Evening at Lake Hylia. Link and Ruto were checking inside the Water Temple, seeing if someone had disturbed it somehow, breaking the seal on Ganon. Malon and Rauru was attending to the horses, and all the other sages had gone to their temples to see where the weaknesses lay. Zelda twirled one of her old throwing spikes experimentally. "Eight years since I last handled these... I used to be able to pick off a flying bee... We'll see whether I'm still any good." Whipping her hand straight, she let the spike go too late, throwing it into the dirt at the target's base- much to the target's relief. "Do you mind?!? Those spikes hurt! Well, not really hurt, but it still feels odd!" Pierre the talking scarecrow had several of the steel barbs buried in his straw already from prior practice sessions earlier in the day. Another spike sailed forward, coming close to bulls-eyeing the impromptu target, with the added benefit of pinning his mouth closed. "Why do you care how many of these spikes I put in you? Link used his hookshot on you more than a hundred times and not a single complaint..." Flinging off two more spikes, one after the other, she had another pair of hits. Zelda smiled; her old skills were coming back quickly.

"Try letting go a little earlier." She jumped, not expecting company. Sando leaned against a fence not three feet behind her. "Impa asked me to give you a refresher course, and from what I've seen, your aim is good, but your hearing is a little rusty. We can work on that later. For now, just focus on the target." Said target squirmed, apparently not much liking the prospect of another metal decoration in his face. This time, the spike flew true, nailing Pierre twixt the eyes. Zelda stepped forward, extracting the spikes one by one. "We can go over another lesson near the campfire, once you feel ready." said the Sheikah, The final spike extracted, Pierre was once again capable of speech. "You've got a lot of nerve! Why, I've half a mind to come over there, take those spikes, and show you what it feels like to be made a pincushion-"
"Thanks for the help, Pierre!" said Zelda, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, before dashing off, catching up with Sando before the stunned scarecrow knew how to reply.

Zelda frowned. She didn't think she would like this lesson. Sando stood across the fire from her, curious sword in hand, practically challenging her to a duel. "The first lesson any fighter learns is humility. As you are royalty, this may not come easily to you. To be a good fighter you must believe yourself to be a good fighter, but if you think yourself the best fighter, someone is bound to come and prove you wrong. I want you to borrow that blue magical gem from Link for this first fight. I intend to humble you, to show you how much you have yet to learn. I will also be using this to judge the extent of your own training. It will be a learning experience for both of us. Do not hold back."

Zelda assumed her guard stance, her hands empty of weapons. She didn't need them. Impa had taught her the Sheikan style of unarmed combat. Nayru's love protected her, and would shield her from harm, but not the impact of the blows. If she had assessed his skill correctly, she would have a lot of bruises after this. Sando held his sword horizontally just below eye level. His posture changed the merest hair. Zelda threw herself to the right as he led with his sword blade. Had she moved just a fragment of a second slower, his blade would have hit her in the shoulder. She batted his weapon to the side and brought her fist into the gap. It caught him in the face, hit him hard. She was about to bring her other fist smashing into his chest when his blade whipped around and knocked her to the ground. Had Nayru's love not been shielding her, she might have been shorn in two by the razor sharp sword. She stood, resuming her stance. Sando led the attack with his weapon again, but this time, he moved with more caution. She ducked, swatted aside, or dodged his swipes until a leg sweep and another chop sent her tumbling to the floor again. She stood, finally taking the offensive. A rapid flurry of punches and kicks caught him well off guard. She got in a number of solid hits, but he regained equilibrium fast enough to set her stumbling with a thrust and bring his blade down on her shoulder. She fell to her knees, raising her hands to fend off more blows, but none were coming. His sword once more in it's scabbard, Sando helped her up, supporting her to a nearby seat. As soon as she was off her feet, no longer trying to ward off a sword, she felt like Epona had trampled her a few times. She had never felt an ache this bad in her entire life, including during those seven years. Well, except maybe when she first saw Link and Malon kiss.

The white-haired man pulled out a small tin of ointment and passed it to Zelda. "Here, put this on the bruises... The adrenaline is still in you. You won't feel them completely for a while, but tomorrow morning, when you do, I'll be lucky if Impa doesn't have my head. Nayru or not, I forgot it still hurts to be hit. Still, I hope this lesson taught you a few things..." Smiling ruefully, Zelda nodded. "I learned not to pick a fight with you." "Remember the beginning, when you got me square in the face? I had decided to hold back a little after all. Pretty stupid of me to do so, the more I think about it. I paid for it too." said a now-squinting Sheikah, his eye rapidly swelling closed. A bright grin showed on his face, proud his pupil was so capable. "I learned, that when I finish training you, I hope I never have to fight you again."