Give in
Link couldn't help but grin as Amara struggled with the broadsword, her arms straining from the weight of the metal. She'd been doing the routines for over an hour now, and she seemed pretty damn tired. But still she carried on, murmuring things under her breath.
After a brief chuckle, he called out to her. "Sheik!"
She turned her head and finally noticed him, and gave a wave. She was in her Sheikah war clothes, her scarf and fringe hiding her face and right eye respectively, the emblem of her people, the All Seeing Eye emblazoned across her chest. Her figure was lithe and muscled. Not enough to look unattractive, but enough to wear something skin tight and look like a man. Sometimes it was needed, to avoid being winked by fellow soldiers.
"How'ya doing, Link?" she asked, and he shrugged. She took that as a signal to carry on training, and she swung her sword up and down, and then across, repeating the procedure.
Link suddenly felt like teasing. "You doing that right?"
He saw by the way she stopped mid swing that she felt insulted. He saw by the way she glared at him that she was daring him to say something else, if he was in for some serious injuries. He said nothing, prompting the Sheikah to say,
"Excuse me?"
Link chuckled at the forced polite tone.
"I was just asking if you were doing it right." He replied nonchalantly, waving a hand as if in dismissal. He knew that the girl in front of him didn't like being dismissed either.
She stabbed the sword into the grass of the training ground and crossed her arms, the gesture rather boyish. "I believe so, until I smelt your rooky stench."
Link twitched. He didn't like being called a rooky either, with how much he'd gone through. But then they both knew they were only playing, pressing the right buttons to get each other worked up. It was just a matter of time before one of them snapped.
"I've been using broadswords since I was ten, Amara. I think I'd know what's right and wrong about them."
She snickered darkly, her eyelashes lowering as if to consider him. "That's Sheik to you, Link. And besides, you're experienced only in swords. Ever used chains? Daggers? Throwing knives? Expertise comes from variety, amateur."
Link's grin turned from affectionate to cold. "That's one theory, but it necessarily isn't right. You concentrate on one weapon, and you grow more and more skilled at it; you don't need to learn how to fight with other weapons once you know how to go against them."
"Oh, is that so?"
Link nodded in a smug and confident manner, noting that unconsciously, they had begun to circle each other, like sharks going for the same prey. His eyes never left Sheik's, and her's never left his. They were catching attention towards themselves too, and the show of rivalry was becoming exciting.
"I don't think so." Sheik said, making him frown.
"Oh?" Link asked back, and Sheik smirked at the interest he was showing.
"Whilst learning to fight with several weapons, you learn what kind of skill you need for which weapon, what's best to fight another. Like chains are good against broadswords, throwing knives are good against bow and arrow. And you can infuse the skill you use for one type of weapon into another, giving yourself the chance to be flexible. A tree that bends to the wind tends to survive better than the rigid one in the storm."
The circling stopped. Link was by the broadsword she had stabbed into the ground, and Link yanked it out, putting it into guard position. He grinned smugly, his hands holding the hilt with the familiarity and affection of a professional as well as a friend.
"Prove it." He said, "You and me. Now. Unless . . . you're too tired to carry on?"
Sheik scoffed. "I'll just get myself another sword then."
Link grinned, the want to fight burning excitedly in his innards. "As you wish, my lady."
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"One who draws blood first, or yields, wins."
"Ready."
"Ready."
"Then in that case, begin."
Link ran forward and crashed the sword against Sheik's, making her grunt. She twisted the blade and made Link's weapon slide across her's and soon they disengaged, and Sheik attacked. In the background, the soldiers watching made bets on who would win, relying on the theories the two fighters had thrown at each other.
Sheik stabbed. Link parried it away. He lunged. She dodged. They engaged again, and Link let out a smile. "You're good, for a beginner."
"You're good too. Though I am surprised you're doing this well without the Master Sword."
Link resented the fact that she thought he only did well in saving the Hylian race because he had a magic blade.
Sheik shoved forward, and the two disengaged. Sheik swung horizontally. Link blocked and ducked, letting the blade slide over his head, bringing himself up in an up-thrust cut. The flat of Sheik's blade met Link's edge, a hand placed upon the metal to hold in the impact.
Link cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"
He saw the grin as her eye tilted. "Improvisation's always dangerous."
She pushed down and Link had no other way to avoid her head-butt except by going backwards, and go backwards he did, bringing the sword up to stab at her chest. She sidestepped and dodged, bringing the bayonet in a horizontal swing at his torso. He did a forward flip to jump over her blade, and before she could comprehend what's going on, had the tip of his blade against her throat.
"Yield." He commanded.
She said, "No."
She ducked and swerved, swinging her sword diagonally up, cutting a long line into his tunic and the undershirt. However no blood flowed, and the ones betting for Link put in a sigh of relief.
The two exchanged more blows, Link's hard and practiced, Sheik's loose and twisting. And with every blow and parry, they exchanged insults as well.
Link jabbed, "Cross-dresser."
Sheik parried, "Fairy boy."
Block, "Cry baby."
Swing, "Heartless."
Thrust, "Shadow girl."
Attack, "Forest child."
Lunge. "Nurse maid."
Flip. "Village idiot."
Link wavered as he tried to shove her off and disengage. He was slowly losing insults that were still friendly. "Blonde."
"Ha!"
Sheik parried his sword wide and away, kicking him in the chest and sending him on his back. He felt the cut on his skin deepen with the kick, and blood oozed out as Sheik crouched on his chest, one foot placed firmly on the wrist that connected to the hand wielding the broadsword, Sheik's own blade poised vertically above his throat, the tip faintly scraping his chin.
Sheik scoffed as blood slowly sunk into his white and green attire. "'Blonde.' Link, that's one of the worst insults I have ever heard in my life. And if you haven't realised, it goes both ways."
Damn.
Link closed his eyes and sighed, groaning a little at the stinging at his cut. "I give in."
"Good." She said, hopping off and extending a hand to him, "Now let's get that cut of yours sorted."
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Sheik chuckled as she put the blood soaked cloth into a basin full of water, letting the blood fade off the fabric. Link was pouting sullenly on the bed of the infirmary, avoiding eye-contact as much as possible.
"I would've won you know." He said, glancing at Sheik before averting his gaze, "I could've if I didn't let you."
Sheik rolled her eyes playfully and grinned. She knew that, but hell to confirming his suspicions.
"Yeah sure." She said instead, sitting next to him, holding a salve to ease off the stinging.
Link made a protesting grimace. "I don't need babying, She…"
"You can call me Amara now." She said, making him smile.
". . . Amara."
She nodded happily and gave him the salve to do it himself. Link looked at the bottle and then at his cut, deciding that he had better options.
He put it away and grabbed Sheik by the waist, pulling her closer. He tugged at her scarf, revealing her face, pulling her fringe back to see her hidden eye. He'd expected her to blush, like so many other times, but she only grinned and pushed him down on the mattress of the bed, startling him.
"You know what's funny?" Amara asked as she held him down,
Link cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"You're a year older than me but you act as if you're three years younger."
The blonde man scoffed, tilting his head to the side so his fringe would stop bothering his eyes, since, his hands were immobile under Sheik's grip. "I'm allowed to act how I like, thanks. I'm twenty, you know. And you're nineteen."
"At least I don't act like it." She playfully shot back, making him laugh.
"And you know what else is funny?" she continued, and Link shook his head in reply. She chuckled and lowered herself onto him, making sure that her bodily contours melded into his. "Nobody seems to realise we're engaged."
Link laughed again and nodded. "You're right. They'll freak when the wedding invitations get sent out."
It was then that Link noticed that they were alone, on a bed together, and she was on top of him. She let go of him and waited, waited for what he would do.
Link thought about what he could do. He could push her off and avoid the temptation she was emanating, refusing the risk to be caught in an act that would be best done behind private and locked doors. Or on the other hand, he could give in, take her offer and indulge in her, despite the fact that anyone could come in at anytime.
His head insisted that he should nudge her off, ignore her hair that tickled his bare chest, avoid the excitingly blood red eyes. Push away the hand that was fiddling with his hair, the gesture giving a subtle hint even though it was rather casual. Roll the curvaceous body of the woman he loved off of him and tell her that he wouldn't fall for it this time. He knew he should wait till night for the skin he began to crave for, and the lips that suddenly looked so good . . .
He pushed her down. She came willingly. The two kissed, starved all of a sudden for each other. The bandages that held her hair in place was quickly unravelled, and magic she had very little of and rarely used fluttered over his cut and healed it, to avoid as many bodily distractions as possible.
He was unbuttoning her shirt when she pulled away. She glided off the bed and stood, putting her scarf and fringe where they had been before and walked away, unfazed by what had just happened.
Link attempted to call her, ask what's wrong, when suddenly the door opened.
"Hey Link. How's it going?" a fellow soldier walked in, a good friend of Link's going by the name of William. "Shame you lost today. I was betting ten rupees on you!"
Sheik turned and smiled under her mask. "That is a shame."
William leaned against the doorframe, shaking his head. "Amara Sheik. Tut tut, Link, for losing against her. Sometimes, you really should forget that's Sheik's a girl."
"Yeah," Amara prompted, shaking her head also, turning to the red faced Hylian, "After all, you hate my guts!"
William laughed and said, "Damn straight."
The Sheikah chuckled and turned to Link, giving a sly look over him before giving a subtle wink. "I'll be waiting in my room, Link, since you've healed yourself. You owe me for losing."
She stepped around William and closed the door behind her, and William laughed outright, shaking his head. He sat on the chair next to the door and snickered at Link's red face. "That embarrassed you lost?"
"…No."
William only thought it as denial, nothing more. "Man, I advise you to give up, stop fighting Sheik and pick on someone else. It just ain't in you to fight a girl."
Link groaned, rubbing at his eyes in despair. "You mean give in."
His friend waved a hand in dismissal. "Either way. And . . . hey, what're those bandages for?"
Link glanced down at the fabric William was pointing out, the thing that had held Sheik's hair together. Link fought the blush that tried to overcome him. "Um . . . Sheik suggested that I wrap my wound, but … yeah. Didn't need it."
"Oh. And I've been wondering for a while now, but what's up with that ring on your left hand? It's not like you're engaged or anything."
Link laughed and stood, shaking his head as he pulled his ruined shirt over chest. "You'd be surprised."
William waggled his eyebrows, now very interested. "Do I know her?"
"Maybe." Link stalled with a grin,
"Have you . . . ?"
"I'd rather not get into that."
William whistled in amazement, rocking back on his chair. "You sinner." He said, making Link chuckle.
"Now, though I'd like to carry this topic on, I need to give Sheik my payment for losing, and then I'm going to bed. I'll be exhausted by the end of this."
If William had watched him go instead of carrying on his own business, perhaps he'd seen how eager Link took the stairs to the soldiers' quarters, where his 'payment' waited.