers. “I know you’ve been stressed.”

 By the Three, she didn’t deserve him.

 Sighing, she nuzzled into his neck, holding him tightly.

 “Aw, aren’t you two adorable.”

 Link flinched and Zelda jerked away, both looking up to see Groose standing at the entrance to the clearing.

 “Hate to break up the moment, but we got some extra supplies and were getting ready to divvy it up. Cawlin is trying to petition for more and some of the others aren’t happy about it.”

 Zelda heard Link sigh irritably. She made a motion to stand and play mediator when his hand settled on her shoulder.

“I got it,” he muttered, rising.

 Zelda smiled apologetically. Well, if he insisted.

 She’d head back to their residence and tidy up so he wouldn’t have anything to worry about for the evening.

 And then she’d stockpile on herbs and tea because her husband would no doubt have quite the headache when he got home.