Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword.

"This is my bed chamber." Ghirahim explained, spreading his arms wide as the door opened. He leaned down so that his breath tickled her ear. "Feel free to visit me here any time." He purred, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes, pushing him away. "You wish." She scoffed, stepping into the room. "What is the point of showing me around your castle, anyway? Aren't you worried I'll find a way to escape?"

"You really don't want to be here?" He pouted.

"I really don't." She retorted.

"Well..." He appeared in front of her. "Too bad!" He quipped swiftly. Kella scoffed, brushing past him to inspect the room.

"Okay, I give up, what am I doing here?" She questioned, turning to face him, arms crossed over her chest and hips cast sassily to the side.

"I would've thought it would be obvious." He purred, trying to sound sultry but instead coming off as a creep with a cold.

"You okay there, mate?" She raised an eyebrow at him, lips turning up slightly into a smirk. "If I didn't know you better, I'd think you might be a perverted demon lord with a wish to join the snakes."

He smirked. Well, it's a good thing you know me better, now isn't it?" He purred.

"Yeah, sure is." She grinned at him, hand on her hip as she watched him carefully. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Oh, haven't I?"

"Dude, I grew up with a younger brother who rarely talks and a mentor who is a master of deception. At this point I am a master at telling when somebody is being an evasive douche." Kella had one arm crossed over chest, the other elbow resting slightly on her arm with her hand pressed to the bridge of her nose with an irritated sigh.

"You had a mentor?" He questioned, not just trying to be evasive now, merely curious.

"Dude!" She sighed, clearly taking it another way. "What in hylia's name am I doing here?" She hissed through gritted teeth. In a heartbeat he was standing behind her again. It made her chest hammer against her chest so hard she thought for sure it would break a rib or maybe even puncture a lung.

"You are here for one simple reason, my dear." He purred, spinning her around to face him.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" She questioned, getting more and more irritated by the second. 'Hylia be damned, does he just speak for the pleasure of hearing his own voice?'

"Simple really." He grinned before he snapped his fingers, causing a mop and bucket to go flying into her face. Caught off guard, she stumbled back, falling flat on her ass. "Even a demon lord as fabulous as moi needs a clean estate."

"You're kidding." She gaped, picking the, thankfully empty, mop bucket off of her head. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Slight thing you should know about me, Skychild. I rarely kid, and when I do it's never about the cleanliness of things." He shuddered slightly.

"But, you have magical powers! You have the power of the diamonds, gifted to you by the diamond king himself!" She snapped.

"More like the power of darkness gifted to me by the demon king himself." He retorted.

She continued talking like he hadn't even spoken at all. I hate cleaning! Can't you just," She tossed her hair back and slowly drew herself up, raising her arm and tossing her head to one side before snapping her fingers. The second the action was over she quickly fell back into her regular pose, hands on her hips, shoulders tense, hair hanging over one shoulder and eyes narrowing dangerously. "And magically clean the place that way?"

He chuckled enjoying her little temper tantrum. "Well, where would be the fun in that?" He smirked as her face became beat red with anger before he snapped his fingers teleporting her to a very long, seemingly endless hallway, covered in dust. "You are to clean this hallway, and any room you come across in it."

"And what will you be doing? Watching me like a creep I suppose." She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tempting as the offer is, darling, I have business to attend to. Ta." He gave her a two fingered salute before teleporting away.

Huffing she turned to the filthy hallway. "Great." She muttered as she filled the bucket with water. "I guess I better get this over with."


"Does this hallway never end!" She screamed to the heavens. She had been cleaning the same hallway, and any rooms she came across in the process, for what felt like hours. She sighed, sneezing as a ball of dust blew in her face from an open window. She slowly climbed up a nearby step leader, cleaning all dust from the window and the windowsill before locking it shut, latching it tightly.

The tedious hours didn;t get more exciting than that. She kept on down the hallway, not looking up very often, only focusing on cleaning the hall and rooms that she didn't even notice when she neared the end of the hall. She only noticed when her head hit the door unexpectedly.

"Ow, fuck." She muttered, rubbing her head softly, looking up at the door. It had dust covering it like all the others, but she could feel something inside the room. A blue light shone under the crack in the door, blowing all the remaining dust away from her and the room. "The fuck?" Kella winced as she wiped dust from her face, eyes narrowing at the door. She rached for the mop, it wasn't much but it was certainly better than nothing. She froze though as she heard a familiar chime come from the room and ring around her.

"It can't be..." She gasped as she stared at the door, eye narrowing as the tiniest flicker of hope filled her. 'It's not her, it's got to be a trick. Ghirahim would be more careful than this... wouldn't he?' Her thoughts were racing as she stared at the door.

"Mistress?" The voice came from the door again, it was a word and a voice that she was well accustomed to. That voice confirmed her suspicions. In one swift movement she grabbed the door handle and tried jiggling the knob to get it to open, but to no avail. She grabbed the narby mop and raised her knee off of the ground, bringing the mop down hard on her knee, snapping it in half.

Picking up one of the falling pieces of wood, she jammed the long sharp end of it in the crack in the door and pushed on it with all of her strength. She gaped at the piece of wood in her hand as it snapped off, leaving most of it stuck in the door.

"Kella!" Ghirahim's favourite demon, Damien's voice sounded at the beginning of the hallway.

"Fi! Is that really you?" She whispered through the door, pressing herself against it quickly.

"Yes, Mistress. It is."

"Fuck. Don't worry! I will get you out of there, okay? I just need some time."

"Understood Mistress." Fi's voice sounded from the other side. "My calculations suggest that you plan to do something stupid. Please attempt a different route, Mistress Kella." Kella sighed.

"You know me too well. You know I can't do that, Fi." She smiled softly, tracing the circular patterns in the door. "I'll be fine. I just need you to hang tight for a little while longe-"

"KELLA!" Damien's voice sounded closer now, clearly annoyed.

"I have to go. I'll be back though!" She promised as she spun around and ran down the hall to meet Damien half way.

"I know you will. Mistress." Fi's voice sounded in her ear.


"You're awfully quiet." Damien noted as they walked through the halls of the estate.

"I have a lot on my mind."

"Like?"

"Like all the different ways you can kill a man with just the use of your teeth." She hissed.

"Oh hell. What did he do this time?" She whirled on him.

"Did you know he was keeping my sword in that hallway!?" She snapped.

He blinked at her startled. "Woah, you mean you found her?"

"No shit!" She snapped, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. "Where the fuck are you taking me!" She demanded.

"...Ghirahim..." He whispered, shrinking back slightly. If there was one thing his mother had warned him about it was hell hath no fury like a women scorned, and oh boy was this women scorned. "He wanted you to have dinner with him." He flinched at the cold, sick grin that spread on her face.

"Dinner. Good. I hope the foods good. It'll be his last." She spun around and stalked off in the direction of the dining room.

"Come on, Kella! Think about this will you!"

"Think about what?" She snapped, not looking at him.

"What you're doing! He could've killed you last time! He was being generous! He may not be so merciful if you attack him, in his own home!"

"I don't care! Nobody takes my sword and gets away with it!" She snapped, eyes narrowing slightly, hatred burning on her face as she picked up a couple of daggers off a nearby hallway table. She had never understood why he kept so many weapons in the hallways alone, but it certainly was helpful in times like this.

She threw both doors open with a loud bang, causing the very skittish bokoblins to jump slightly from their positions around the room. Ghirahim raised an eyebrow at her. "Hello Kel-" He broke off as a dagger landed in his chair right next to his head. "I take it you're still mad about the housework." She grabbed the table cloth and whipped it off of the table, taking all of the food with it. "Don't you think this is a bit of an over reaction-"

"Oh save it for somebody who cares! I know about Fi!" She snapped causing him to freeze.

"What about your sword..."

"Yeah, save the lies and innocent act. Little tip, next time you send somebody to clean a hallway, make sure it's not the one you locked their sword in!" She snarled hurtling another dagger at him. He gapped at her, teleporting away to the other side of a room.

"Oh... right." He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well, I'll take that into consideration." He turned toward the door to leave which only pissed Kella off more.

"Really, you're running?"

"Actually, this is walking." He shot back reaching a hand out towards the door. Her face twitched violently before she hurtled a dagger at him, cutting the fabrinc of his gloves as it whizzed past his hand, a thin line of blood running along his hand. He shot a glare at her over his shoulder. "The thin Ice you're walking on is over very deep water."

"I don't care!" She shouted across the room at him, her teeth grinding together, tears appearing at the corner of her eyes. "Fi doesn't deserve this! She-" Kella broke off as Ghirahim appeared suddenly in front of her causing her to step back involuntarily.

"You pick a fight with me because you think you have any idea who you're dealing with." Kella opened her mouth to retort but he cut her off quickly. "You look at the other battles we've had and think you know who it is youre picking a fight with. You look at all the things I've done to you and delude yourself into thinking you can handle it."

"I can." She snapped.

"No you can't. I was holding back. But you knew that, didn't you? You think I was only holding back a little bit? Oh no, I have been using untold amounts of self control with you skychild. Do you really want to see me go all out?" He took a step back and slowly lifted his arms, flexing his fingers, causing the gloves and material of his outfit, and even what looked like skin, to fall away into diamonds. "The skin of my arms is tougher than any armor." He hissed, taking a step forward. She blinked at him, eyes wide.

"You talk tough, but you can't play the game." She snarled. "You've said all of this before. About how you hold back with me. About how you could wreck my shit if you had half a mind to. But I've never seen any evidence of this. You're a coward. You talk tough, pick a fight, and then run away when things get too hot to handle." She snarled, fists shaking at her sides.

He glared at her, eyes narrowing. "You think I'm weak."

"You are. You can't even-" She broke off as he grabbed a nearby bokoblin and ripped it's head off of it's body in one swift movement, it's purple blood showering them and getting all over her. "What-?" She broke off as he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and slammed her against the wall.

"You want to know why I haven't killed you, hero?" He snarled, voice cold. "I pity you. You are nothing but an ant beneath me, struggling to survive. In truth, you remind me of myself when I was young."

"Stop talking!" She snapped, kicking him in the face and jumping back several paces.

"You think I'm a coward? you're the coward, you call yourself a hero, but you can't even kill me, you've had plenty of opportunities to escape, but you haven't even tried. You're a hypocrite. You're very quick to pass the blame on other when it suits you, but you don't take any responsibility for anything you do. Have you even stopped to consider the bokoblins you kill." He punched her unexpectedly in the face, sending her reeling. She gasped, blood welling up from her nose. She was fighting to not break down then and there, he hadn't even broken a sweat. 'How could I be so stupid?'

"What about them?" She snapped.

"You saw the market. You saw all of those children. Nicholas for example."

"What about him." She snarled darting forward and flipping over his head, throwing another dagger down at him, only for him to deflect it with his arms.

"He's an orphan." He informed her, watching her steadily.

"Yeah? Aren't most demons? I mean I don't see any cheery lady fussing over you." Ghirahim watched her steadily.

"They died in war."

"Yeah, the same war your master set forth." She snapped.

"No. They only died a month ago." She blinked at him.

"What? What war are you-" She broke off as she remembered something, bokoblins suddenly flooding into all the regions in troops. "It's a war... against me?" She gaped.

"Yes.." He nodded slowly. She lurched forward, leaning heavily on the nearby wall. "Yes, the war is against you. It's to keep you busy before my master can start the real war against your kind."

She stared at him, fire burning in her eyes. "I killed his parents..?" Ghirahim nodded slowly. She felt tears roll down her cheeks. "Why would you send so many out there just to stop me!"

"You needed to be stopped." He whispered.

"I don't care! You didn't have to risk their lives like that!" She snapped, eyes narrowed into slits as she withdrew a sword from the wall and pointed it at him.

"Kella, you are one step away."

"Fight me, coward." She snarled taking a step forward, gipping the sword tightly. She swung at him with the sword, her feet moving silently as if dancing. He watched her carefully, eyes narrowing as he summoned his own swords. "Finally." He lunged forward, stabbing at her quickly, with deadly accuracy. She flipped over his head, slashing the sword at his head, only to be blocked. "Dammit." She hissed. "What did Fi ever do to you? Why did you have to lock her up somewhere?"

"Because I can't risk you getting a hold of her." He snapped.

"What?" She gasped as he appeared above her, rolling out of the way, skidding along the floor on the balls of her feet before she shot forward, sprinting in a zig zag formation towards him. It seemed to be just the two of them dodging around each other before attacking. It was like a deadly dance of light and dark, the world fell away and it was just him. She ducked under him and kicked his feet from under him. He rolled away and aimed a blow at her, knocking her onto her back and looming over her, knee digging into her side.

He stared down at her, one hand on either side of her head as he glared into her eyes, digging his nails into the stone tile. "You won't win." He whispered in her ear. "You're not strong enough." He hissed before pushing himself off of her to his feet and spinning around. She sat there for a moment, watching him walk away from her, eyes wide. The thought of him walking away from her forever terrified her.

"Then teach me." She said calmly.

"What?" He stopped, turning around as she calmly got to her feet, arms crossed over her chest.

"I want you," She took slow steps towards him. "To teach me how to win against stronger opponents."

"Do you even know what you're asking?" He questioned, glancing down at her critically.

"Yes. I want to win. I want to be stronger."

"How do I know you won't just use these tactics to kill me? Or that I won't take this opportunity to kill you?"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to trust each other won't we?" She smiled slightly up at him, watching him carefully.

"You know what you're asking? This won't be like that novice swords training you got at that school of yours. You're asking me to help you win against demons. That means you will have to learn how to fight like a demon, which is no easy task for a human."

"Not easy, but not impossible?" He nodded slowly. "Then I can handle it." He watched her slowly, eyes taking in her entire stance before he let out a loud laugh, grinning at her.

"Alright, you have a deal Skychild. However, in return you must do something for me regularly."

"What's that?" She stared at him, unsure.

He leaned forward so that his mouth was inches away from her ear. "Housework."

She cursed, pushing him away with a huff, pouting as she glared at him. "Fine. I suppose it's a small price to pay."


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~Hero's Guide