Alaia Skyhawk: Just to make it clear, when I say Link is saying something, all Arkai sees and hears is the puppet, Yorkl. He still has no clue who is with him.

I don't own the Zelda series or anything associated with it. I do however own this story and any OCs, so please don't steal them.

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Chapter 36: Lessons to the Lair

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"Get up top, and stamp lightly with one foot... and be careful not to fall off when it starts moving. When you want it to turn, tap that side with your hand until it faces they way you want it to. As for stopping, we'll sort that when we get that far."

Yorkl watched as Arkai clambered up onto the top of swamp slug next to the one he himself was upon, a nod from him and the pair of them tapped feet to set the creatures in motion. He'd managed to clear the worst of the mud off the potential Hero's clothing the night before, Arkai sleeping like the proverbial log while he the disguised Sage of Courage had watched over him. Arkai really had come a long way during the trails, had changed so much in such a short space of time. He was willing to bet those who saw this youth leave on his journey would barely recognise him in the confident young man who would, if the remaining tests went well, return to them.

Now sat atop a mossy slug gliding its way through the swamp waters of his Water Realm, he found much to admire in Arkai. Arkai had started out a young man with almost no self confidence, belittled by his family to the point he'd begun to believe that they were right, that he was a useless good-for-nothing who wouldn't amount to anything. Arkai had found his first spark of courage to defy that though, the day he'd seen the eyes of Malice in the depths of the dark mist. That tiny spark had had him defy the people of Nae Lanai, travel all the way to Hyrule City, and try to get into the castle without a courier's writ. That spark, which could have so easily been ignored, had instead been grasped in a grip determined not to let it go... and that determination had brought him here and now, to this place and through so much. The spark was a spark no longer; it was a blazing flame to push back the darkness, as Arkai had proven when he'd resisted the temptation of the 'shadow's' overwhelming power to instead choose his own far more mortal strength. Arkai was ready, and all that was left was to teach him a few useful things before he faced the final trial of the temple upon passing through the Realm after this one. Beyond that, he would be on his own. Now though, now was time to continue the lesson of the day before...

Link, using his puppet's hand, plucked a clump of moss off the slug's back and threw it at Arkai to get his attention. The moss hit the youth square in the face, prompting splutters and a glare.

"What was that for?"

The 'frog' on the receiving end of the glare laughed.

"What better way to snap you out of a daydream? Heh. Time for another lesson, and if you've any real interest in being a proper Hero after you've defeated that evil you talked about then you'd best listen. Time to learn how to deal with the fuss that you'll be in right after that if you succeed... Scenario one: You return to your homeland's capital after defeating the evil to find cheering crowds waiting for you, and you know your queen will be waiting for you in her castle. Do you take your time going there to let the people cheer you on for your victory, or avoid them completely and go straight to the queen?"

Arkai blinked, before frowning.

"Um.... go straight there."

"Wrong!" Another clod of moss hit Arkai in the face, Link tsking him off with a wag of his puppet's finger. "That was a trick question; neither of those is right. You don't hurry to your queen, but you don't dawdle either. Ignoring the people will make them potentially see you as arrogant, but slowing down to bask in their praise would be an insult to the queen. Instead you must hasten, not hurry, and yes there is a difference, to the castle. You must be brisk, but at the same time you need to let the people know you appreciate their praise. Smile at them a little, the odd wave, and they will accept you acknowledge them but have more important business to attend to. Does that make sense?"

Wiping muddy ooze from his face, Arkai nodded.

"Yeah, it's a compromise. Picking the middle ground so you don't upset anyone on either side."

Link smiled and nodded.

"That's right. Being a Hero you will have to do that a lot, but you won't always be able to avoid insulting someone in some way or other. What you need to learn is how to lessen that insult, and make it clear you meant nothing by it. Your queen and those close to her will be able to teach you a lot about the finer points of that, but I can tell you the basics. Scenario two: You have two groups of people who have invited you to attend one of their local festivals, but the two festivals are too close in date and placed too far distant from each other for you to go to both. The festival for the first group is fifty miles from where you are and must be reached by sea, and the other is eighty miles away and must be travelled to by land. Both happen in late autumn. Which do you go to, and what reason would you give to the group whose festival invite you turned down?

Arkai began to think it through, this time wary of picking the obvious answer, but at the same time aware the frog wanted to know his reason for picking the one he did. After a few minutes, he answered.

"I'd go to the second one, and tell the first group that due to the storms common in late autumn it would not be wise to sail there at that time."

"And what would you do to lessen the insult of the refusal?"

A small smile plucked at the corner of Arkai's mouth.

"I'd offer to attend their next festival, if they would find it agreeable that this humble Hero grace the celebration of such a well regarded people."

Link burst out laughing, pleased.

"Well said! Well said! See, you do have a brain when you think about it! That would be the perfect answer. Never act cocky, and when dealing with someone displeased always try to be confident yet humble. Fine then, scenario three: A diplomatic party has come from a distant land, they hear about your much vaunted skill as a Hero and request a friendly dual between you and their champion. It turns out you are far more skilled than their fighter, so what do you do in the dual?"

Again Arkai thought it through, making himself consider the possible implications of certain actions rather than take the obvious option.

"I'd beat them, but not without making a proper dual of it. Beating them down in a few seconds could upset the delegation, but at the same time if it looks like their fighter is good enough to hold their own against me it might make them believe my homeland's armed forces aren't that much better than theirs. The delegation will see me as a representation of my homeland's military might, too strong and I might scare them into considering an attack on us out of fear of us, but too weak and they might attack thinking us an easy conquest. We need to be seen as a power in our own right, strong enough that peaceful interaction will be far more profitable than conquest, but not so strong that they see us as a threat."

Again Link nodded in approval.

"Very good, very good indeed. You've the head for this, Arkai, and that's a good thing for you in the long run. Keep your mind sharp to the ways in which different people will see your actions, and temper those actions for the good of your homeland. Do that and I think you will manage just fine."

Arkai looked pleased at the praise, but at the same time wasn't letting it go to his head. Instead, he asked something that had puzzled him since this lesson of sorts had begun.

"Hey Yorkl, how do you know all this anyway? Your village isn't that big, and being in the middle of the swamp I wouldn't have thought you'd get many diplomatic visitors."

Lucky for Link he'd expected this question to crop up, and had long ago prepared a story to cover for it.

"When you've been in a castle where the ladies cower from you out of disgust, because they think you'll slime their hair or dresses, you learn a thing or two about diplomacy." Arkai looked baffled, Link chuckling. "I travelled to the neighbouring lands many years ago, to seek aid in dealing with Hierdaras. I lived in residence at the castle of their king for three years, doing my best to negotiate either steel tips for my people's spears or, failing that, a decent sized force of fighters to come to our lands and help us defeat him... In the end they refused on both options, them unwilling to give us either steel we might use against them, or fighters we might steal the weapons and armour from. In the end I had no choice but to return home to my village. Even though I failed, my people respected me for my effort, which is why I didn't lose any of their regard for me when my brother went the way he did. Those three years may have proved futile, but I learnt a lot from them. From them, and from my brother's folly."

Arkai took a deep breath, somewhat awed.

"Seems to me you're more of a Hero to your people than your brother was. You may have failed in the end, but you never forgot your duty to them." He grinned. "Besides, now you haven't failed. You've gotten help against Hierdaras, me, and while I can't guarantee I'll beat him you can be sure as hell I'll give it a damn good try."

This did catch Link off guard, so much so that in his guise as Yorkl he couldn't help but get a tad emotional at those selfless words.

"You do me proud, Arkai. I'm honoured to have gotten this chance to know you."

Silence fell between them, Arkai mulling over what he'd just been taught and Link mulling over just how much the young man had begun to exceed his expectations. And as the pair of them reached the point where they would part ways and Arkai continue alone, he thought again at how much there truly was to admire about this young man.

A man more than worthy of the title of Hero, and one my ancestor Kaiayn would be proud to have wield his creation the Master Sword.

Alaia Skyhawk: Hehe, this has been as much a lesson for Link as for Arkai :)