In a secret part of Drake City, away from civilians and from prying eyes, the Mysticons lived in their secret hideaway, ready to save the city at a moment's notice. Inside this secret hideaway, they discussed how best to protect the city, they strategized about their next plan to take down Necrafa, or they simply relaxed with junk food or the latest video games. But today, in an empty sparring room near the sleeping quarters, two of the Mysticons were engaged in training.
Arkayna Goodfey and Zarya Moonwolf were teammates and close friends who'd been through quite a lot together since they'd first met and became Mysticon Dragon Mage and Mysticon Ranger, half of the four person team that protected the realm of Gemina. They certainly had their disagreements, having come from two different walks of life, but they were fire-forged teammates with the common goal of saving innocent people from harm.
"You ready, princess?" asked Zarya, standing across the room from her teammate Arkayna.
"Bring it on!" Arkayna replied, crouched in a fighting stance.
The two were preparing to engage in a sparring match, clad in light training outfits, with Zarya dressed in a tight fitting blue t-shirt and baggy black pants, and Arkayna dressed in a white tanktop with green shorts. Unlike previous sparring matches which had been conducted in full Mysticon regalia, this would be a hand to hand fight.
"You sure you're ready? Remember, no fancy magic tricks allowed, just fists and feet," said Zarya, smirking as she took a combat stance of her own.
"Don't underestimate me," said Arkayna, narrowing her eyes.
"And none of that hair whipping either," said Zarya. Arkayna rolled her eyes before producing a scrunchie and tying her long red hair back in a ponytail behind her head.
"I'm not going to need it to beat you," said Arkayna, almost offended that Zarya didn't seem to think much of her fighting skills. "Now let's go!"
The two girls ran at one another and Zarya took the first punch, aiming a fist at Arkayna's chest. Arkayna raised her hand and blocked the strike, deflecting Zarya's blow before throwing a swift punch of her own that Zarya met against her raised palm.
"Not bad, but you'll need to hit a lot harder than that," said Zarya. Smirking, she grabbed Arkayna's wrist and tried to throw her off balance, but Arkayna quickly broke Zarya's hold with a strike from her other hand to Zarya's forearm. As Zarya stepped back, Arkayna lunged forward with an open-palmed strike that Zarya was barely able to dodge. "Whoa!"
The two girls traded a few more blows, though neither of them was able to land a meaningful strike, dodging or deflecting each other's punches and thrusts fairly easily. Arkayna was the first to try and land a kick, swinging her foot at Zarya's leg, but Zarya was able to dodge and then swept her leg under Arkayna's, tripping the princess up and causing her to fall to one knee. When Zarya went for a follow-up strike, Arkayna caught Zarya's fist in her hand. Zarya lunged at her, and Arkayna rolled out of the way, getting back to her feet at the same time as Zarya. The two took a moment to catch their breath before re-entering into their fighting stances, eyes locked as they began to pace around one another.
"I gotta hand it to ya, Arkayna, you're pretty quick," said Zarya, still smirking confidently. "Maybe you've picked up some things from watching me in battle."
"Ohoho, really?" Arkayna replied, almost laughing as she spoke. "You still don't have any idea how good I am, do you?"
"Prove it, princess!"
Arkayna suddenly came at Zarya with a flurry of fierce blows, striking out with several punches. Zarya dodged the first three, but one came in a bit too quickly and caught the blue haired girl in the side, stunning her for a brief moment. That moment was all Arkayna needed to follow through with a powerful uppercut palm that caught Zarya right under the chin, sending her flying up into the air and landing hard on her back.
"Unnngh!" gasped Zarya, as her back slammed hard into the floor. Before she could react, Arkayna was moving swiftly at her.
"You're mine, Zarya!"
Zarya gasped, but rolled away just in time. As she was getting to her feet, Arkayna continued to rush at her, striking at her with a few more swift punches. Zarya had to resort to blocking them against her arms, but Arkayna was coming in too fast for her to avoid them all, and Zarya took several more shots to the face and chest.
Dammit... thought Zarya, unable to prevent the princess' relentless strikes. Arkayna's punches and thrusts kept coming in faster than Zarya could keep up, and she was worried she might end up on the ground again.
"Ready to give up?" Arkayna said confidently, smiling her arrogant smile. "I told you not to underestimate me!"
Zarya was starting to get frustrated, but she began to remember what she'd learned during her time as a sky pirate with Kitty and her time running the streets with Piper. She'd been in plenty of fights during those days, and if there was anything she knew best, it was how to get herself out of a tough jam. Arkayna might be quick, and she might be book smart, but Zarya knew she was street smart and could scrap her way out of anything. She just had to look for an opening.
All those punches, they're aimed high...she's left herself an opening...! Zarya looked as she was blocking Arkayna's blows and could see that the princess' midsection was wide open. She ducked under a punch and lashed out with a swift side kick that slammed right into the princess' gut, knocking the wind out of her. Then, while Arkayna was stunned, Zarya lunged forward and tackled the princess right to the ground! "Now you're mine!"
Arkayna let out a pained grunt as she was slammed down by Zarya, and was still struggling to catch her breath as Zarya roughly pinned her arms down and got on top of her. The two girls' eyes met as Zarya held Arkayna down, both of them breathing heavily, their faces red from exertion, sweat dripping from Zarya's forehead onto Arkayna's face.
"What's the matter, princess? You're not even struggl-"
Arkayna's knee slammed hard into Zarya's gut in the same spot Zarya had kicked her before. Zarya gasped, and Arkayna raised her leg up again and kicked Zarya hard in the chest, throwing her off quite forcefully.
"Less talking, more sparring," said Arkayna, glaring at Zarya. "Don't hold back!"
Zarya growled and dusted herself off, wincing in pain but only more motivated to kick Arkayna's butt now.
"Ugh, you got it..."
The two girls rushed at one another again, throwing more punches and trying to get the upper hand. Arkayna grabbed Zarya by the shoulders and threw her down to the ground, only for Zarya to roll under Arkayna's legs and sweep her down. The two grabbed each other before either one could stand, trying to pin one another, though neither one was able to do so before they both got to their feet. Zarya threw a kick at Arkayna's head, but it was wide and arcing and gave Arkayna more than enough opportunity to grab Zarya's ankle and attempt to throw her down again. Zarya leapt up, and her free leg caught Arkayna square in the chest, knocking her away.
"I've been in way more fights than you, you know," said Zarya, smirking as she started to get more of her confidence back, taking a more aggressive role in the fight now.
"As if that's something to be proud of," huffed Arkayna haughtily. "Besides, rolling around in the dirt with Undercity lowlifes isn't any kind of experience for real world combat."
"Oh, that is it!" shouted Zarya, getting even more riled up at hearing her beloved Undercity people insulted. She rushed forward with a series of fierce strikes, and when Arkayna tried to block them, countered by elbowing the princess hard in the face. As Arkayna reached up to cover her nose, Zarya kicked her to the ground and got on top of her. "You wanna take that back, Arkayna?"
Zarya managed to get in one good punch, before Arkayna grabbed Zarya by the arm and turned both of them around. Now Arkayna was on top of Zarya, wrenching her arm fiercely behind her back.
"You get angry like that you leave yourself way too open!" said Arkayna, twisting Zarya's arm hard. "And if you'd ever gotten proper fight training, you'd know that!"
Zarya gritted her teeth, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain as Arkayna put her in a fierce armlock. It was somewhat like the submission moves that Kitty had taught her, but much more refined and precise, a much tighter grip causing Zarya a lot more pain. Despite the pain, Zarya was determined not to let the princess best her, especially after having insulted her and her Undercity like that.
"I'm not angry," said Zarya, clenching her other fist. "I'm PISSED!"
Zarya wrenched her arm hard, causing herself a lot more pain but also causing Arkayna's grip on her to loosen just slightly enough that when Zarya kicked up and hit Arkayna in the knee, the pain made Arkayna loosen her grip even more, and Zarya was able to pull herself free, though her arm was still tingling in pain. The two girls got to their feet, panting fiercely as they glared at one another. Their conversation had gotten a bit personal, and Arkayna was somewhat worried she'd genuinely hurt Zarya's feelings...though a part of her was glad she'd gotten Zarya riled up. She truly did want this to be a serious training match, with both of them giving their absolute best, and if that meant that she had to get Zarya pissed off, so be it. She could apologize later.
"If you're so pissed, then SHOW ME!" Arkayna screamed, coming at Zarya again.
"I will!" Zarya screamed back, punching at Arkayna's face as hard as she could. Arkayna caught Zarya's fist with both hands and tried to pull her entire arm down, but Zarya was ready for this and caught Arkayna's head with another elbow. Arkayna didn't release her grip, so Zarya swung her foot hard into Arkayna's side. At the same time, Zarya was pulled forward, and Arkayna headbutted her in the face, knocking her back. "A headbutt? Really?"
"I'm not holding back!" shouted Arkayna, coming furiously at Zarya now and aiming a fierce kick at her chest. Zarya leapt back and swung at Arkayna again, but Arkayna blocked it. Zarya leapt up and kicked at Arkayna's head. Arkayna ducked, and Zarya stood her ground, ready to hit the princess when she came up again.
Got you... thought Zarya with a smirk. But Arkayna didn't come back up, instead she went down and slightly forward, and aimed a fierce snap kick directly at Zarya's jaw. Oh, crap!
Out of sheer instinct, Zarya raised her right arm, and blocked the kick. The sound of Arkayna's bare ankle making contact with Zarya's wrist caused a loud snapping noise to echo through the room. Zarya cried out in pain and stumbled back, clutching her wrist in obvious pain.
Oh my goblin! thought Arkayna, stepping back to see Zarya holding her wrist and letting out a loud, pained expletive. "Zarya, are you okay?"
In that one moment, a million thoughts were racing through Zarya's head. Part of Zarya was furious; that kick was strong enough to knock out a tooth had it connected with her head, or even left her with a serious concussion. But there was also a part of Zarya that felt something else.
What a kick...! Zarya couldn't help but be impressed at the force and accuracy of Arkayna's strike. It was an incredible move, definitely something the princess must have practiced relentlessly dozens of times. "I'm fine, let's keep going, don't hold back, remember?"
As if to punctuate her remark, Zarya ran at Arkayna and with her other fist, struck at her with a powerful punch that Arkayna was barely able to block with both hands.
"Unnngh, seriously?! You've got a broken wrist!"
"Nah," said Zarya, smirking as she flapped her afflicted wrist a few times up and down to shake the pain out of it. "It's not broken. Hell of a bruise though, I bet!"
And then Zarya struck with the other fist, the one Arkayna had just kicked and nearly broken. Arkayna wasn't expecting this at all, and took a punch directly to the face. She gasped and held her hands up to her nose and mouth, gasping and groaning at the pain.
"How about you, princess? Anything broken?"
Arkayna lowered her hands from her face and smirked. A very slight trickle of blood was coming down one side of her lip, but she wiped it away without a word, then came at Zarya with a renewed fury.
"Guess that means no," said Zarya, though she did feel a very slight bit of remorse for bloodying her friend. "You know you're bleeding, right?"
Arkayna replied with a series of rapid punches and kicks that Zarya used her street smarts to dodge, though she could feel the breeze from several of the blows. With how much of a sweat both girls had worked up, the breeze felt nice, almost like a little reward for dodging Arkayna's strikes.
"You can't dodge me forever!" said Arkayna, lunging at Zarya and trying to tackle her to the ground.
"You're right, princess," Zarya replied. But you're getting slower now... all that punching's wearing you out, guess you need your beauty sleep...
Zarya planted her foot in the ground as Arkayna came at her. She leapt into the air and planted her palm squarely on top of Arkayna's head, then pushed herself up over Arkayna and flipped around behind the princess' back. With one swift motion, Zarya turned around and wrapped her arms tightly around the princess from behind, pinning Arkayna's arms to her sides while at the same time positioning her legs so that Arkayna was unable to kick. The princess was trapped, and Zarya's grip was very strong.
"Gotcha," said Zarya, holding Arkayna closely to her body. "Doubt you can get out of this, this is the hold me and Kitty used all the time to subdue our marks back in the day."
"Nnngh, I can get out of this!" Arkayna shouted, glaring back at Zarya. "I'm not just some hapless sailor so easily captured by sky pirates, I'm the princess of Gemin-mmm...!"
Zarya moved one of her arms up and clasped her hand tightly over Arkayna's mouth, muffling the princess' protests.
"Less talking, more sparring, isn't that what you said before?"
Arkayna let out an indignant growl from behind Zarya's hand, her body furiously straining against her friend's grip.
Get your disgusting sweaty hand off my mouth! shouted Arkayna, continuing to thrash as hard as she could against Zarya's tight grip, wrenching her face and body furiously. While Arkayna's protests were muffled, Zarya could still mostly understand them, and she just laughed and pushed her hand even more tightly against Arkayna's lips.
"You want my sweaty hand off your mouth, why don't you make me take it off?" Zarya was now leaning very close to Arkayna's ear as she spoke. "Besides, you should be practicing for this kinda situation. What if I was Tazma here to take you hostage? Any princess or leader worth her salt should know how to get out of this hold, it's basic heroine training."
As Zarya continued to hold Arkayna tightly and Arkayna continued to fight, the two couldn't help but acknowledge the intimacy of their situation. Arkayna felt furious at Zarya for grabbing her like this, but could also see the practicality of Zarya's words. It was true, Arkayna had never practiced to escape a hold like this before. She'd always been taught to fight with an advantage, to fight from a dominant position, not to fight her way out of trouble. This was where her fighting style and Zarya's differed, and Arkayna could see the advantages of both. Arkayna also had to acknowledge, ever so slightly, that this wasn't a completely unpleasant position to be in. Zarya's hand was sweaty and disgusting, but also quite soft, so soft that it didn't hurt even when pressed quite tightly against her recently cut lip. Zarya was holding her in such a way to keep her trapped, but not to hurt her. It almost felt...comfortable.
But not too comfortable, thought Arkayna, struggling fiercely to extricate herself from Zarya's grip while continuing to cry out in protest through the hand covering her lips. You'll be sorry for this!
"I'll be sorry if this is how the fight ends," replied Zarya, tightening her grip on the princess even more. "Come on, you want to be taken hostage by a filthy sky pirate or not?"
Pressed very tightly to her friend, Zarya was trembling slightly as she felt the princess thrash against her. Zarya could feel her heart beating fiercely in her chest, and with the arm wrapped around Arkayna, she could feel Arkayna's heart beating equally so. Whether it was from the exercise, from their proximity, or both, Zarya couldn't tell. Whatever anger she'd felt from Arkayna's insults before had rapidly faded away... Zarya was more forgiving toward the princess than anyone she'd ever met.
It's like a part of me understands exactly where she's coming from, even when she's insulting me... thought Zarya, keeping her grip tight on Arkayna despite the tingling feeling welling up inside of her. Why do I feel so close to her even though we're both so different?
Arkayna had gotten no closer to freeing herself from Zarya's grasp, and with Zarya's hold tightening and Arkayna's energy fading, the princess knew her friend had gotten the best of her. Her struggling started to slow, and her muffled protests grew quiet.
Damn... thought Arkayna, her determination giving way to resignation. I can't get free.
"You give up?" asked Zarya. "Surprised you haven't tried to bite my hand. What's the matter, scared you wouldn't like the taste?"
Zarya's taunting was starting to get to Arkayna, and the princess found herself intensifying her struggles yet again. Her fists clenched, and she began to try and get free, but she just didn't have the strength to get out of Zarya's grasp.
She's the muscle of the team, thought Arkayna, growling under Zarya's hand. But... I'm still smarter than her!
Arkayna moved one of her feet very slightly, pressing it against Zarya's ankle, but not with enough force to make Zarya shift her position. She wrenched herself forward, but only slightly again. Her struggles were letting up, but Zarya continued to hold tight, not giving the princess an inch.
"I'm not letting you go until you say you quit," said Zarya with a slight laugh. "And I'm keeping my hand over your mouth, so you're gonna have to scream it loud enough for me to understand-"
Arkayna suddenly threw herself forward, pushing the weight of her legs back against Zarya's ankles and heaving with all of her strength, forward and down. Zarya was immediately flipped up, off of her feet and into the air, and with a mighty lunge, she went right over Arkayna's shoulders and onto her back.
"Aaaaah!" Zarya cried out, stunned by the suddenness with which she found herself thrown down. "What the... how'd you flip me like that?"
"I used to do it to Gawayne all the time when we were play fighting and he's a lot heavier than you," Arkayna replied, lunging at the downed and still stunned Zarya. Arkayna grabbed her from behind and tried to wrap up her arms with her legs, but Zarya was ready, fighting back and pushing Arkayna away. Arkayna lunged forward and Zarya grabbed her and rolled with her, pinning her down.
"Guess you finally-" Zarya began before Arkayna's fist slammed into the side of her head. "Ugh, okay, if that's what you wanna-"
Arkayna's knee went into Zarya's gut, knocking her onto her back. Zarya rolled out of the way before Arkayna could pin her, and then rolled back and tried to get on top of the princess again. The two grabbed each other and wrestled for position. Zarya was slightly stronger, her arm and leg muscles built up by her acrobatic life as a sky pirate and thief, but Arkayna was no slouch, having trained literally every single day of her life from the moment she could first hold a staff. Arkayna also had Zarya outclassed in another important aspect, which was becoming evident to Zarya as she continued trying to pin Arkayna down.
"Gotcha...!" gasped Zarya, finally managing to get the princess into another pin, holding her arms down and this time remembering to pin her legs so she couldn't kick. "I... think you're...beat...princess...!"
Arkayna just smirked and struggled until she got one of her arms free, then slammed an open palm into the side of Zarya's head. Zarya rolled away from Arkayna, getting to one knee and continuing to pant.
"Ugh...what's it gonna take to... kick your butt...Arkayna...?"
"Some more aerobic exercise, maybe?" Arkayna said, standing up on both feet and smirking confidently at Zarya.
"How the hell...?" replied Zarya, continuing to pant. The princess had gotten a second wind, and was coming at her again, striking with another powerful kick. "No...!"
Zarya ducked just in time, catching Arkayna's leg with both hands. Arkayna pulled her leg out of Zarya's grip, then swept it under Zarya's feet before she could react, knocking her to the ground.
"Ugh!" Zarya cried, watching as Arkayna got on top of her to try and hold her down. "No way...!"
Zarya took several swings at the princess, but she blocked or dodged them all, pushing her way through them to get Zarya face down on the ground. She got on top of her and got her in the same fierce armlock as before, wrapping her legs around Zarya's and holding her tightly as she pinned her on the ground.
"Gotcha," said Arkayna with a triumphant smile. "And this time you're not getting back up."
"We'll see about that...!"
Zarya fought against Arkayna's hold for all she was worth, but she'd worn herself out almost completely, and all she managed to accomplish was to wear herself out even more. Arkayna wasn't even wrenching as hard on her arm as she was doing before, but Zarya couldn't free herself no matter how hard she tried.
"I can't believe this...!" shouted Zarya, narrowing her eyes in anger. "I'm not gonna be beaten by a stuck up princess!"
"Excuse me," replied Arkayna, glaring back at Zarya, "but I am not stuck up. Proud, yes, rightfully so, but not stuck up."
"Oh, fu-" Zarya began before Arkayna cut her off by covering her mouth in the same way Zarya had done to her.
"Language, Zarya," Arkayna said haughtily, prompting Zarya to swear several times through the princess' hand. "Would you rather I jam a bar of soap in there instead?"
I'm gonna need soap after this, your hand's sweatier than mine! thought Zarya, making several loud sounds of disgust. Arkayna laughed, then slid her hand back off of Zarya's mouth, letting her friend speak. "You...you..."
Zarya bowed her head and let out a sigh. She barely had the energy to struggle anymore, and her entire body was tired and sore, while Arkayna seemed to have energy to spare. She gritted her teeth, and her entire face turned bright red, though it was already somewhat red from her exertion and from being in such close physical contact with Arkayna throughout their sparring match.
"You win," said Zarya. Arkayna immediately released her friend and got up off of her, then extended her hand to help Zarya up. "It's fine, I don't need your..."
Zarya hesitated a bit as she stood, her legs sore from the repeated blows they'd taken during the fight. Arkayna reached out her hand, but Zarya shook her head and finally made it to her feet. The two girls looked at one another, both of them struggling to catch their breath. They didn't say a word for some time, just looking each other up and down. Both of them had numerous bruises on their bodies, Zarya a particularly severe bruise on her wrist, while Arkayna still had some dried blood caked on her lip from Zarya's blow before. After sizing each other up for a few more seconds, they both sat down across from one another, smiles having formed on both their faces.
"Arkayna, you're an amazing fighter."
"So are you, Zarya. And I'm sorry about everything I said about the Undercity. Even if it was just to get you fired up, I was a jerk for saying it and I promise I won't say anything like that again."
"It's cool, princess. Actually, I'm the one who should be sorry... I didn't think you could fight. I mean, I've seen you in battle and you're amazing, but that's just with your magic...I didn't think you could really, I mean...that was awesome. You must know like ten different forms of martial arts!"
"Actually, I've studied 38 different forms of martial arts, including dwarven shadowboxing, spider-legged kung fu, rangerfist, close-quarters freestyle slampow..."
"Okay, okay, you're a total combat nerd, I get it," Zarya groaned. "Seriously though, the only one who's ever kicked my butt like that before is Kitty, and that's back when I was ten. Who taught you all those sweet moves?"
"My mom," said Arkayna, bowing her head sadly as she remembered her mother, still trapped in bone by Dreadbane. "All my life, I've trained to defend the realm, not just with magic, but with martial arts as well. All down my family line, children are trained as warriors to protect their people. It's part of our royal duty to protect everyone."
Zarya started to speak, but Arkayna knew exactly what she was going to say and interrupted her.
"But we have failed in that duty," Arkayna continued, her voice breaking slightly as shame began to surface. "I know, Zarya. The Undercity. The orphans there, all the people down there struggling below the streets of Drake City. We've turned a blind eye to it for too long and I am so sorry."
"Arkayna, there are so many people suffering down there, and the royals, they ignored it!" shouted Zarya, clenching her fist. "Words aren't going to solve anything..."
"You're right, Zarya..." Arkayna reached forward and took Zarya's hand. Zarya winced, though it was mostly because her wrist was still sore. "Zarya, I promise that once Necrafa is taken care of and my parents are restored, I will make sure the royal family gives the Undercity everything it needs. I won't rest until the people of the Undercity are treated with the respect and kindness they deserve. You have my word. I swear on my life."
"Don't swear on your life, Arkayna."
Zarya tightened her grip on Arkayna's hand and smiled at her, a look of forgiveness and understanding in her eyes.
"I believe you. I know you'll make it right. …I'm sorry I judged you so much before. The whole time Piper and I were scrounging in the Undercity, I...I hated you. I thought you were just some spoiled arrogant stuck up princess who only cared about herself."
"That's partially true," said Arkayna. "I...I was spoiled. I was...am, arrogant. And in a lot of ways I do act selfishly."
"Nobody's perfect," Zarya replied. "Not you, and not me. I was a sky pirate and a thief, and not everybody I robbed from deserved it. A lot of them were scared of me, thought I was going to hurt them."
"You'd never hurt an innocent person, Zarya. I know you'd never do that."
"Yeah, but the people we tied up and tossed off their own ships didn't know that."
"My mistakes are way bigger than yours."
"Arkayna..."
Arkayna looked away from Zarya. A tear fell down her cheek.
"I didn't care about the Undercity until I met you and Piper. That's way too late. People down there suffered because of me. I was too busy shopping and primping my hair to even think about-"
Arkayna couldn't say another word, as Zarya's lips were pressed against hers. Zarya started to pull back, but Arkayna leaned into the kiss, and reached up and touched Zarya's cheek to keep her there. The two closed their eyes and their lips began to part, but the kiss only lasted for another moment or two before the two girls pulled away. They kept staring at each other, Arkayna's purple eyes looking warmly into Zarya's for a few more seconds before Zarya reached behind Arkayna's head and pulled the scrunchie out of her hair.
"For the record, I'm glad you primp your hair," said Zarya, smiling. "And if you'd used it during the fight you'd have kicked my butt even faster."
"That's true," replied Arkayna, smiling back at her friend. "So maybe I should start teaching you some of my combat skills, after all I can't have my Mysticon Ranger falling behind..."
"Hey, if I have to learn your nerdy martial arts moves, you'd better be ready to start learning some sky pirate techniques. And I don't just mean flying the ship either."
"I prefer to fight fairly, not like a sky pirate!" Arkayna snapped playfully.
"Tell that to Kitty, I bet she'd mop the floor with you."
The two girls continued to playfully argue, though Arkayna was starting to feel quite uncomfortable with the sweat she'd worked up during the fight.
"I think I'm going to go take a shower," said Arkayna. "A nice long one."
"Hey, don't use up all the hot water this time, I'm gonna need one too!"
"I thought sky pirates bathed in the ocean," said Arkayna.
"That's ocean pirates, not sky pirates, and I'm not a slob!"
"Well, you said it yourself, you're glad I primp my hair and it's going to need a nice, long shampoo after all that sweating..."
Zarya argued with Arkayna all the way to the bathroom, though she'd already resigned herself to the lukewarm water she'd probably have to deal with after the princess was done. She sat down against the wall by the bathroom door and slumped her head, thinking she could probably finish a nice long nap before Arkayna's shower was even halfway done.
Her lips still tingled from the kiss the two of them had shared. Neither of them had mentioned it after it had happened, but it had happened, and Zarya couldn't care less how long of a shower Arkayna took.
Stay in there all you want, thought Zarya with a smile. Though even when you're a sweaty mess, you're still beautiful to me.
Strangely, Zarya hadn't fully realized just how beautiful Arkayna was until she'd seen the princess in action as the Mysticon Dragon Mage. Whatever love Zarya had for her, it had been born out of a deep respect for Arkayna's courage and ferocity in battle. She was every bit the fighter Zarya was, and every bit the hero.
Imagine, falling in love with a princess.
Zarya's heart was racing too much for her to sleep.
A totally badass princess.
Zarya looked back at the door and imagined that someday she wouldn't have to worry about Arkayna taking all of the hot water, since the two of them would be in there together. She blushed intensely at the fantasy, clutching her chest in embarrassment and hoping that mind reading wasn't one of Arkayna's many powers. She smiled and shook her head, placing her hand on the door and sighing.
Imagine, a princess falling in love with me.