PART TWO

"Link, your handwriting is terrible! Have they been teaching you to write neatly at all?"

"I'm trying, Mom!" Link said. "I've gotten so much better! Zelda's mom has really helped me! She says she can read it now!"

"Well, I can't," Link's mother said. "All I see is some weird shapes and the letter A. Hold on, which hand do you write with?"

Link held up his right hand.

"Wait, your right? Not triangle-side?"

"Mom, stop calling it that! I'm about to start swordsmanship today. I know my right from my left!"

"It's a good thing I'm not your teacher then, because I'd fail you on account of growing up too fast." She took a moment to ruffle her son's hair. "I love you," she whispered to him.

Link looked away, a little embarrassed. "Mom, could you just sign the note teacher wrote for me?"

"Alright," she said when a voice came in through the window.

"Link! You're gonna be late again! Have you been sleeping? LINK!"

For an eight year old, Zelda had a very good pair of lungs. Link ran over to the window and looked down to see her, blonde hair blowing in Skyloft's wind, a belted pile of books under her arm. "We have school!"

At this Link's mother leaned out the window. "It's not his fault this time!" She handed Link the signed note. "Go on, Link. Don't keep her waiting."

Link ran down the stairs and out the door with his books and the note.

"Sleepy-head," Zelda said when he appeared, before marching away.

"I wasn't sleeping!" Link yelled, but she didn't care. To her, late was late.

They walked through town and up the hill to the academy.

After they put away their books for the afternoon lesson, they headed out behind the academy for their first lesson in swordsmanship.

Eagus, the sparring instructor, passed out wooden swords and then took his place in front of the class to begin teaching. "Now, class, take your sword in your dominant hand, which could be your right of left," he began. He watched Link, remembering the note Zelda's mother had given him, that he should mention that you could swordfight with your left hand, as she had a feeling that Link was and ambidextrous child who favored his left, even if he had, for whatever reason, learned how to write with his right.

Eagus saw Link take the sword in his right hand. Well, he thought, it could be learned either way. He himself had focused so much on the flexibility gained by ambidextrous sword fighting that he had lost track of which hand was his sword hand was. Nobody wants to break a finger and be defenseless, he always said.

"Now class," he said, there are some basics to word fighting. The first is the grip of your sword…"

The class wore on, and, day by day, Link learned to use his right hand. Being a lefty for everything else doubtlessly helped him on his journeys later in life, but, at least on the surface, everyone assumed him a righty.

My apologies, I've never studied swordsmanship and so don't feel confident reenacting a lesson about it, so that's why there's a drop off and semi-awkard concluding paragraph. If you came here because I'm on your author alerts, thank you so much! I'm not dead after all. But most likely I won't be writing more. But one does get bored on her laptop on a long flight without wifi, and it's always here that I crack open these documents. So, thanks. Have a good life, y'all.