Holy smokes! I really didn't intend to take so long getting another kiss scene out! And here I'd thought I wouldn't get so bogged down in A Link Between Worlds as I did with the Oracle games! Oy vey!
Well, I guess this was a difficult pairing to write, so there is that...
Next one will be with Link and Oren, the Zora queen. That's one I've actually had a plan for ahead of time! Though, I'm not sure if she has a character option on this site. I guess I'll find out soon!
As always, please do leave a review if you like this, or have any ideas for improvement! Thanks a bunch!
The Hylian Knight had a confident smirk as he held a hardwood baton in a relaxed two-handed guard. The sight prompted Ravio to gulp quickly as he brought his own baton into a matching guard. The two stood like that for several seconds, reading each other's eyes. And, not for the first time in the last several months, the young Lorulean questioned why he was doing this at all.
Then he moved, throwing three probing cuts at his sparring partner, who deftly parried each one, following up with a quick jab at Ravio's gut. It was a testament to his progress in training that he managed to twist out of the way. Desperately, he swung at his opponent's head. The knight guided his strike off to the side with his own baton. A rapid second stroke against Ravio's baton sent the weapon flying from his hand, leaving him wide-eyed before the knight.
There were several seconds' pause. Then… "Good work, Ravio. You're improving quickly."
Ravio grimaced good-naturedly. "Thanks, Hiram," he responded, "but it looks like I still have a ways to go before I'm holding my own with you knights."
Hiram smirked. "Maybe," he replied, "but you could already win the fights that matter. What few shadow creatures are left aren't much of a challenge."
That comment made Ravio feel a bit better. After all, the knight was right; after the rogue mage Yuga's death, the monsters he'd called forth had dwindled quickly as the Hylian army continued to hunt them down. There weren't many left, and those that remained were well within Ravio's skill level by now. He felt ready to join the next patrol and start acting like one of the Heroes, like he was meant to be.
Technically, he was supposed to be Lorule's Hero, not Hyrule's. But queen Hilda's attempt to send Hyrule's princess and Hero back home had not completely worked. Rather than sending Link, the Hylian Hero, back with his princess, Ravio was sent there instead. He supposed it was just as well, though. After centuries of not having a Triforce, Lorule was, quite frankly, a hot mess, and as Link had proven to be a far braver - and more effective - Hero, it was probably best to have him helping to rebuild. Hyrule was far more stable, and ripe for expansion. Ravio, despite being a chosen Hero, had always been fascinated with economics and business, something that Zelda, Hyrule's princess, had recognized. She had suggested that her parents hire him to help manage the realm's development, and even in the mere six months he'd been here, he'd done some good work.
Nonetheless, he was still a Hero, and after seeing Link's efforts, he'd wanted to live up to that legacy as well, hence this new training regimen.
"Well done," came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Zelda behind him, applauding softly, a pleased smile on her round face.
Ravio's face turned a little pink at the praise, particularly as it had come from the princess he'd come to admire so much over the last few months. Hiram caught his blush and, with a wolfish smirk, quipped, "I'll give you two some privacy." Then the knight left the courtyard they'd been drilling in, leaving Ravio alone with the Princess.
Ravio, of course, was now blushing hard. "H-he…probably could've ph-phrased that better," he stammered.
Zelda chuckled at that. "Probably," she concurred. "How's the resettlement of the Eastern Ruins coming along?"
Ravio's blush cleared, and he grinned. This was territory he was familiar with. "Better than even I expected," he replied. "Another dozen families have settled there. I suspect there'll be at least six hundred people living there by the end of the month."
The princess grinned at that. "And what of reopening the commercial route to Holodrum?"
"A trade post is being set up in the Southern Ruins as we speak," Ravio answered without hesitation. "Give it a decade or two, and I think it'll have more people than even Kakariko."
Zelda gave an impressed whistle at that. "The way you make it sound," she said, "we might just live to see Hyrule restored to what it was like before the Hero of Time's era."
Ravio's eyes widened. "I don't know about that," he mused. "That's a pretty tall order, if Hyrule was as prosperous back then, as the books in your library claim."
"And we've had more growth since you started helping us than in the past five generations," Zelda countered, "That's no small feat."
Ravio scratched the back of his neck shyly as he acknowledged the truth in the princess' words. Then she stunned him by suggesting, "Why don't we get a drink together in Kakariko? I've been meaning to talk to you about something other than business."
It took several seconds, but Ravio managed to awkwardly stutter out a reply: "Th-that s-sounds great!"
…
The milk bar in Kakariko wasn't terribly busy this evening. Besides Ravio and Zelda, there were only three other patrons, none sitting near enough to the two of them to catch their casual chatter.
That suited Ravio just fine. Despite being on what basically amounted to a date with a princess, he was feeling more relaxed than he had since…well, actually, he couldn't remember ever feeling as relaxed as he was now.
He sighed contentedly as Zelda finished an amusing anecdote about the former guard captain and a bucket of soapy water. She caught the sound and asked, "You alright?"
Ravio grinned. "Never better," he answered. "I don't think I've ever felt this at ease in my life."
The princess grimaced. "You really shouldn't be running yourself into the ground like this. Hyrule doesn't need to be restored in a day, you know."
That got a chuckle out of the Lorulean. "I know," he replied. "But I want you to have a kingdom to be proud of."
Zelda looked a little stunned at the statement, so - his inhibitions diminished by the fermented milk they'd been drinking - he elaborated, "You're amazing, Your Grace, you know that? Just…when Yuga was running amok, after everything that'd happened to you, seeing you so calm like nothing was wrong, seeing you forgive Queen Hilda so quickly, too…I wish I could be more like you."
"Ravio," the princess sighed, one hand coming to rest on his arm, "you don't need to be more like me. You're already a bloody good you."
Ravio leaned back, face pinkening, utterly floored by her assertion. "But you know how I've been," he insisted, "It took seeing Link doing his thing to finally break me out of being such a coward. I'm just not sure if…"
He got no further before he found himself suddenly muffled by Zelda's lips. She'd leaned in so quickly that her kiss had caught him unprepared. The fact that his mouth had already been open meant that he was automatically kissing her in return. For the five seconds of contact between their lips, Ravio's mental faculties went clean out the window as he struggled to process the shock and the sensations of Zelda's actions.
When her lips left his, Ravio's cheeks were a deep red, and his eyes were wide. He suddenly found that the princess was cupping his face with both hands now, her forehead laid on his, looking him intensely in the eyes. "Promise me," Zelda whispered, "that you'll always be you."
Ravio didn't reply immediately to that. He couldn't, what with the shock he was still under. A few seconds passed before Zelda pressed her lips hard against his once more. "Promise me," she repeated, kissing him once more when he failed once again to answer. "Promise me." Her tone was more insistent now than Ravio had ever heard it before.
"Alright, alright," he finally managed to pant out. "I promise."
Zelda smiled warmly back at him. "Good," she said. Then she pressed her lips to his once again, more deliberately this time. Her lips were incredibly soft, Ravio realized, and on pure instinct, he found himself actively returning her kiss.
This time, she didn't pull away, but maintained the contact, pressing her lips gently to his again and again. Ravio's eyes finally slid closed as he allowed himself to revel in the softness of her lips.
The sudden clearing of a throat beside them shocked them apart. The bartender was regarding them amusedly. "I think you two may have had enough to drink," he quipped. That made sense to Ravio; if his inhibitions hadn't been lowered by the milk, he likely never would have confessed his admiration for Zelda. It stood to reason that her kisses had come from the same lack of inhibitions.
And then Zelda chuckled, showing off her still-full mug. "What do you mean," she replied, throwing a knowing smirk Ravio's way, "I haven't even drunk any of this!"
Ravio could only stare back in shock.
