Hi there, friends!

A fluffy yet exciting oneshot!

Enjoy!

As she walked through the hallway, it was silent. Zelda smiled, because it was nice being able to walk without hearing those obnoxious heels clicking for all hours of the day. She was going casual, in her sneakers and comfortable exercising outfit consisting of tight, stretchy pants and a tank top. It was time for sword training. That was the only time her father allowed her to dress in such a manner. She always wore a dress unless she was training, much to her dismay.

She unsheathed her wooden practice sword from its little wooden sheath and swung it around the hallways. She was the only girl at the practice, but the other soldiers didn't seem to mind, and the captain of the guard was glad to train her. He was getting old though, and may not be able to keep up the job much longer.

"….is coming back today…"

What?

Zelda stopped around a corner as she overheard some of the castle maids talking. She pressed herself against the wall and listened quietly.

"He's been away in the army for two years, but the work there is finished and he's coming back. I think the King plans on making him the new captain of the guard, what an honor! He deserves it considering he saved Hyrule not long ago, and he exceeds expectations in the army…."

Link?

Zelda tossed the sheath over her shoulder and kept walking, twirling her sword. The news didn't affect her much. She barely knew they guy, yet she owes him so much more than she could ever give. He stopped Zant and Ganondorf some time ago. He had saved Hyrule and then he had been back in the countryside for a while helping return the children home and finishing up other business before he came back at Father's request to work in the guard and the army. The army had been in a neighboring country to do some work for them to strengthen the alliance. They were a strong country and we couldn't afford to have them on the other side of the battlefield.

"Oh, Zelda!"

Zelda stopped as she heard a deep voice calling for her. She turned to see the King, a large man with a long, white beard. He was wearing red robes that flowed down to his feet. He smiled as he slowly approached her.

Zelda bowed. "Yes, Father?"

"As you know, the current captain of the guard, Horwell, is reaching age where he must pass on the job to someone else. I'm sure you remember the Hero who left two years ago?"

The maids were right. "I do, Father."

"Well, Horwell won't be leaving just yet, but the Hero is going to train today's practice so that he can get a feel for the job and see if he's interested, then Horwell will resume for another week and the Hero will have time to make a decision. Make sure the guards obey him and treat him with the same respect as they did Horwell, would you, dear? And you, as well." The King said, taking her hands in his.

"He saved us, Father. I wouldn't dream of disrespecting him."

"Very good. I'm proud of you, my dear. Have fun in your training." The King leaned down and kissed her head before continuing through the halls.

Well, this should be interesting. I'm sure the Hero will be as excellent as dear old Captain Horwell, though. Zelda thought. She continued to stroll through the halls, and moments later she was in the courtyard where the practicing was taking place.

The men were stretching, preparing to begin sparring. It was quiet, unlike when they were sparring, which is when it was loud. Zelda smiled and walked over to the group. Then she noticed the new figure. Up in front of the men, talking to Captain Horwell, was the Hero. He was wearing his green uniform, with his shaggy, dirty blonde hair poking out from under the green hat. He was standing with his hand on the hilt of his Ordon sword, his wooden practice sword leaning against the wall next to him. Captain Horwell nodded at him once more, shook his hand, and walked away, smiling at Zelda on the way to the building. That was when the Hero saw her.

His eyes widened slightly, then he bowed. "Princess Zelda."

She smiled. "Arise, Sir Link."

He did, and that was when he saw the sword in her hand and the sheath around her body. His eyebrows rose, and his mouth opened, but it was a few seconds before he said anything. "Um, might I ask what you're doing, your Highness?"

Zelda twirled the sword once for effect before she answered. "I always train with the guard. My father likes me to know how to defend myself. I was Captain Horwell's personal favorite!" She said, adding a wink and a laugh at the end. She heard Horwell's laugh almost to the building. She loved that dear old man. He was like an uncle to her.

Link didn't look convinced. "With all due respect, your Highness, the battlefield is no place for a-" Zelda sighed, cutting him off as she threw her sheath to the ground, grabbed the hilt of her wooden sword, and advanced toward Link.

Link sputtered as he stumbled for a reaction. He clumsily dropped his Ordon sword, grabbing sloppily at his wooden sword, barely grabbing it before it fell. Zelda was raising the sword and coming at him. She was coming faster as he tripped backwards faster, unable to get a grip on the hilt due to the shock of her attack.

"I… Princess.. this… I don't think…" He tried as he blocked her furious attacks. The rest of the guard was watching with amused expressions, leaning on their swords.

"Shut up and fight me, Hero." Zelda said as she swung.

His expression was one of disbelief, but then switched to determination as he blocked her swing.

"Fine then. Time to show you how it's done, your Highness." He said, a grin taking over his face. Zelda grinned back, happy to see that he was having fun with it. But then the grin switched to a mischievous one and Zelda instinctively blocked. Link thrust the wooden sword forward quickly and it hit the block. Zelda pushed her block forward and it knocked his sword back. She took advantage of this moment and struck his abdomen with the sword.

Link drew in a breath as he heard a few of the guards snicker, knowing she had won that round. His smile dropped. "Alright. No more taking it easy on you, Princess."

Zelda stared at him with adrenaline pumping in her veins. She raised the sword once more. "I never asked you to take it easy on me." She furiously swung at him once more. He stepped back out of the range of her sword, and stepped forward to parry the thrust that came after the swing. She stepped forward and faster and unloaded a bombardment of horizontal swings, coming faster than he could count them. He planted his feet and met each swing of her sword with equal speed.

The two were breathing hard as they moved and continued this exchange. Finally, Zelda stepped back, breathing in. Link, determined to get revenge for earlier, kept pressing. Zelda continued to back up further into the courtyard as she blocked his hits. She misplaced one of her blocks and the wooden sword hit her arm. She grimaced, as she knew she would have a bruise there later. She stopped backing up and swung, hitting him in the side. Sweat was appearing at the rims of their faces, they'd been going for several minutes now. Zelda turned her head slightly, just enough to see that she was about to be backed up against the tree. She turned forward to face the advancing Link, and she twisted around the tree just in time, so his sword hit the tree where her torso was. Link pulled his sword back and moved around the tree, expecting to find Zelda. But she wasn't there. He whipped around, but she wasn't behind him. He carefully looked around. Where could she have disappeared to?

He heard the branch a little too late.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground on his back, and Zelda was on top of him with her sword on his neck. His sword was lying a few inches away from his hand. Zelda brushed her sword against his throat as she leaned down next to his head.

"I suppose I forgot to mention that I'm also being trained in the art of stealth." Zelda whispered, her breath against his ear. He had taken these few moments to stretch his fingers toward his sword and he now held the hilt in his hand.

"You may be skilled in the arts of swordsmanship and stealth,, but you're no match for my strength." He whispered back, and in one swift motion, he had reversed the roles, grabbing her waist and flipping her onto the ground, his sword now at her throat. He was careful not to press too much of his body weight on her petite figure.

She had managed to keep her sword in her hand, and she was now driving it towards his side. He threw his arm back and knocked away the blow. With only half of her torso being held down, because he had to lift his arm to block her shot, she managed to push up her shoulders and he fell off of her. She jumped up and aimed her sword, as did Link. Once more facing each other, they grinned.

Zelda stepped one of her legs back into a stance, pulled her arms in, and grasped her sword, preparing for his assault. He saw this, and did the same. She stepped forward and engaged him further.

The swords clacked as they met from all angles. Zelda stepped back slightly and thrust forward, but Link reached around her thrust and moved to the side of her while she was caught, getting his legs behind hers and unbalancing her. With a push from Link she fell forward, but she dropped her sword and caught herself on her hands, flipping herself over her hands in cartwheel and landing a few feet away. As she landed, one of her legs swooped out and pulled the sword closer before Link could grab at it. She grabbed it and once more turned to face Link.

His face was one of disbelief, but he moved on and stepped forward to engage her again. He battered at her from all sides, her arms and her legs, as she attempted to back up while blocking his strikes. With one final hit to her knee and a push from Link to complete it, she fell backward.

She immediately picked herself up and frowned. Link was grinning.

"Score!" He said, laughing.

"You may have scored, but I'm still ahead of you. Link, one, Zelda, three!" She said, grinning right back.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Pushing his bangs out of his eyes, he advanced again. Out of nowhere he rolled quickly so he ended up behind her, and he hit the wooden sword into her back. She stumbled forward before catching herself, and she whirled around to face him, but he wasn't there.

"Great." She mumbled, quickly looking around. She couldn't see him in the trees or anywhere around, so she quietly began to walk around and search. She heard a quiet noise behind her, and then hands grabbed her from behind, pushed her up against the wall of the courtyard, and she was staring into Link's eyes as he held her pinned there with his sword against her neck.

"I think we're even now." He whispered, grinning. He dropped the sword to the ground, and Zelda smiled as she dropped hers. She brought her hand back up and punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" He said, and then laughed. "That was just an excuse to feel my biceps, right?"

Zelda laughed. "Oh please. That was to teach you a lesson not to underestimate me because I'm a woman."

Link smiled. "Sorry about that. I am confident in your abilities, you know. I have been since we fought Ganondorf together. You were pretty good with your bow out there. I didn't forget. We made a pretty good team, didn't we?"

Zelda smiled back. "The best." She reached out and took his hands. "You know, Hyrule owes you everything. You saved us, and me. I owe you. You went through so much in such a short amount of time. When we first met, you were a beast, but when you came back to finish Ganondorf, you were so much more. I don't think Hero is a high enough title for you."

Link turned red. "I'm a farm boy. I don't need a higher title. Being here in the castle with the King's privileges is already more than I could have ever asked for. And being able to spar with you every day is something I look forward to immensely now." He grinned as he poked her in the arm.

Zelda's face lit up. "You'll keep training me with the rest of the guards?!" She squealed.

Link laughed and bopped her nose with his finger. "Why would I say no?"

"Because my father would have you fired?"

"Well, other than that…"

He released her hands and gently took her by the waist. Before he knew what he was doing, he had her back up against the wall, and he was touching his nose to hers as she laughed quietly and put her arms around his neck.

"We never did get the chance to get to know each other, but you're a remarkable woman, Princess." He whispered. She sighed with contentment as she felt his breath on her cheek.

"It's never too late to start, right?" She moved her hands to his face and pulled his lips down to meet hers. He smiled against her lips and moved his arms all the way around her waist. Pressing up gently against her, he deepened the kiss.

Wait, what am I doing? I'm kissing the Princess of Hyrule, she'll be married to some Prince, I'm a farm boy, I don't have the right to- Link's thoughts were cut off as he felt her hands moving around his torso.

After a while, they broke apart. He kept his arms around her and she cuddled up into his embrace.

"Well, how's that for an introduction?" Link chuckled. He loved hearing Zelda laugh and feeling it as he held her. "I know it's weird, but I feel like I've known you forever. When I was out there for months on end fighting and fighting to end the invasion of darkness, I needed a motivation. At first it was to return myself human. Later, to rescue the people. Finally, when we came to you in the castle and you were trapped there, and then you gave your life force to Midna, I knew I had to do this for you too. To return the favor you did for Midna. And finally, in the final battle, when he had you captive, I realized I was fighting for you." He rubbed his nose against hers, making her giggle.

Zelda's cheeks turned slightly pink as she smiled. "I also feel a bond with you already. Your dedication to everything and your strength and your dedication during Zant's plague meant more to me then you'll ever know. When you were determined to save Midna and I in our separate times of need, I saw a strength in your eyes that spoke multitudes about your character. I wouldn't rather have anyone else be my Hero." Link smiled, his left arm holding her close while he played with her hair with his right hand. He leaned down and planted one more soft kiss on her lips, then pulled back.

"The other soldiers are probably wondering where we are…" Link whispered, grinning.

"What other soldiers?" Zelda said, grinning up at him mischievously.

Link laughed and released her, taking just her hand. "Let's go, Princess." She huffed at first, but then grinned and squeezed his hand.

As they began to walk back, they heard a rustle in the bushes ahead, but ignored it. As they walked, they talked and laughed, and Link leaned down to plant the occasional kiss on the top of her head. When they got back to the main courtyard, still hand-in-hand, the other soldiers were staring at them intensely. Zelda grabbed her sword and walked back into formation while Link went to the front.

Some time later, the guards were given a break, and they sat down. Zelda strode forward to sit with Link during the break, but not before she heard a quiet voice of one soldier speaking to another behind her.

"By the way, I was right. They were making out. You owe me 10 rupees."

Heehee.

I had fun writing this.

Hope you guys liked it!

Edit: I've gotten a few reviews that have commented on the fact that I portrayed Link as a little weaker than he should have been. This is not my intention, his clumsiness at the beginning of the fight was merely from shock and wasn't a representation of his skills. Believe me, I would never purposely portray Link as a weak fighter. I was trying to show that Zelda was also a good fighter, but I see now that I still should have made him put up more of a fight. Thank you for those who pointed this out! Flames make my future writing better (:

Review por favor!